According to Bloomber.com/news Apple faces as much as $840 million in state and consumer antitrust claims related to electronic-book deals with publishers as it continues to oppose a court-ordered monitor in a related U.S. government case.

State attorneys general and consumers who sued the world’s most valuable technology company are seeking $280 million in damages and want that amount tripled, a lawyer for them said in a Jan. 31 filing with the Manhattan judge presiding over the federal case.

The plaintiffs said they’re entitled to triple damages under antitrust law because the U.S. had already “conclusively proven” at a trial last year that Apple orchestrated a conspiracy to fix prices. The amount sought is 0.5 percent of the $158.8 billion in cash that the Cupertino, California-based company reported that it had as of the end of 2013.

Source:  Bloomberg News

Comment: The lessons learned from such cases for business information companies is not to push the proverbial envelope on antitrust issues and privacy matters.  High tech companies in particular were notorious in pushing the envelope on such issues until consumers and regulators cry foul.