Apple's Deadliest Lawsuit has Nothing to Do With Samsung or HTC

It turns out that Apple's patent problems are nothing compared to the class-action lawsuit the company is facing.

In a surprise development that could significantly impact the public image of several tech corporations, Apple

, Google

, Adobe

, Intel

, Intuit

, Pixar and Lucasfilm conspired to eliminate competition for skilled labor. According to

, the seven companies are headed for court next week to battle what could be their biggest class-action suit yet. The most damning detail can be found within the evidence uncovered by the Department of Justice, which investigated the antitrust claims in 2010. In the

obtained by TechCrunch, a Pixar employee by the name of Lori McAdams wrote the following e-mail to others within the company on April 30, 2007:

While that e-mail hardly confirms Apple, Pixar or Lucasfilm's guilt, the DOJ also uncovered an e-mail from Bruce Chizen, Adobe's former CEO. Back in May 2005 (when he was still serving as chief executive), Chizen passed around an e-mail from his senior VP, Theresa Townsley:

Chizen supposedly forwarded this e-mail to others within Adobe. Knowing lawyers, I'm betting that both e-mails could be argued down to nothing in open court. But I think Apple's legal team might have a difficult time downplaying an e-mail Steve Jobs supposedly received from Ed Colligan, who was Palm, Inc.'s CEO at the time:

If that isn't a confirmation of Apple's guilt, then I don't know what is. Personally, I am not too surprised that these publicly traded companies would engage in this practice. I am also not surprised that Pixar – which has close ties to Apple and its founder – would be involved. But I was taken aback by the fact that Lucasfilm may have been complicit with this behavior. Like Pixar, Lucasfilm has an Apple connection. Though few people know it, George Lucas founded Pixar and sold the company to Steve Jobs. However, it is downright shameful that Lucas would allow himself to get caught up in something so slimy. Apple seems to be the company that spearheaded this effort to reduce employee compensation. But where does Disney

, the company that acquired Pixar in 2006, fit into this scandal? Why was the house that built Mickey Mouse not named in the suit? Even if Disney was not directly involved, does anyone really believe that the company was unaware of the hiring practices employed by its most successful animation studio?