Apple faces as much as US$840 million in state and consumer antitrust claims related to ebook deals with publishers that led to a U.S. lawsuit and court-ordered monitor, reports “Bloomberg” (http://tinyurl.com/oohnadt)
State attorneys general and consumers who sued Apple over its e-book pricing are seeking $280 million in damages and want that amount tripled, a lawyer representing them said in a Jan. 30 filing with the federal judge who presided over the U.S. case against Apple.
The plaintiffs say they’re entitled to triple damages under antitrust law because the U.S. had already “conclusively proven” at a trial last year that Apple orchestrated a conspiracy to fix prices. The amount sought is 0.5% of the $158.8 billion in cash that Apple reported that it had as of the end of 2013.