Carl Person, the attorney representing the Intimate Bookshop in its price-discrimination lawsuit against Barnes & Noble and Borders Group (News, Aug. 10, 1998), has filed a motion with Judge William Orrick requesting that the court provide Person with a variety of confidential materials that had been prepared by the American Booksellers Association and the chains in the association's recently concluded lawsuit against the two retailers.
Under the agreement between the ABA and the chains, all documents pertaining to the ABA's case are to be destroyed. But Person is hoping to persuade Judge Orrick, who presided over the ABA trial, to release the documents to help him prepare his case against B&N and Borders. Person is particularly interested in receiving expert reports and supporting documents that are currently under seal. In his motion, Person argues that many of the charges made by Intimate against the chains are similar to those made by the ABA, and that the sealed materials are relevant to the lawsuit Intimate is pursuing in the Southern District of New York against the two chains. Orrick has scheduled a hearing on the matter for June 14 in San Francisco.
