With fact discovery in the copyright infringement lawsuit brought by major publishers against the Internet Archive set to end on December 17, the publishers have complained to Judge John Koeltl that the IA “is stonewalling, hoping to run out the clock.” They asked for a conference to have the judge compel production of missing documents. The attorney writes, “IA has not disputed the relevance of the documents. Instead, IA is simply stonewalling, prejudicing plaintiffs in depositions and case development.” The letter outlines seven categories of documents they are still looking for, saying they “waited several weeks or more for IA […]
Representation
Author of Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Champion-Adeyemi has moved representation to CAA, listing Michelle Weiner for publishing rights. In May Deadline had reported that the author had signed with WME, moving over from ICM, which sold her trilogy to Holt Children’s in 2017. (If approved by the government, CAA is set to acquire ICM.)
Gendell and McGuigan Pursue Mediation
The complicated and long-running legal dispute between former Foundry Media partners Yfat Reiss Gendell and Peter McGuigan may be headed towards resolution. Attorneys for both parties filed a letter asking Judge Joel M. Cohen to extend the current dates for discovery (set to end in February 2022), “to pursue mediation and settlement discussions in the Commercial Division Alternative Dispute Resolution Program.” That process “is basically a mediation program” run by the Court, though ultimately “settlement…is purely voluntary.” Gendell had asked the Court to refer the matter to mediation in May, though at the time McGuigan declined.
CJK Makes Another Editorial Services Acquisition
CJK Group continues to build their content services business with the acquisition of Baltimore-based Kaufman Wills Fusting & Company, which will be integrated into their KnowledgeWorks Global division. Through the Sheridan group, CJK has built one of the country’s largest book printers. KWF Consulting and KWF Editorial together employ 99 people, providing editorial services and management consulting to the scholarly publishing community, including “professional staffing solutions for journal editorial office management, peer review services, and editor support.” CEO of CJK Group Chris Kurtzman said in the announcement, “With this acquisition, CJK Group continues to build a successful global operation serving every […]
Chatham Offers Higher Bid to Acquire RR Donnelly
Chatham Asset Management, which kicked off the bidding to take RR Donnelly private and already owns just under 15 percent of Donnelly’s stock, offered a fully-financed bid to acquire the printing company for $9.10 per share in cash. They say their bid is worth approximately $48 million more than the deal from Atlas Holdings (which bought LSC Communications in bankruptcy). Chatham also filed suit in a Delaware Chancery Court, asking for the termination fee due Atlas if they do not prevail and certain other provisions to be declared unenforceable. Chatham indicated that they will pay $9.34 a share if the termination fee […]
Newspaper Hates Portland, Loves Powell’s: Irreconciliable Differences?
In the great tradition of NYT stories asking if a given place can possibly be saved, the business section offers a bizarre piece about the Fox News hellscape that is Portland, OR — where smoke from forest fires “pervad[ed] a near-biblical sense of doom.” With efforts to recover at Powell’s Books the vague focus, the story suggests that they are talking broadly about life and bookstores in America: “How will brick-and-mortar stores fare in a time of continued fear over a deadly, airborne plague? What happens to city life when sidewalks are strewn with the rain-soaked belongings of people who […]