In Re Amazon.com, Inc. eBook Antitrust Litigation
- Gregory Woods
- 1:21-cv-00351
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
Fremgen v. Amazon.com: Judge Woods invited objections to Hagens Berman’s proposed interim lead-counsel appointment in related class actions.
The parties and proposed class members in the related Amazon eBook antitrust class actions, as well as anyone interested in objecting to Hagens Berman’s proposed appointment as interim lead counsel.
What happened
In In re Amazon.com, Inc. eBook Antitrust Litigation, Hagens Berman asked to be appointed interim lead counsel in several proposed class actions against Amazon and other defendants. The request was unopposed when the court considered it.
The court did not decide the appointment request. Instead, it gave interested people an opportunity to object. Any opposition was due within seven days after the order was entered, and any reply was due within four days after the opposition was filed and served.
Judge Gregory H. Woods issued the order on March 8, 2021. The order explains that federal procedural rules allow a court to appoint interim counsel before deciding whether to certify a class, but it does not state that Hagens Berman was appointed.
The detailed version
- In Re Amazon.com, Inc. eBook Antitrust Litigation · No. 1:21-cv-00351
- Gregory Woods
- Mar. 8, 2021
Background
The court was considering several related class actions against Amazon.com, Inc. and, in some of the actions, Hachette Book Group, Inc.; HarperCollins Publishers L.L.C.; Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC; Penguin Random House LLC; and Simon & Schuster, Inc. The law firm Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, identified in the order as “Hagens Berman,” filed motions on February 23, 2021, seeking appointment as interim lead counsel.
Legal standard
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(g)(3) allows a court to designate interim counsel for a proposed class before deciding whether to certify the action as a class action. The order states that the court considers the same factors used to decide whether proposed class counsel would adequately represent the class under Rule 23(g)(1)(A).
Ruling and procedure
The request for appointment was unopposed at that time. The court did not grant or deny the request in this order. Instead, it ordered that any opposition to Hagens Berman’s appointment as interim lead counsel in the listed actions had to be filed no later than seven days after entry of the order. Any reply had to be filed no later than four days after the opposition was filed and served.
Judge Gregory H. Woods entered the order on March 8, 2021. The opinion does not state the later outcome of the appointment request.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.