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A woman who founded the publishing firm which initially released Fifty Shades of Grey has been ordered by a US judge to set aside $10.7m (£6.9m) for her former partner after being found guilty of defrauding her out of royalties for the book.
Australian Amanda Hayward and Jennifer Pedroza were partners in The Writers Coffee Shop, a small online publishing firm that initially issued the Fifty Shades of Grey series.
The BBC has reported that a judge found that Hayward, who signed the deal on behalf of the firm, tricked Pedroza into signing a restructuring contract that cut her out of royalties rights.
In February, a jury decided that Pedroza had been cheated when the rights were sold to Random House. The judge said an exact amount of the settlement would be worked out once the two sides had reached agreement.
The 'Fifty Shades' trilogy by EL James has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide. The latest release from the series, Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian reported ‘record breaking’ sales on its first day.
The recent film adaptation of 'Fifty Shades of Grey' netted more than $570m (£368m) at global box offices.