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 […]
Legal
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 […]
Judge Cote Denies Class Certification in One Author Solutions Lawsuit
More than two years after the original lawsuit was filed (with more recent lawsuits ongoing in other states) Judge Cote denied class certification to plaintiffs Mary Simmons and Jodi Foster, who are suing Author Solutions alleging fraud, unjust enrichment, and violation of various statutes and consumer protection acts. The original motion for class certification was filed last February. The 30-page decision, filed July 1, rejects certification for a variety of legal and technical reasons connected to the combination of charges in the suit. Judge Cote takes issue with Foster and Simmons seeking class claims in New York since they live in other […]
Appeals Court Upholds Verdict Against Apple, with Notable Dissent
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Apple’s appeal of the verdict finding them guilty of antitrust violations in launching the iBookstore, upholding District Court Judge Denise Cote’s initial finding. Judge Debra Ann Livingston writes the majority opinion in the 2-1 ruling: “We conclude that the district court’s decision that Apple orchestrated a horizontal conspiracy among the Publisher Defendants to raise ebook prices is amply supported and well‐reasoned, and that the agreement unreasonably restrained trade in violation of § 1 of the Sherman Act.” As expected by court observers, Judge Dennis Jacobs files a dissenting opinion. While agreeing with Judge Cote’s findings […]