Apple E-Books Defense May Hinge on Absence From Dinner Meetings

Apple Inc.’s best defense against accusations it conspired to fix e-book prices may turn on its absence from meetings in Manhattan restaurants where publishing executives allegedly worked out the scheme.

The maker of the iPad will need to show it negotiated pricing arrangements separately with each of the five publishers named in the Justice Department’s lawsuit, avoiding group gatherings such as those in The Chef’s Wine Cellar at Picholine described in the government’s complaint, antitrust lawyers said.