AG Secures $69M with 3 Publishers Over E-Book Price Fixing

JACKSON, MS (Oct. 17, 2012) --Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood and 54 attorneys general in other states, districts and U.S. territories have reached an antitrust settlement with three of the largest book publishers in the United States -- Hachette Book Group Inc., HarperCollins Publishers L.L.C. and Simon & Schuster Inc -- which has resulted in more than $69 million being returned to consumers to resolve antitrust claims of an alleged unlawful conspiracy to fix the prices of electronic books (E-books). The publishers have also agreed to change the way they price E-books going forward.

The settlement occurs in conjunction with a civil antitrust lawsuit filed recently in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster. In the lawsuit, the States allege that the three settling publishers and others (known as the Agency Five) “conspired and agreed to increase retail E-book prices for all consumers” and “agreed to eliminate E-book retail price competition between E-book outlets, such that retail prices to consumers would be the same regardless of the outlet patronized by the consumer.”

The lawsuit and settlement stem from a two-year antitrust investigation which developed evidence of a conspiracy by the Agency Five to end E-Book retailers' freedom to compete on price by taking control of pricing from E-Book retailers and substantially increasing the prices that consumers paid for E-Books. As a result of this conduct, the States allege that consumers paid millions of dollars more for their e-books.

“Our legal action sends a strong message that competitors cannot get away with price-fixing,” Hood said. “Colluding to fix prices raises costs for customers, who, in this case, have paid millions dollars more for some of the most popular E-Book titles. In addition to the restitution consumers will receive, this settlement will restore competition in the E-Book market by promoting E-Book competition among retailers. "

If the Court gives final approval to the settlements, Hatchette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster will compensate consumers who purchased E-books from any of the Agency Five during the period of April 1, 2010 through May 21, 2012. Consumers in Mississippi are expected to receive up to $407,823 in total compensation. The settling defendants will also pay approximately $7.5 million to the states for fees and costs.

Most people eligible to receive restitution have already received notice by email or postcard from E-book retailers who volunteered to provide notice as a service to their customers. Anyone who thinks they may be included but who has not received notice should visitwww.EBookAGSettlements.com or call 1-866-621-4153 to learn more about the settlements and decide whether or not to file a claim. Claim forms must be filed online or postmarked by December 12, 2012. Links to the settlement site can also be found atwww.agjimhood.com on the main page under “Important”. Click on “E-Book settlement”.

In addition to paying the $69 million consumer compensation, Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster have agreed to terminate their existing agency agreements with certain retailers, requiring the publishers to grant those retailers–such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble–the freedom to reduce the prices of their E-book titles. For two years they will be prohibited from making any new agreements that constrain retailers’ ability to offer consumer discounts or other promotions which encourage the sale of e-Books. The settlement agreement also precludes the three publishers from further conspiring or sharing competitively sensitive information with their competitors for five years.

 

Young People Needed for Bone Marrow Drive

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MOSS POINT, Miss. -- Rotary Club President Linda Walsh is really hoping for a good turnout among young people at a bone marrow drive set Thursday in honor of Mississippi Gulf Coast native and Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts.

"We are so excited to have this for Robin Roberts," said Walsh. "She is doing so well. We are happy to be able to draw attention to the fact that so many more people need to register."

She said members of the Moss Point Rotary Club only recently learned that the national registry -- www.bethematch.org -- has changed its age limit, down from 18 to 60 years old to those ages 18-44. The change took effect Oct. 1.

"This is a big, big deal as far as getting younger people out," she said Tuesday.

She said the age change eliminates the large number of retirees in Jackson County who normally volunteer and participate in community events.

"There's not one Rotary member that's young enough to register, but we are very excited to support it and to come out."

Moss Point High seniors and ROTC members will earn service hours while they help register residents from noon to 6 p.m. at Dantzler United Methodist Church. "We hope teachers and students can come during lunch time," said Walsh.

"We are reaching out to high school students who are over 18, college students, young professionals like young attorneys, anybody at the hospitals, young teachers, anybody under 44," said Walsh.

Mary Lesueur, account executive with bethematch.org, said the age limit was reduced to increase the quality of bone marrow donations. "Those donors yield better results for the patients. The patients have a better outcome," she said.

Walsh said the other big deal about the bone marrow drive is that it takes only 10 minutes for residents to do paperwork and get a cheek swab to be placed on the registry. "We're hoping to get 100. That's our magic number."

Lesueur said that 35,000 people nationwide have registered since Roberts announced her need for a bone marrow transplant.
 
Roberts, a native of Pass Christian, announced in June that she had developed myelodysplastic syndrome, a blood and bone marrow disease that, in a rare instance, resulted from chemotherapy treatments for her previous breast cancer. She had chemo-therapy treatments during the summer and a transplant during September. Her sister, Sally-Ann Roberts, donated the bone marrow.

AG: October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

JACKSON, Miss. (Oct. 2) -- As we enter the month of October, recognized by both federal and state authorities as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Attorney General Jim Hood encourages us all to take some time and remember our fellow Mississippians who are in danger every day in their own homes.

“Unfortunately, rather than being a safe haven, the home remains one of the most dangerous places for many of our citizens,” says Hood.

The domestic violence offense report database, maintained by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Domestic Violence Division, indicates that domestic violence remains one of the most common calls to which our law enforcement officers respond. Since Jan. 1, 2012, Mississippi law enforcement officers have investigated and entered into the database over 7,500 reports of domestic violence. 

 

Our courts are also seeing firsthand the prevalence of this problem; since that same date, Mississippi courts have issued over 1,700 domestic abuse protection orders to protect victims of domestic abuse and their children from dangerous abusers. Even more tragic, since Jan. 1, 2012, the Attorney General’s Domestic Violence Division has been able to identify 17 separate incidents of family violence which resulted in the homicide deaths of 19 people and the suicides of four others.

“It is simply disgraceful that offenses of this nature continue to occur in our communities," said Attorney General Hood. " It is the duty of all Mississippians to speak out and do all that they can to help combat this form of domestic terrorism. ”

“The overwhelming grief of the families and friends of those who were physically harmed or lost their lives is hard to imagine, particularly when you consider that these cases don’t happen in a vacuum, that in many instances these offenders had been arrested and charged with violence against their loved ones in the past," says Heather Wagner, director of the Attorney General's Domestic Violence Division.

 

 "It is frustrating that in many instances the offenders are permitted to continue their patterns of abuse and terror against their victims. It is our job to help provide necessary tools to the justice system that will help in meaningful ways, before the situations rise to the level of a homicide,” said Wagner.

The Mississippi Attorney General’s office continues to work to support the justice system to help bring an end to domestic violence in Mississippi. During the last fiscal year, staff of the Domestic Violence Division developed new reference materials for use by law enforcement officers, and trained over 1500 law enforcement personnel on the laws and methods to assist officers to ascertain the potential for lethality in domestic violence cases.

 

Law enforcement officers who receive training are better able to make appropriate arrests and charging decisions, thus resulting in more effective prosecution, providing a very real deterrent for offenders. Dispatchers and court personnel were also trained by division staff. In addition, the division maintains the statewide offense report database and protection order registry, which once fully implemented by law enforcement and the courts, will give an accurate picture of the incidence of domestic violence on a statewide level for the first time.

“Whether you are a law enforcement officer, prosecutor, judge, or simply a neighbor, friend or co-worker, each of us has a role in helping hold offenders accountable for their criminal actions and providing services and resources for victims," said Hood.

 

"Even if all you can do is listen to a victim’s story and encourage him or her to reach out for help or provide information on resources to them, you have taken an important step. We cannot continue to be complacent about this issue if we ever hope to overcome it.

 

"If not every day, at least for the month of October, let’s try to keep our victims in our thoughts and prayers and do whatever is in our power to help them survive.”

 

Contact: Jan Schaefer, Public Information Officer, 601-359-3002, jscha@ago.state.ms.us