About.com/Primedia Lawsuit

Levinson et al. v. About.com.

Read the 2002 amended complaint (full text)

Read the court's 2007 summary judgment (PDF)

Read the court's 2009 memorandum and order (PDF)

Updated June 6, 2009

by Durant Imboden

In March, 2002, 34 former and current About.com "Guides" filed a class-action suit in New York against About.com, Primedia (its former corporate owner), ex-About.com CEO Scott Kurnit, and unnamed "John Does." An amended complaint was filed in November, 2002, with 77 named plaintiffs, and the number of named plaintiffs later climbed to 82. Major claims in the lawsuit include violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, New York state labor laws, and breach of contract (including questionable accounting practices).

August, 2007: On August 9, 1007, Judge Deborah A. Batts granted a claim for summary judgment to the plaintiffs on a major accounting issue (how to calculate each guide's share of the "revenue pool"). See 2007 court decision (Adobe PDF format).

April, 2009: On April 13, 2009, Judge Deborah A. Batts issued a memorandum and order (Adobe PDF format) that moved the case forward in several ways:

• The lawsuit was certified as a class action. The class includes all guides who signed the 1997 and/or 1999 Mining Co./About.com guide contracts and were not fully paid according to the revenue-sharing formula spelled out in the contract(s). The number of potential class members is estimated to be 1,519.

• Our attorneys, Leon Greenberg and Michael Shen, were appointed class counsel.

• The judge agreed to consider a motion for a partial summary judgment and set a timetable for expert opinions and depositions on what damages might be owed if a judgment were granted. (The partial summary judgment, if granted, would cover damages owed as a result of the August, 2007 summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs on the compensation issue.)

The next steps are to obtain expert opinions on what compensation might be due under a partial summary judgment, followed by motions and related court papers. As I understand it, the case should be back in the judge's hands by the end of August. The timeline of future events will depend on the court, but it's possible that plaintiffs might see a ruling on the partial summary judgment by the end of 2009 and a trial in 2010.

Please note:

• As the class action moves forward, potential members of the class will be notified by the class counsel at the appropriate time(s). Eligible guides or ex-guides will be included in the protected class automatically unless they opt out.

• I'm not an attorney, so  my analysis of where the case now stands is based on a layman's understanding of the issues.

Why this lawsuit is of interest to writers:

For writers, key issues in the case include claims of fraudulent or "fictititous" accounting and failure to pay contractually required earnings. See the Wired News story, About.com That Labor Lawsuit, for an interview with the lead attorney in the case.

Read the 2002 amended complaint (full text)

Read the court's 2007 summary judgment (PDF)

Read the court's 2009 memorandum and order (PDF)