Connecticut residents are beginning to receive settlement payments from ebook publishers thanks to the efforts of Attorney General George Jepsen and his peers across the country.
Nationally the settlement amounts to $166 million, with $3 million intended for Connecticut residents, or an average of 86 cents per person.
Five publishers that settled a price-fixing lawsuit will make the payments.
Apple, another defendant in the suit, did not settle. The company is appealing a Federal District Court ruling and awaits another trial to set the amount of damages.
Jepsen’s office issued a statement:
…“I encourage Connecticut consumers who filed claims or are otherwise eligible for credits through these settlements to check their email or mail and their retailer accounts to take advantage of the refunds that will begin arriving this week,” said Attorney General Jepsen.Account credits and checks will be based on the number of eligible eBooks purchased during the claims period – April 1, 2010, to May 21, 2012. Whether a consumer receives a credit or a check depends on the retailer through which the eBook was purchased and, in certain circumstances, whether a claim was properly filed. Eligible consumers should check their email for communications from their eBook retailer regarding account credits. Checks will be sent by mail to eligible consumers. For more information about the settlements, please visit www.ebookagsettlements.com.…“Consumers are entitled to a fair, open and competitive marketplace, and consumers who have suffered as a consequence of violation of antitrust laws are entitled to compensation,” the Attorney General said, “At the upcoming damages trial, Connecticut – along with Texas and New York – will be leading the effort on behalf of our partner states to obtain substantial additional compensation for consumers as well as civil penalties for the state.”Assistant Attorneys General Joseph Nielsen, Gary Becker and Richard Porter; Paralegal Specialist Holly MacDonald; and Assistant Attorney General Michael Cole, chief of the Antitrust and Government Program Fraud Department, are assisting the Attorney General in this matter.