According to a recent filing, publishers have paid a total of $166,158,426 to settle state and consumer e-book price fixing charges, including an additional $3,909,000 to settle consumer claims in Minnesota. The figures come from a letter filed with Judge Denise Cote earlier this month by Texas attorney general Greg Abbott, and do not include legal fees and other court costs. Minnesota was not part of the original state suit and pursued its own litigation.
Notably, the letter includes the total damage awards calculated by the states and lists the amount publishers agreed to pay as a percentage of those damages. In that regard, the deals look pretty good for the initial three settling publishers (Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster). Hachette was calculated to be on the hook for a total of $62,280,000, but has paid $32,686,165, roughly 52% of what it was liable for. HarperCollins paid $20,168,710, about 65% of $31,140,000 it was assessed for. And Simon & Schuster was on the hook for $42,920,000, and paid $18,303,551 or 42% of assessed damages.
Penguin and Macmillan, meanwhile, appear to have paid a premium for being the last two publishers to settle claims. Penguin, which struck a deal just days before Apple's June trial, agreed to pay $75 million to settle calculated damages of $62,128,000, or 121% of its assessed liability. Macmillan, which settled in March, paid $20 million to settle damage claims of $18,515,000—or, 108% of their liability.
In all, the total damages assessed to the publishers came in at $218,883,000, with 76% of those funds ($166,158,426) collected. And that figure could jump considerably now that Apple has been found liable at trial. Pending a reversal on appeal, Apple will eventually have to pay to settle the state and consumer claims as well.
