Apple Starts To Shell Out $400 Million To Customers In eBook Settlement (cnet.com) 30
An anonymous reader writes: Starting today, millions of e-book purchasers will get either credits or checks for twice their losses, said legal firm Hagens Berman, which helped litigate the class action lawsuit. CNET reports: "Apple is on the hook for $400 million in damages plus an additional $30 million to pay the legal fees for Hagens Berman and $20 million to the state attorney generals who became involved in the case. On an individual basis, each plaintiff in the suit will receive $1.57 in credit for most e-books they bought and a $6.93 credit for every e-book purchased that was on the New York Times bestseller list. Consumers who purchased e-books from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Apple between April 1, 2010 and May 21, 2012 are eligible to receive credits deposited directly in their accounts or checks sent through the mail. In August 2011, a lawsuit filed by two individuals accused Apple of conspiring to fix e-book prices with five publishers: Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Holtzbrinck Publishers, Penguin Group and Simon and Schuster. The DoJ and the attorneys general of several states joined in with their own suits against the publishers. The lawsuits charged that the actions of Apple and the publishers prevented other e-book sellers from competing on price, thereby increasing the prices that consumers had to pay for e-books. After being found guilty of violating antitrust laws by a U.S. District Judge in 2013 and by an Appeals court in 2015, Apple's request for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied this past March, forcing it to settle with the plaintiffs."
Re:Class Actions (Score:4, Informative)
I received a $64 credit on Amazon today.
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I received a $64 credit on Amazon today.
I got and spent my credit today. ;-)
Re: Class Actions (Score:2)
My wife bought shoes.
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How do you know how much you received? I got notified by B&N but nothing from Amazon.
I got $11.64 (Score:5, Interesting)
On an individual basis, each plaintiff in the suit will receive $1.57 in credit for most e-books they bought and a $6.93 credit for every e-book purchased that was on the New York Times bestseller list.
So clearly, one best seller and three less well received e-books.
It's like when the cell carrier gives settlements for unethical 3rd party billing; except for the attorneys' cuts, it's pretty much all feed for chickens.
Re: I got $11.64 (Score:1)
How brutal is that? Giving out discounts for the next time you do business with the company that was found guilty of breaking consumer protection laws.
First Time (Score:1)
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You also got Apple to stop colluding to raise e-book prices. Or at least be more secretive about it.
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Sweet (Score:3, Informative)
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Um, Apple scammed everyone, Amazon was forced to sell books for higher prices. Amazon, B&N, etc didn't break the law, Apple did.
You were scammed by Apple, even if you were buying a book from one of the other sellers.
Can't even FIND mine on Barnes and Noble. . . (Score:2)
. . . as, for my sins, I originally bought a Nook.
Their ebook settlement guidebook suggests you won't know your balance from the settlement UNTIL you make a purchase. . .
Nice. . .
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Settlement spent (Score:2)
$193 and change.... (Score:1)