US woman may get $10m in ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ royalties

An Australian woman who helped publish Fifty Shades of Grey was ordered by a US judge on Wednesday to set aside $10 million (€8.8 million) for a Texas woman a jury said was defrauded out of her share of the royalty rights for the best-selling novel.

Jennifer Pedroza could be awarded about $10.7 million (€9.46 million) once attorneys for her and former business partner Amanda Hayward of Australia settle on the amount she is owed, including attorney fees, court officials said.

The judge said she would rule on a firm amount once an agreement between the two sides was reached.

Ms Pedroza was part of The Writers Coffee Shop, a small independent publisher that originally published the Fifty Shades trilogy as an e-book and print-on-demand book, according to court papers.

She did not appear in court on Wednesday but her attorney, Mike Farris, said: "We have been pleased with everything since the jury verdict."

The rights to the books written by British author E L James were sold to Random House and the deal led to the sale of more than 100 million copies worldwide. A film based on the first book took in more than $570 million (€504 million) worldwide, according to tracking site Box Office Mojo.

A Fort Worth jury decided in February that Ms Pedroza was defrauded out of her share of royalties by Ms Hayward, who tricked Ms Pedroza into signing an agreement that cut her out of her share of the royalties after Ms Hayward signed the deal with Random House.

The jury determined that Ms Pedroza was one of the four original owners of The Writers Coffee Shop and Ms Hayward fraudulently presented a restructuring arrangement so she could keep the Random House money for herself.

After attorneys for Ms Hayward said she did not have $10 million available, the judge said she would allow property to be applied toward the amount.

David Keltner, an attorney for Ms Hayward, said the jury decision and judgment might be appealed.

Ms Pedroza filed the lawsuit in Tarrant County in May 2014, seeking an amount over $1 million, according to court papers.

Reuters