Harlequin sales fell 4 percent in the first quarter, down $4 million to $102.5 million (CA) , with operating profit declining 27 percent to $14.9 million, falling $5.6 million in the period. Parent company Torstar had a similar weak overall quarter, and announced further restructuring in both the book publishing and general media divisions. They are cutting approximately 105 jobs companywide — with roughly 20 to 30 of those positions coming from Harlequin (a deduction based on the dollar figures provided). The book publisher took a restructuring charge of $2.3 million for the quarter, and expects to save $2.1 million […]
Legal
Legal: More on Harper Lee Lawsuit; Hagar Cleared Over 2011 Defamation Suit
Updating our Monday story on the Harper Lee copyright lawsuit, the full complaint depicts the alleged depths of the scheme that Samuel Pinkus is said to have engaged in, along with Lee Ann Winick and Gerald Posner, to mislead Lee and her publishers about the copyright status of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. The suit alleges that “Pinkus created several different companies to handle the receipt of royalties and commissions and directed the payment of royalties to a continually changing series of bank accounts” as a bid to avoid the nearly $800,000 in commissions he and his company Veritas Media were required to […]
Harper Lee Sues to Recover Money from Fired Agent, In Latest Battle Over Pinkus’s Split with McIntosh & Otis
As was widely (if not always accurately) reported over the weekend, Harper Lee filed suit on May 2 in New York Federal Bankruptcy Court to recover royalties for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD allegedly still being collected improperly by Sam Pinkus. She seeks all commissions collected by Pinkus since 2007, plus compensatory damages. In a less publicized case, last year a New York State court re-established Lee as owner of the copyright of her famous novel and ordered Pinkus removed as her agent. In the new filing, however, Lee charges that Pinkus is “still receiving royalties from the novel as of this […]
Authors with Complaints Sue Author Solutions
Following years of complaints about Author Solutions’ business practices and the big target painted when the company was acquired by Penguin last July, those grievances have turned into a lawsuit. Writers (and customers) Kelvin James, Jodi Foster, and Terry Hardy filed suit in New York federal court on April 26, seeking $5 million in punitive damages from Author Solutions and Penguin “for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, California unfair competition law, and New York general business law.” According to the complaint, obtained by Courthouse News but not yet available in the electronic docket, the three writers allege that Author Solutions “fails […]
Macmillan Finalizes State & Consumer Settlement, Will Pay $26 Million
State and consumer class action attorneys filed notice last week that they have finalized their settlement with Macmillan, first announced in January. The publisher will not only pay out $20 million to settle the suits, as planned, but will also pay $3 million to cover litigation and “investigation” costs; $2.475 million for plaintiff’s attorney fees; and $1,000 for each of the named class action plaintiffs as a “service award”, for a total of $26.25 million. Macmillan is also formally excluded from the June 3 trial, which Judge Cote ruled separately that Penguin must participate in, despite the publisher asking for […]
DOJ Moves for Final Judgment in Penguin Settlement
In keeping with the schedule proposed at the beginning of the year, the DOJ filed a motion on April 18 moving for a final judgment on their settlement with Penguin from December. They asked Judge Cote to rule “without further hearing if the Court determines that entry is in the public interest” especially since in the DOJ’s view, a delay in doing so will also delay the implementation of ebook discounting: “There is no just reason to delay the availability of these benefits for consumers.” Answering papers, if any, must be filed by May 7, in accordance with the proposed […]