Random House Settles Billionaire's Vinegar Lawsuit and Apologizes, Though Author Does Not - report from Publishers Lunch

Random House has settled a lawsuit brought by UK wine expert Michael Broadbent over the book BILLIONAIRE'S VINEGAR by Benjamin Wallace. The publisher apologized for allegations in the book that, as Broadbent's attorneys put it, he "had behaved in an unprofessional manner in the way in which he had auctioned some bottles [said to have been owned by Thomas Jefferson] and that his relationship and dealings with Hardy Rodenstock, who discovered the original collection, was suspected of being improper."

The NYT says Random "issued a statement in court accepting that they were not true. Random House also paid an undisclosed amount of damages to Broadbent and agreed not to distribute the book in the United Kingdom."

In a brief press statement, Crown said they "regard Ben Wallace as a writer of the highest integrity and professionalism and look forward to publishing many more books with him."Wallace was not named in the suit, and disagrees with Broadbent's contention: "I have never felt that Mr. Broadbent acted in bad faith, and contrary to his claims, I maintain that The Billionaire's Vinegar does not suggest that he did.'"

Wallace tells the Times that "because of the UK's notoriously plaintiff-friendly libel laws and conditional fee system, the company made a business decision to settle with Broadbent in order to contain its legal costs and exposure in the UK."

He notes that "the settlement does not prevent the book from being published anywhere else or require that a single word be changed." And his agent confirms that Random House's settlement had no financial consequences for the author.Broadbent's son Bartholomew "suggested that his father felt compelled to file suit because of a movie version of the book that is in the works."

NYT