A Thousand Little Refunds

OCTOBER 1--Of the four million readers who have bought "A Million Little Pieces," James Frey's discredited memoir, only 1345 have sought refunds as part of a federal class action lawsuit brought last year against the author and Random House, his former publisher.

While those disgruntled readers can expect small refund checks (the paperback retailed for $14.95), lawyers representing the class members are seeking $788,333.33 in legal fees, according to a declaration filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. In that filing, a copy of which you'll find here, plaintiff attorney Evan Smith notes that the six-figure payout would cover fees and expenses for ten separate firms that have worked on the case (after individual complaints were filed in various federal jurisdictions, the litigation was consolidated into one class action case).

A second court filing by Smith disclosed that, as of September 17, 1345 claims had been submitted to the class action administrator (though Smith estimated that number could rise to 1600 by the submission deadline, which is today). Smith also noted that it cost about $335,000 to publicize the proposed book refund settlement in newspaper advertisements. It is unclear what the Minnesota-based class action administrator stands to earn for its work on the "A Million Little Pieces" settlement.

While Random House and Frey agreed to pay up to $2.35 million, it does not appear that the settlement's final cost will approach that figure. As part of that agreement, the author and publisher have agreed to charitable contributions that could be in excess of $235,000, according to a filing by Smith, who added that recipients of such grants would be jointly chosen by the plaintiffs and defendants. (5 pages)