In re: Inclusive Access Course Materials Antitrust Litigation (Pearson Education named defendant)
MDL No. 2946
Court
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Judge Denise Cote, transferee)
Plaintiffs
Independent college bookstores and online textbook resellers (Campus Book Co. and others); college and graduate students (Pelletier, Kinskey)
Defendants
Pearson Education, Inc.; Cengage Learning, Inc.; McGraw-Hill Global Education Holdings, LLC; Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC; Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.; Follett Higher Education Group, Inc.; Educational Publishers Enforcement Group
Causes of action
Sherman Antitrust Act §§ 1, 2; Clayton Act; state antitrust and unfair competition statutes
Settlement
None
Allegations
Defendants conspired through "Inclusive Access" digital-textbook bundles to monopolize the textbook market, suppress the secondhand market, and raise prices for students. Pearson 20-F filings reference 14 U.S. lawsuits and 1 Canadian antitrust lawsuit related to Inclusive Access.
Outcome / Status
Dismissed for lack of standing (indirect-purchaser doctrine for students; failure to plausibly plead anticompetitive agreement for resellers).
Appellate history
None