Judge Denise Cote has agreed for now that pending settlements with state attorneys general across the country with Harper Collins and Hachette Book Group might alleviate them from class action suits. The judge issued a stay, until July 11, freeing those two publishers from any depositions and discovery by the class action attorneys. The companies are said to be aiming towards settlements with all 50 states, and have argued that such a broad settlement could effectively cover all potential claimants who are part of the class.
Legal
Judge Dismisses Suit Against Greg Mortenson and Penguin, Calls Claims “Overly Broad” and “Flimsy”
On Monday a federal judge in Montana tossed out a lawsuit filed by four book buyers against Greg Mortenson and Penguin on the grounds that THREE CUPS OF TEA’s alleged fabrications deceived the quartet into believing the book was nonfiction. In dimissing the complaint charging fraud, deceit, racketeering and breach of contract, US district judge Sam Haddon said the lawsuit, which has been pending for more than a year, was based on “imprecise, in part flimsy, and speculative” claims and that the further pursuit of legal action “would be futile.” Haddon was particularly critical of the plaintiffs’ racketeering claims, saying […]
What Judge Denise Cote’s Past Rulings May Say About The eBook Price Fixing Case
When the Department of Justice sued Apple and the “Agency Five” publishers, they requested the case be presided over by Southern District Court of New York federal judge Denise Cote, since she was already hearing the proposed class action lawsuit that merged a number of actions in New York and California. We thought it might be instructive to look at some of the key cases Judge Cote has ruled on since she was appointed as a federal judge in 1994 that may provide some insight into how she might approach the ebook price fixing suits by the federal government and […]
Questions and Comments Continue on the Agency Pricing Settlement and Suits
The WSJ makes a significant discovery in the e-book pricing dispute today–they have unearthed a rare photo of Macmillan ceo John Sargent wearing a necktie, along with a three-piece formal suit. (The Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan picture apparently comes from the Graham Windham Bicentennial Ball in 2006.) Perhaps too late to be of any use to his publishing constituents, the Journal also has New York Senator Chuck Schumer saying, “I feel absolutely befuddled by the lawsuit. For the Antitrust Division to step in as the big protector of Amazon doesn’t seem to make any sense from an antitrust point of view. […]
Wiley Amends Piracy Lawsuits, Naming Four Defendants Who Allegedly Downloaded ‘For Dummies’ Titles Illegally
In Wiley’s aggressive legal campaign against individuals they allege shared copies of various “For Dummies” books in violation of their copyright via BitTorrent, the company recently named a few of the previously anonymous defendants and asked for a jury trial. TorrentFreak observes that “if one or more of the three cases indeed proceeds to a full trial it will be the first time that actual evidence against BitTorrent infringers is tested in court.” Wiley attorney William Dunnegan tells the BBC: “We are asking people who are identified by their ISPs as being copyright infringers to pay the minimum amount due […]
Judge Sets Hearing on DOJ Settlements for July 27 as Hachette and Harper Near Settlement With 50 States
At a status conference Wednesday afternoon in New York District Court, Judge Denise Cote heard from lawyers representing Apple, contesting publishers Penguin and Macmillan, and the three publishers – Hachette, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins — that settled with the Department of Justice and are working towards a similar outcome with as many as all 50 states. Hachette and Harper confirmed they signed a memorandum of understanding with 16 states and Puerto Rico, Bloomberg reported, and “they hope to have a settlement with all 50 states completed by June 11,” exactly 60 days from when both the DOJ and state […]