Apple Settles EBook PriceFixing Lawsuit
Apple has reached an out-of-court settlement with plaintiffs seeking compensation for an alleged e-book price-fixing scheme, according to a Monday court filing. Apple will pay an undisclosed sum to customers who accuse the company of driving up e-book prices by allegedly striking a deal to fix prices with five major U.S. book publishers. The class-action lawsuit, representing customers in 33 states, claimed that Apple had overcharged its plaintiffs by 280 million and sought triple that amount in damages, the Wall Street Journal reports. The settlement comes one year after a Manhattan court ruled in a related anti-trust case that Apple was guilty of price-fixing. Apple has appealed the ruling, maintaining that it was innocent of any wrongdoing as the case triggered two separate class-action lawsuits. Monday's settlement payment is contingent on the ruling of the appeals court.