Penguin latest to settle e-book price-fixing claim

Another out-of-court settlement is reached with a major publisher in a class-action lawsuit over the price of e-books.

Penguin has agreed to pay $75 million to resolve claims of price fixing, according to attorney Jeff Friedman with Hagens Berman, based in Seattle. He said it’s the latest settlement involving five publishers. “Thousands of consumers overpaid ultimately hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Including the Penguin deal, other agreements bring the total settlement to $160 million.

The U.S. Justice Department joined 33 states, including Washington, in the lawsuit.

“We allege that five of the largest book publishers in the United States, and Apple, conspired to raise e-book prices,” said Friedman. Under terms of the settlements, e-book customers will eventually get a credit or cash payment.

“We have effectively gotten pricing control away from the publishers and back into the hands of retailers, like Amazon,” said Friedman.

The publishers involved in the lawsuit include Hachette, Harper-Collins, Penguin, McMillan and Simon and Schuster. Apple is the only publisher that has declined to settle out-of-court and is set for trial in June.