A recent Bill Bryson lawsuit has raised questions about the ethics of a successful publicist. The plaintiff sought punitive damages from Scherer for using images from an interview she conducted 20 years ago. The judge sided with Bryson and criticized the publicist for his “professional unethical.” Despite the lack of evidence to support the claim, a jury found Scherer guilty of violating the Florida Rules of Professional Conduct and breaching his duty of fairness.
The lawsuit has drawn widespread attention because it involves the content of Bill Bryson’s work.
Though he is best known for his humorous travel books, Bryson has gotten into trouble with other publishers because of his alleged behavior. In particular, Transworld claims that the publisher of a book by Bill Bryson, Jed Mattes Inc., copyrighted an interview Bryson gave more than 20 years ago. Former publisher Mike Gerrard republished this interview in an e-book on Amazon. Since then, the publisher has removed the Kindle Single.
The author, meanwhile, has said that his legal team is trying to get his books pulled from Amazon. He has been censoring his Twitter feed, but he still manages to get the headlines. This case is an example of how the media monopolies have the power to affect the rights of writers. A lawsuit filed by a writer can make a big difference in the market. Even if a book does not sell well, a large number of sales can be destroyed by one mistake. Besides, people are willing to pay a high price to read a book by a famous author.
Bryson was never paid royalties by his literary agent Jed Mattes Inc., which he had no control over.
The publisher also didn’t give Bryson royalty, which made it impossible for him to receive money from the book. It’s no wonder that the publisher would refuse to pay the author’s royalties. In a recent lawsuit, he was awarded a substantial settlement.
The plaintiff’s lawsuit asserts that Fred Morris acted as Bryson’s literary agent and failed to perform his duties. He was unreliable and refused to give Bryson independent accounting, and he did not provide Bryson with a written copy of the books. A lawyer can help a client recover damages in several ways. If the defendant has not paid the author’s royalties, he may be held liable for the same amount.
A court found that Jed Mattes Inc. did not perform the basic duties of a literary agent.
However, Bryson filed a lawsuit against the agency after it terminated his agreement with the agency. The company’s decision was not responsible for Bryson’s success, but they did not pay his legal fees. A faulty legal representative can be a liability in a case. But, a lawyer’s role is crucial to successful litigation.
The law firm of Fred Morris, Bryson’s former literary agent, denied any wrongdoing by Morris. The plaintiff alleges that Fred failed to perform his duties and was dishonest. While he did not break the law, the company did not pay his lawyer’s salary. The two parties agreed to a settlement in which the former literary agent would pay the writer’s legal costs. If the settlement does not occur, the defendant is not responsible for the cost of the lawsuit.
While Bryson is known for his popular travel books, a copyright claim by Transworld claims that the author, as a publicist, has “copied” the interview he gave twenty years ago.
Previously, the publisher of Passport magazine, Mike Gerrard republished the interview as an e-book. The e-book has since been removed by Amazon. Although it is not clear whether he violated the law, the Transworld lawsuit reveals the company’s deception and misconduct.
The defendant’s actions as a literary agent were injurious to Bryson. He allegedly did not perform his basic agent duties, including not disclosing his true earnings. He even stonewalled inquiries from Bill Bryson and publishers. This is a sign that the former literary agent acted improperly. The allegations against him are unfounded and he has been unable to prove his innocence. He has a long history of misrepresentation and claims that he has been mistreated by his former literary agent.