Shareholder wins judge order to see Apple options records - report

At a hearing in San Jose on Monday, California Superior Court Judge Jack Komar said he would sign an order on Friday instructing the consumer electronics giant to provide the Boston Retirement Board with copies of meeting minutes of Apple's board of directors and board committees from 1997 to the present.

The retirement board is among the shareholder groups suing Apple for its historical stock options backdating practices. It's seeking the company documents as part of the suit, filed last year, so that it can better assess the responsibility of Apple's board of directors in the matter.

As part of his order, Judge Komar is also expected to grant the retirement board access to Apple records relating to how it accounted for the stock options it handed out over the past decade. However, the judge reportedly denied a request by the retirement board's executive officer to gain access to records of the company's own internal investigation into its executive backdating scandal.

Still, the Mercury News reports, Apple may be able to avoid disclosing certain records if it can prove to the judge that they are covered by attorney-client or some other privilege. And any documents that are turned over to retirement board will be under a protective order, meaning they can't be disclosed to any other party.

Following the judge's order Friday, Apple will have a week to comply.