Wednesday, November 4, 2015

The End of the Elloras Cave Versus Dear Author Saga

I waited a while before I wrote this post to collect my thoughts. My initial opinion is What A Gigantic Waste of Time!

That's the former lawyer in me raising her bleary head. Between a little litigation experience and clerking for a county judge, I figured the suit would end on October 22nd after perusing the latest documentation of the case. That was the date scheduled for the Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment Hearing. I hate it that I was right. Except instead of a judgment, the parties settled prior to the scheduled hearing.

Here's my previous thoughts on why EC's lawsuit wasn't a good idea and how the whole fiasco damaged the principals' reputations.

Of course, the settlement has a non-disclosure agreement so neither party can talk about the actually terms. There's quite a few people upset over the settlement, thinking DA has paid off EC.

I really doubt that's the situation Based on my experience (which like this case, I can't talk specifics because of NDAs) and after wading through the pleadings and exhibits, my GUESS is the parties agreed to walk away and pay their own attorneys' fees.

Again, that's my GUESS. The only people who know for sure are Jennifer Garrish-Lampe, Tina Engler and their attorneys.

The important thing is that real discussions of events and companies within the publishing industry was not chilled. Silencing people helps no one in the fucking business. That fear of being blackballed is why so many publishers' contracts contain so many terms detrimental to writers.

I really can't add anything that other blogs haven't already covered, and covered much more extensively and eloquently. If you're curious, check out the following:

The Passive Voice
Deidre Saoirse Moen
Courtney Milan

All I can say is thank Goddess it's over, and I hope the other EC authors wanting their rights back get them. Unfortunately, I doubt if the authors, editors and artists will ever see another penny of what they are owed.

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