Apple e-Book Class Action Settlement Finally Announced

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With just weeks to go before a bench trial to assess damages, Apple Inc. announced Monday it had reached a class action settlement with 33 state Attorneys General and consumers who sued the company for conspiring with e-book publishes to fix the prices of electronic books.

The terms of the Apple e-book class action settlement were not announced, but it could total hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds for consumers, who were seeking nearly $700 million.

The proposed deal marks the end of a nearly three year long legal battle that started in 2011 when consumers filed a class action lawsuit accusing Apple of conspiring with five of the country’s top book publishers to fix the prices of e-books to help Apple’s iPad compete with Kindle’s lower prices.

All five book publishers reached e-book class action settlement agreements that provided refunds to consumers, but Apple was the only defendant that refused to settle until recently.

Unlike other class action lawsuits, a judge had actually found Apple guilty of anti-competitive practices when it entered into agreements with e-book publishers to artificially increase the price of e-books sold through the iTunes store. The upcoming trial would only have been used to figure out the damages owed.

The Apple e-book settlement may face one potential hiccup, however. Apple has appealed the District Court’s July 10, 2013 Opinion and Order finding Apple liable for violating federal and state antitrust laws. Any payment made by Apple under the proposed class action settlement agreement will be contingent on the outcome of that appeal, Class Counsel told U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote in a June 16 letter. As such, notice of the Apple e-book class action settlement should be suspended until the Court reviews the appeal, the letter continued.

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals will review the case and alleged violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act soon.

Top Class Actions will update our readers when information on how to file a claim for the Apple e-book settlement becomes available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive automatic notifications when this article is updated.

The plaintiffs are represented by class action lawsuit lawyers from Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.

The Apple E-Book Price Fixing Class Action Lawsuits are consolidated as In re: Electronic Books Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2293, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

UPDATE 1: The judge presiding over the Apple e-book litigation expressed reservations about approving the proposed class action settlement, leading lawyers from both sides to go back to the drawing board to try and modify the deal.

UPDATE 2: A federal judge preliminarily approved a $450 million Apple e-book class action settlement on Aug. 1, 2014. A Final Fairness Hearing is scheduled for Nov. 21, 2014. 

UPDATE 3: A settlement website has been established for the Apple e-books class action settlement. Click here for more information.

UPDATE 4: On Nov. 21, 2014, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote granted final approval to the Apple e-book class action settlement.