A New York appellate court has rejected an appeal by HarperCollins that sought to overturn a lower court's decision to grant class certification to a lawsuit brought against the publisher by two authors that charged HC with breach of contract. Robert I. Lax, attorney for the two named plaintiffs in the case, Ken Englade and Patricia Simpson, said that with the decision his office has begun the process of notifying all authors who had their books published by HC between January 1, 1993, and April 20, 2001, that they are part of the class action unless they choose to opt out of the case.
The lawsuit was originally filed in late 1999 and alleges that HC has deprived U.S. authors of royalties by selling books to its affiliate companies (primarily HC Canada) at deep discounts (News, Nov. 15, 1999). In allowing the suit to move forward as a class action, the four-judge panel held that while "individual authors may have different levels of damages [that] does not defeat class certification." The judges added that while Englade may not have earned out his advance, he still had standing in the suit because he "adequately alleged damages" attributable to HC.
A conference has been set for February 1 in front of New York Supreme Court trial judge Paula Omansky to decide the contents to be included in the notification sent to authors as well as to set a schedule for discovery. Lax said he anticipates that discovery proceedings will be completed by the end of the year, although he doesn't expect to go to trial until 2003. With discovery only beginning, Lax said he has not yet determined the amount of damages he will be asking for, but he noted, "We'll have a number for the jury."
In a prepared statement, HC said it was disappointed by the decision, arguing that its relationship with each author is unique and should not be treated as a class action. The statement noted that the ruling was only on a procedural point, and that, regarding charges of breach of contract, HC considers its terms to be "fair and reasonable." The company said it is confident it will "ultimately prevail."
