For a while now, we’ve cautioned readers: a) not to get caught up in the day-to-day legal maneuverings between Apple and the government (the main things that matter are the appeal, and the damages trial, in that order), and b) to be wary of stories from organizations that don’t have a deep understanding and coverage of this complex battle. So today you’ll see headlines about the latest filing from the class action attorneys suggesting that Apple should pay damages of between $720 million and $840 million. But this is nothing new. We guesstimated back in June 2013 — before the […]
DOJ
Apple Wins At Least A Brief “Administrative Stay” of Monitor, Pending Appeals Hearing
With no opposition from the government, Apple has at least won a short “administrative stay” from the Appeals Court of Judge Cote’s imposition of an antitrust compliance monitor, while her broader verdict and September 2013 injunction in the ebook pricing case is under appeal. That delay remains in place until a three-judge Appeals Court panel can hear Apple’s formal motion for a stay blocking monitor Michael Bromwich and objecting to his conduct. That motion “shall be heard as soon as possible.” The government has until Friday to file their formal opposition to granting a permanent stay.
As Expected, Judge Cote Denies Apple’s Motion to Stay
On Thursday morning Judge Cote issued an order officially denying Apple’s motion to stay her ruling in last summer’s ebook pricing trial, also keeping the disputed court-appointed monitor Michael Bromwich on the job. The 64-page order goes through all of Judge Cote’s reasons for denying the stay and chronicles the escalating conflict between Bromwich and Apple, but it essentially boils down to this: First, “many of the arguments which Apple once made (and is no longer pursuing) have been waived or are moot.” Second, Judge Cote said Apple “has access to a dispute resolution mechanism which has and will be […]
2013: The Year We Gaveled On
We don’t usually play the game of making broad simplistic declarations about players of the year, but in our newsroom 2013 was truly the “Year of the Gavel.” New York Southern District Court Judge Denise Cote — recently the focus of a scathing editorial in the WSJ calling her “a disgrace to the judiciary” — was the dominant Publishing Person of the Year, and no matter what the OED claims, the “word of the year” was certainly not “selfie.” It was “spiderweb,” a term that speaks volumes about the DOJ’s winning trial against Apple on ebook price-fixing charges that was the […]
States’ New Expert Magically Increases eBook Damages Estimate By 40 Percent
The new battleground in the ebook pricing case — to determine how much Apple will pay in damages, assuming their appeal is unsuccessful — has just begun. (So you should be wary of any headlines that imply otherwise.) Expect a number of filings and counter-arguments in the months to come, and remember most importantly that Apple’s liability will be determined at a separate trial scheduled for next May. Everything else is preamble. It will not shock you that the states have found themselves a new expert, professor emeritus at Stanford Roger Noll, who has decided that the “damages” to consumers […]
One More Effort to Make Court Reckon with Allegations of Amazon’s Predatory Pricing
On Friday, Bob Kohn filed with the US District Court indicating his intention to appear in opposition to final entry of the Federal ebook pricing settlements with Macmillan and Penguin. The new wrinkle to avoid being dismissed as not having standing in the matter is that Kohn objects as one of the many eligible consumers affected by the settlement. His primary intention is to reassert the simple but sensational argument that Judge Cote ignored the most important element of the entire ebook pricing saga: “Amazon’s below marginal cost pricing” of ebooks prior to the launch of the agency model. That […]