One of the bestselling inspirational books ever has turned from success to suits. As the LAT reports, author of The Shack William Paul Young is engaged in complex litigation against his former partners, Wayne Jacobsen and Brad Cummings at Windblown Media, and Hachette Book Group has been drawn in as well. The dispute, focused on money but also involving copyright and the movie rights, seems to stem from the original working agreement behind the book, which was an oral understanding arrived at long before the success that has led to sales of at least 8 million copies in the US […]
Legal
Riggio Contradicts Himself on the Stand
Testifying Friday in a Delaware courtroom in the case brought by Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa challenging Barnes & Noble’s poison pill, chairman Len Riggio said of the defense plan adopted by the board, “It’s about the company.” But in a videotaped deposition before the trial played in court, Riggio said “the pill was about me and my family.” At another point in the deposition, he said, “I have a strong preference for being the largest shareholder of Barnes & Noble, being its founder.” Riggio was vaguer on the point raised in the first day’s testimony by Barnes & Noble board member […]
Lively Testimony at BN Trial
Coverage of the first day of testimony in Ron Burkle’s lawsuit against Barnes & Noble in Delaware makes for fascinating, if not crystal clear, reading. Burkle indicated that he considered–but then rejected–a buyout bid for BN last year at $25 a share. (The stock now trades for under $13, its lowest point in years.) He accumulated stock last fall because he thought the company was historically cheap–“This was one of those things you would look back on and say ‘this could never happen again'”–but on that point he’s already been proven wrong by the market. Burkle is considering nominating his […]
Logic Prevails As Penguin Canada and Davidar Settle Rundle Lawsuit–And She’ll Return to Work
Former Penguin Canada president David Davidar’s lawyer Peter Downard has indicated in a brief statement that Lisa Rundle’s lawsuit alleging unlawful dismissal and sexual harrassment has been settled. He said in an e-mail, “we can now advise that all allegations have been addressed and all matters resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.” Downard added, “None of the parties will be commenting further to the media.” Penguin Canada spokesperson Yvonne Hunter also says “everything has been settled.” And in Wednesday’s announcement of Mike Bryan’s appointment as president of Penguin Canada, the company indicated that Rundle will return to work at […]
Barnes & Noble Has July 8 Court Date with Burkle
Barnes & Noble reveals in their annual report with the SEC that investor Ron Burkle’s lawsuit against the company filed in Delaware Chancery Court in early May is scheduled to go to trial July 8. Burkle’s Yucaipa American Alliance is seeking to overturn the poison poll BN adopted to keep him from acquiring more than 20 percent of the bookseller’s shares. Burkle has even more reason to be agitated now than when he filed the suit, with Barnes & Noble shares down over 30 percent from two months ago. In the standard risk factors enumerated in the bookseller’s SEC filing, […]
Suits: AVT Claims Libel By Randall Lane; Jude Law Wants to Block Ex-Wife’s Book
The company AVT (previously called Automated Vending Technologies) says they have filed a $100 million libel suit in California’s Orange County against author Randall Lane for his just-released book The Zeroes: My Misadventures in the Decade Wall Street Went Insane.” The book alleges that AVT hired former baseball star-turned-investor Lenny Dykstra to promote the company’s stock on TheStreet.com, and claims that he his brother-in-law was given stock in the company as compensation for the publicity.Lawsuit press release In the UK, actor Jude Law asked a court to block publication of his ex-wife Sadie Frost’s forthcoming memoir CRAZY DAYS. John Blake […]