Judge Cote Sets eBook Lawsuit Trial Date for June 3, 2013

PublishersLunch

At a status conference Friday afternoon in federal court Judge Denise Cote set a trial date of June 3, 2013 for the DOJ's ebook price fixing lawsuit against remaining plaintiffs Apple, Penguin, and Macmillan. And as widely noted already, June 3 also marks the beginning of next year's Book Expo conference; it's not clear as to whether Judge Cote chose the date by design. What is clear is that Judge Cote wants the case to move swiftly, since the date she chose is more than three months ahead of the September 30, 2013 date proposed by the DOJ. "Several parties, Apple and DOJ are pushing for a fast trial as fast as can be accomplished that is consistent with justice," Cote said, according to Bloomberg.
In addition, Connecticut Assistant Attorney General Gary Becker told Cote that all 50 states should be settling with Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster -- the publishers who have already settled with the DOJ -- by August 10. "We are in the process of getting the other states to sign on," Becker said. "I think we're off to a good start. I have no reason to believe they won’t sign up."


Separately, the deadline to submit public comment on the DOJ's settlement with Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster is midnight tonight. 
Comments should be directed to:

John Read
Chief Litigation III Section
Antitrust Division
U.S. Department of Justice
450 5th Street, NW, Suite 4000
Washington, DC 20530
john.read@usdoj.gov