Apple has gotten a U.S. appeals court to consider delaying its eBook price fixing July trial.
Reuters has the story: “The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said in a brief order on Friday that a three-judge panel will hear Apple’s argument on why the trial should be put on hold while it appeals a judge’s ruling that it conspired with five publishers to raise e-book prices. The judge, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in New York, had denied Apple’s request to postpone the trial on Wednesday. Cote ruled last year after a non-jury trial that Apple had conspired with the publishers in an effort to impede competitors such as Amazon.com Inc.”
Apple was found guilty of eBook price fixing in July 2013. Since then the judge ordered a trial to determine the damages that Apple would have to pay. Some estimate that Apple could pay as much as $840 million in damages. Apple appealed the eBook judgement in February, but a federal appellate court rejected Apple’s request.