Former co-founder of The Writers Coffee Shop Jennifer Pedroza is moving closer to receiving her one-quarter share of The Writers Coffee Shop’s profits from the Fifty Shades trilogy, though the process has been underway for many months and still is not finalized. In a Texas court hearing on Wednesday, Judge Susan McCoy heard from accountants hired by both Pedroza and defendant Amanda Hayward that 25 percent of TWCS’s profits would equal approximately $10.7 million. A jury ruled in Pedroza’s favor in February, and starting in April, Judge McCoy has been trying to get Hayward to deposit $10 million in an escrow […]
Legal
Author Solutions Lawsuit Settled in New York; Indiana Suits Consolidated
Once Judge Denise Cote denied class certification in July to the group of plaintiffs who filed suit against Author Solutions more than two years ago alleging fraud, violation of consumer protection acts, and unjust enrichment, it was only a matter of time before that version of the case reached a natural end. On August 12, Judge Cote issued a one-page order of discontinuance indicating the suit had been settled by the two standalone plaintiffs the prior day, with the case “discontinued without any costs to any party and without prejudice to restoring action to this Court’s calendar if the application…is made within […]
Amazon Customers Receive A Little Extra In eBook Settlement Credits
Although the original ebook settlement credits funded by the five settling publishers expired this spring, on Thursday many Amazon customers were notified of new, additional small credits issued to their accounts in connection with those same settlements. As the notices indicate, “This credit is in addition to the credit that you received from these settlements in March 2014.” Like the earlier credits, the new ones are provided on a use-it-or-lose-it basis, and any unused credits will expire in about a year, on July 31, 2016. These new credits come from a revision of the methodology that determined how much compensation […]
Authors United Finally Writes to DOJ Asking Amazon Inquiry, Joined by Authors Guild and ABA
It was September of 2014 that author Douglas Preston showed the FT a letter being drafted by New American Foundation senior fellow Barry Lynn asking the Department of Justice to investigate Amazon for antitrust violations, and said Lynn was preparing a full report. That letter and position paper, finally ready for dispatch and being circulated to other authors to sign on, asks “that the Antitrust Division investigate Amazon’s power over the book market, and the ways in which that corporation exercises its power, bearing in mind the very special constitutional sensitivities that have historically been applied to any business that […]
Court to Decide If Revised Family Christian Buyout Goes to Creditor Vote
The bankruptcy court is set to hold a hearing today on a new set of proposals from Family Christian Stores to put a revised buyout offer from FCS Acquisition to a vote among the creditors. Their previous bid of $43 million has been increased to a range of between $52.4 million and $55.7 million, according to Family Christian’s lawyers. Sources told Michigan Live that the liquidation companies that participated in the auction — since voided by the court — are no longer participating (and who could blame them, since Family Christian has been working hard since the outset to ensure the […]
Six Months of Lawsuits
As we’ve continually reported over the past few years, the course of publishing continues to turn on litigation as much as innovation. In the most anticipated ruling of the year so far, the Court of Appeals recently upheld the antitrust verdict against Apple in a heatedly divided ruling that portends further appeal. The payout a settlement of up to $400 million to consumers (and another $50 million in legal fees) now hinges on whether Apple continues to pursue the case. Other ongoing cases of note include the FCS bankruptcy proceedings, and the suits against Author Solutions, along with the recently-opened antitrust […]