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A lawsuit in America alleging that PRH-owned self-publishing company Author Solutions engaged in “fraudulent business activities” has been granted leave to proceed.
Author Solutions told The Bookseller it did not “comment publicly on litigation” and that its commitment to serving writers remained.
In a ruling filed in mid-April Judge Denise Cote rejected all substantive motions to dismiss the class action suit against Author Solutions, which is owned by Penguin Random House, Publishers Lunch has reported.
It also reported that one claim of “unjust enrichment based on unpaid royalties was dismissed on technical grounds”.
The allegations made about Author Solutions largely date from before the company was bought by Penguin Random House in July 2012, and in the ruling, Cote said that “all claims against Penguin are dismissed”.
The complainants in the case allege that “Author Solutions does not provide the services it promises to provide, and then pressures authors into purchasing “more, equally bogus” editing, marketing, and publishing services”.
“Author Solutions refuses to fix errors in manuscripts, implants new errors, and delays publication until authors purchase more services,” the summary of the complaints in the ruling continued. “Furthermore, Author Solutions does not pay authors their earned royalties or provide accurate sales statements.”
Publishers Lunch said the parties in the case will now “proceed to discovery and will submit a proposed pre-trial schedule to the court”.
Author Solutions told The Bookseller: “We have and will continue to play a key role in helping thousands of authors achieve their goal of bringing their books to market. Our commitment to serving them remains one of the primary reasons why more new and returning authors continue to utilise our services.”