Ken Caillat is best known in the music business as the man who produced Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 album Rumours, one of the best-selling rock records of all time. That credential in turn garnered him a $555,000 advance from HarperCollins’ It Books imprint to write Starting Rumours, an oral history of the making of that record, which the publisher won at auction from Caillat’s agent Peter McGuigan of Foundry Media. But last month, Caillat filed suit against the publisher in Ventura County Superior Court alleging that he was rightfully owed his entire advance, and that HarperCollins had breached their contract by […]
Legal
Bookselling: Borders Lease Writedowns; Joseph-Beth Bankruptcy Proceedings; Easons Turmoil; and More
Borders‘ motion to vacate unexpired leases for four stores in the midwest was approved by New York Bankruptcy Court late last week, reducing the amount of rent Borders is obligated to pay by approximately $245,000 per month. Affidavit [PDF] Last week, Joseph-Beth Booksellers sought more time from bankruptcy court to file a reorganization plan, which was originally due on March 3. Ultimately that hearing was pushed back to March 23, but not without some harsh criticism from the unsecured creditors committee, which charged that Joseph-Beth’s “management and professionals have not yet defined the contours of their reorganized business and how they intend […]
Legal Briefs: BN Poison Pill Measure Upheld; Book Review Libel Case Dimissed; HB Fenn Bankruptcy Proceedings; and More
A Delaware Appeals Court has refreshed our collective memory on last year’s protracted proxy fight between Barnes & Noble and billionaire Ron Burkle thanks to its ruling yesterday that the poison pill measure, which limits stockholders to 20 percent or less of total company stock, should still be allowed to stand. AP The libel case author Karin Calvo-Goller brought against NYU Law School professor Joseph H.H. Weiler for publishing a negative review of her book has been dismissed by a French court, which said “the review expressed a scientific opinion of the book and did not go beyond the kind […]
Variations on a Theme of Bankruptcy: Borders, REDGroup, Nebraska Book and More
A hearing has been scheduled for March 15 on Borders‘ request that the judge overseeing bankruptcy proceedings take more time to decide what the company should do about outstanding lease agreements. Debtors are typically allowed 120 days under the bankruptcy code, but can ask for a 90-day extension for a total of 210 days. Borders, however, has asked to have until January 12, 2012 to deal with leases. Freep REDGroup Retail will close 38 of its 260 bookstores in Australia and New Zealand as part of its recently filed bankruptcy agreement. Of those stores, 37 were Angus & Robertson shops […]
Announcements: BN Settles Spring Design Lawsuit; McGraw-Hill Buys Bookette; Quarto Buys Cool Springs Press; and More
Barnes & Noble has settled with Spring Design over the 2009 lawsuit on whether the Nook’s design breached patent agreements for the now discontinued Alex Reader. Under terms of the agreement, Spring is granting Barnes & Noble a non-exclusive license for all of its patents and patent applications. Other terms of the settlement were not disclosed.Release McGraw-Hill has bought Bookette Software Co., a privately held provider of automated scoring for tests, including written exams.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Release AbeBooks’ European division will acquire ZVAB.com, a leading online marketplace of German rare antiquarian books, from Mediantis AG. The acquisition […]
Pearson Freezes Libyan Government’s Minority Stake
In its earnings call yesterday Pearson admitted it was “uncomfortable” with the Libyan Investment Authority being its fifth-largest shareholder. Today the company announced it will freeze the LIA’s stake, valued at 3 percent last June but now at approximately 3.27 percent, or 26,572,179 shares. Pearson states that, per legal advice, “under The Libya (Financial Sanctions) Order 2011 (SI 2011 No. 548), Pearson considers that the ordinary shares in the company which are held by or on behalf of the LIA are subject to the Order and are therefore effectively frozen.” They have since informed the LIA and its nominees that […]