Hagens Berman filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit claiming that Apple Inc. and five of the nation’s top publishers, including HarperCollins Publishers, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group Inc. and Simon & Schuster Inc. illegally fix prices of electronic books, also known as e-books.
Final settlements have been reached with all of the defendants. Hagens Berman, working with the State Attorneys General in 33 jurisdictions, reached a settlement with Apple to provide $400 million in compensation to consumers for overpayment on e-books. When combined with prior settlements with the publisher defendants, consumers will receive more than $560 million – more than twice the amount of losses suffered by consumers.
A trial in the Attorney General lawsuit against Apple was held in June 2013. The U.S. District Court decided Apple violated antitrust laws. The Court has found that there was a conspiracy among five top U.S. publishers (Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster) and Apple to fix and raise the retail prices of e-books. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the District Court’s decision.
If you purchased one or more e-books from Apr. 1, 2010 through May 21, 2012 that were published by any of the Settling Publishers, you may have received payment from the Apple Settlement.
The Second Circuit dismissed the appeals of objectors in this litigation, and the Supreme Court denied Apple’s request for review of the Second Circuit’s affirmance of its liability finding against Apple.
CASE TIMELINE
The court approved a re-distribution of remaining funds from the Apple Settlement on September 7, 2017 to customers that used their credit or cashed their check from the first Apple distribution that concluded in June of 2017.
The claims period for the original set of settlements in the e-books antitrust case ended on June 30, 2016. Plaintiffs and the litigating Attorneys General will be working with the court to distribute remaining funds to consumers.
Consumers begin receiving settlement checks. more »
The Supreme Court denies Apple’s appeal regarding its liability for the alleged e-book price-fixing scheme. Consumers will receive an additional $400 million in compensation. more »
Second Circuit denies Apple's appeal, bringing consumers closer to proposed $450 million settlement with Apple. more »
Pending the Second Circuit Court’s decision, Apple will pay consumers $400 million. This settlement combined with additional settlements from the publishing companies will total $560 million – twice the amount of damages suffered by the class.
U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote provided preliminary approval to a series of settlements between states, consumers, and five publishers.
Penguin agreed to $75 million settlement.
United States District Judge Denise Cote rejected Apple and the publishers’ motion to dismiss.
Hagens Berman Appointed Lead Counsel
