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Baker & Taylor Settles Federal Lawsuit Baker & Taylor, Inc.( 06/30/1999 ) Baker & Taylor announced today that in order to avoid the delay, expense, inconvenience and uncertainty of protracted litigation it has settled all claims from the U.S. Department of Justice's suit related to alleged violations of the federal False Claims Act. The Company settled the four-year old lawsuit for $3 million, an amount less than it has already spent on legal fees. In the settlement, the Justice Department released B&T from all civil liability, while acknowledging that B&T does not admit guilt and continues to deny all allegations. "The decision to settle was not an easy one, as we firmly believe we did nothing wrong," said Craig Richards, CEO of Baker & Taylor. "Throughout the four-year ordeal we believe the government never achieved a fair understanding of our business. As a result they became mired in the litigation process. The government's simplistic, one-size-fits-all view of the industry sought to ignore the complexities of the business and the many differences between the various book-buying constituencies. Given the government's conduct of this case over the last four years, and the outlook for a protracted legal battle for several years to come, we believe a settlement of the case is in the best interests of our customers, employees, and shareholders." Richards said the settlement was "the prudent business decision," even though he continues to believe B&T would be exonerated if the case had gone clear through trial. He cited several B&T victories in court, including the dismissal of both "whistle-blowers" (along with their contingent fee law firm) who brought the original complaint against B&T, and a court ruling that the Justice Department was guilty of misconduct in its pursuit of the case, a ruling that was later affirmed on appeal. Several states filed a motion to intervene in the federal suit, and California had actually joined the Department of Justice action. With the settlement and the dismissal of the federal charges, it is unclear what action these states will take when faced with the necessity of pursuing their interests through separate lawsuits. "We hope this settlement - for a small sum relative to the expense and pain of the government's four-year proceeding against us - signals to these states that the charges were without merit," said Richards. "However, if these states do continue to pursue legal action against B&T, we will continue this fight in the state courts until Baker & Taylor is exonerated." "We want to thank our customers for supporting us during this unfortunate experience. Our business has grown substantially during this period as we continued to broaden the range of products and services we provide to the nation's libraries and booksellers," stated Richards. Baker & Taylor, Inc., based in Charlotte, N.C., is a global information and entertainment services company that offers a wide range of products and services to libraries, educational institutions, e-retailers and traditional retailers. |
