Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST—S.D.N .Y: Corrected settlement notice allowed in Apple e-books price fixing settlement, (Sep 15, 2014)
Law Firms Mentioned:Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP | Lovell Stewart Halebian Jacobson LLP | Sidley Austin LLP | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Organizations Mentioned:Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP | Apple Inc. | Christopher Lovell, PC | Gibson Dunn | HarperCollins Publishers | Lovell Stewart Halebian Jacobson, LLP | MacMillian, Inc. | Penguin Group U.S.A., Inc. | Sidley Austin, LLP | Skadden Arps
By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.
In actions brought by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the attorneys general of 33 states and territories against Apple Inc. for conspiring with five major publishers to fix the prices for electronic books or e-books, the federal district court in New York City has granted the plaintiffs’ request to send a corrected notice to class members regarding the proposed settlement (In re Electronic Books Antitrust Litigation, September 12, 2014, Cote, D.).
The publisher defendants settled the federal and state charges in September 2012. In July 2013, the court found that Apple colluded with the publishers to fix e-book prices in per se violation of the antitrust laws. In August 2014, preliminary approval of a settlement resolving the price fixing claims against Apple was granted by the court. In the order, the court concluded that there is probable cause to find that the proposed Settlement Agreement is within the range of those that may be approved as fair and reasonable and the plaintiffs’ class notification plan was appropriate.
The plaintiffs and class counsel advised the court that an email notice sent on September 10 mistakenly included language from an earlier draft notice concerning class certification. Thus, the plaintiffs were granted permission to send a corrected notice, attached to a September 12 letter indicating that it was a corrected settlement notice in the headline.
The case is No. 11 MD 2293 (DLC).
Attorneys: Christopher Lovell (Lovell Stewart Halebian Jacobson LLP) for Shilpa Grover. Alexandra Shear (Sidley Austin LLP) for MacMillian, Inc. Clifford Hank Aronson (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom) for HarperCollins Publishers. Allison Sheedy (Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP) for Penguin Group U.S.A., Inc. Christine Louise Demana (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP) for Apple Inc.
Companies: MacMillian, Inc.; HarperCollins Publishers; Penguin Group U.S.A., Inc.; Apple Inc.
Cases: Antitrust NewYorkNews