March 02, 2001 Arguments Heard in Antitrust Suit Summary Judgment Motions On Tuesday, February 27, a federal district court heard arguments in a ground-breaking antitrust suit brought by the American Booksellers Association and more than 20 individual bookstores against the nation's two largest bookselling chains, Barnes & Noble and Borders. The trade association and independent bookstores filed the case in U.S. District Court in Northern California in 1998, alleging persistent, widespread violations of federal and state laws prohibiting price discrimination. After more than two years of discovery, the parties have proceeded to the summary judgment phase of the litigation, the final step before trial commences on April 9, 2001. In filings relating to the parties' summary judgment motions, the plaintiffs presented evidence showing that the defendants have engaged in a pattern of soliciting and receiving secret, discriminatory deals from book publishers and distributors. The plaintiffs' summary judgment filings, which include only a fraction of the evidence ABA and independent bookstores intend to offer at trial, also show that the plaintiffs have been economically harmed by the defendants' receipt of special deals unavailable to ABA's members. The court heard oral argument, on Tuesday, in San Francisco, on the parties' summary judgment motions. As BTW went to press, a ruling was expected shortly. The plaintiffs are confident in their claims, and look forward to the court's ruling and to the trial in April. ABA will report on the court's ruling on the summary judgment motions and will provide comprehensive coverage of the events in San Francisco in a special e-mail publication, ABA Litigation Update. Beginning on April 9, the Update and ABA's Web site www.BookWeb.org will provide daily coverage of the trial. Hut Landon, the executive director of the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association will be ABA's reporter on the spot -- providing daily dispatches of developments in the courtroom. In addition to his background as a bookseller and regional association executive director, Landon was the assistant publisher and managing editor of the Pacific Sun, an alternative weekly in Marin County. Anyone wishing to receive this electronic ABA Litigation Update should send an e-mail request to [email protected] and fill in the subject as "Opt-in to ABA Legal Update." Topics: Fair Trade (B&N, Borders), About ABA, News - Bookselling,