Home / Business and Economy / Broadcom Clashes With EU Over Legal Privilege in VMware Case
Broadcom Clashes With EU Over Legal Privilege in VMware Case
14 May
Summary
- Broadcom is suing EU antitrust regulators over document access.
- The dispute centers on legal advice from U.S. lawyers regarding VMware.
- The company seeks to protect U.S. legal professional privilege rules.
Broadcom has filed a lawsuit against European Union antitrust regulators, taking its grievance to the Luxembourg-based General Court. The core of the dispute involves the EU's requests for documents containing legal advice from Broadcom's U.S. lawyers, a matter related to the company's 2023 acquisition of VMware.
Representing this action as a matter of principle, Broadcom stated it is solely to protect its rights under established legal professional privilege rules in countries outside the EU, including the United States. As a U.S.-headquartered entity, Broadcom views attorney-client privilege as a fundamental right that warrants protection.
The company affirmed that it is otherwise cooperating with the European Commission's broader requests for information. The European Commission, serving as the EU's competition enforcer, has indicated its readiness to defend its decisions in court.
Separately, Broadcom faced an antitrust complaint in March from lobbying group CISPE, which urged regulators to halt the termination of Broadcom's VMware Cloud Service Provider program in Europe. CISPE criticized Broadcom's lawsuit.
