This afternoon's news about the latest stage in the ongoing suit against Author Solutions reminded me of another potential lawsuit I have been following.
A couple months ago a reader tipped me to the news* that Reagent Press, a small publisher based in the state of Washington, is "seeking class-action participants in a potentially $1B lawsuit against Amazon". Naturally that piqued my interest, so I sent them an email.
I never got a response to that email, so when I was reminded of that potential Amazon lawsuit this afternoon, I followed up. I snarkily asked whether they usually ignored press queries, and was told this:
Thank you for your inquiry and follow up. I see you have a nicely done blog, but regardless of whether you were an actual accredited member of the press, I'm sure you know we can't comment on ongoing litigation.
Yes, this publisher is looking for other potential litigants, but they won't actually say - even in the most general terms - why they want to sue Amazon (it's a secret).
I'd hazard a guess that this has to do with publishers' dealings with Amazon, but that is just speculation. Does anyone know what's going on?
I'm asking not just for my own interest but also for potential members of the class. Lord knows Amazon has pulled enough crap over the years that they could be sued six ways from Sunday.
If you have any background info you can share either on or off the record, I would love to hear it.
P.S. I'm ashamed to say I can't recall who sent me this tip. Mea culpa.
image by umjanedoan
Their website tells visitors to contact them for more info regarding the lawsuit.
Do you know anybody at a small press who might be willing to squeal? 😉
My first thought would be they are upset by the exclusivity requirement of KU.
Lots of indies and small presses seem to think they should be entitled to all the perks Amazon can offer just by asking, with no reciprocal commitment.
I’ve heard that the guy behind this press is a nutter, so it’s probably nothing.
http://conjugalfelicity.com/robert-stanek/
You’ve read this right?
Thank you.
I hadn’t seen that, no, but it matches with what I had been told.
You’re welcome. The funniest thing on there is the one about his army of sock-puppet accounts. http://conjugalfelicity.com/robert-stanek/an-army-of-sockpuppets/
Especially what happened with Library Thing.
http://www.librarything.com/topic/98626#2431129
Basically I think the reason why he’s trying to file a suit against Amazon is because they took down all the reviews about his fantasy books online.
http://conjugalfelicity.com/robert-stanek/a-very-stanek-2012/
Okay, I’ve now read bits and pieces. Well, holy fuck.
I need to go take a shower and get a drink.
Damn. Baby why you gotta be so mean?
Just so I know, where does one get one of those media accreditations?
Sell your soul to Rupert Murdock.
A cracker jack box, I think.
The guy behind the lawsuit is Robert Stanek. He’s a terrible self-published author and a fraud. It was discovered that he had posted hundreds of false reviews on Amazon promoting his books, while also bashing his competition. Amazon has deleted many of the reviews as a result. Stanek has also lied about winning awards (of which he has none) and being placed on various best seller lists (also false). This isn’t the first he has threatened bogus lawsuits. Many book critics and casual reviewers have received angry emails from Stanek posing as his own lawyer. Other reviewers have reported receiving threats of violence from Stanek using fake accounts. Unfortunately there is no wikipedia page for Stanek since he abused their site too often with fake entries. However if you google his name and the word “fraud” you’ll find tons of information on the guy.
Yes, I think he’s mentioned in an earlier comment. He’s a piece of work.