2nd Circuit Ruling Sets Back Google Books Case

A two-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday rejected an $18 million settlement in the long-running class action suit filed by freelance writers following the landmark Tasini case, and in the process have likely killed the chances of a revised Google settlement. In a 2-1 ruling, the second circuit yesterday held that the district court which approved a settlement between freelance writers and publishers in the class action case known shorthand as Freelance "abused its discretion in certifying the class and approving the Settlement, because the named plaintiffs failed to adequately represent the interests of all class members." New York Law Schoolâ??s James Grimmelmann didnâ??t mince words. "The Google Books settlementâ??any settlementâ??is now dead," he noted. "There is no square one: this case is going back to litigation."