Attorney General George Jepsen announced that e-book publisher Penguin has agreed to a price fixing settlement that will provide approximately $3 million in refunds to Connecticut consumers.
Jepsen joined with Attorney Generals in 32 other states to sue electronic book publishers over alleged price fixing and collusion. Penguin is the fifth publisher to agree to a settle the lawsuit brought on by the states, which has resulted in the publishers paying over $164 million in settlement fees to consumers.
“Consumers are entitled to a fair, open and competitive marketplace,” said Attorney General Jepsen said in a release. “This agreement is yet another step toward providing restitution to those consumers who were harmed by alleged price-fixing within the eBook market and will further ensure that, going forward, consumers benefit from fair competition in the sale of eBooks.”
Jepsen said Connecticut and Texas will be taking Apple, Inc. to trial on June 3 on behalf of the other member states in the effort.
“We will aggressively seek to obtain additional compensation for consumers in our respective states who have been injured by the illegal conspiracy we allege in our complaint,” Jepesen said.
In February Macmillan settled their portion of the suit for $12 million. Hachette Book Group, Inc., Harper Collins Publishers LLC and Simon & Schuster, Inc also settled claims brought on by the states.
Consumers seeking more information can vist ebookagsettlements.com to obtain more information on receiving rebates. The rebate process will vary depending on where consumers purchased the books.
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