Book publishers Cengage Learning, Inc. and Hachette Book Group, Inc. just filed a motion to intervene as plaintiffs in the existing lawsuit In re Google Generative AI, a case filed on July 11, 2023 that is now before Judge Eumi Lee.
The book publishers are represented by lawyers from the law firms of Edelson PC and Oppenheim + Zebrak LLP. Both firms are seeking an award of attorneys’ fees as a part of the Bartz v. Anthropic class action settlement, even though they were not approved as one of the 2 firms acting as Class Counsel.
Before his retirement, Judge Alsup roundly criticized their request and took the position that he “oppos[ed] any award at all for these firms” (at p. 9). But the ultimate decision on both the final approval of the settlement and any award of attorneys’ fees to Class Counsel and law firms not appointed Class Counsel will be in the hands of Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin, who was reassigned the case following Judge Alsup’s retirement.
Cengage Learning, Inc. and Hachette Book Group, Inc. want to intervene in the existing lawsuit against Google instead of filing their own new lawsuit independent of the existing consolidated case filed by book authors led by Jill Leovy and visual artists led by Jingna Zhang.
Here’s part of their justification:
The publishers appear to assume Judge Lee will grant class certification — which has not been decided yet. The hearing on class certification is set for February 4, 2026. The book publishers proposed a hearing on their motion to intervene on May 6, 2026.
Proposed Complaint of Cengage Learning and Hachette:
MOTION TO INTERVENE
