Several months ago, eBooks consumers filed class actions against Apple and a number of eBooks publishers alleging the defendants fixed the prices of eBooks, meaning consumers paid too much for those eBooks. The class actions seek to recover compensation for all entities injured by Defendants’ allegedly illegal practices.
Subsequently, both the Department of Justice and certain states filed actions against the same defendants making similar allegations. The states brought the actions in their “parens patriae” capacity, meaning they brought them on behalf of their residents. Recent news reports indicate that eBooks publishers Harper Collins and Hachette are in the process of setting both the Department of Justice and some of the state cases, and that these settlements may also settle the claims of the consumers in the class actions. Indeed, one commentator has noted that “[t]he publishers’ goal is to settle with all 50 states, which would take all individual consumers’ claims against Harper and Hachette out of the class action.” http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/2012/04_-_April/Are_publishers_using_state_AGs_to_undermine_e-books_class_action_/ .
This development has the potential to limit significantly the scope of the ongoing class action.  It seems certain that the reach of the state settlements will be hotly contested.
