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AG Pam Bondi Media Contact: Jennifer Krell Davis
Phone: (850) 245-0150
Office Information
Programs and Units Attorney General Negotiates Settlement With Publishing Company, LexisNexis
Employment
Open Government ~ Settlement resolves nationwide issues related to automatic subscription renewals ~

Crime and Fraud

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that his office has reached an
Consumer Protection
agreement with Matthew Bender and Company, Inc. and related company Reed Elsevier, I nc., which does
Citizen Safety business as LexisNexis. Matthew Bender and Company, Inc. manufactures and sells publ ications, books,
newsletters and other products to lawyers, libraries, and government agencies nation wide. The settlement
Victims' Services
resolved issues related to the companiesœ automatic subscription renewal policy andautomatic shipment
AG Opinions plans. LexisNexis contributes to the advertising and sale of Matthew Bender products .
Florida Constitution
The Attorney Generalœs Economic Crimes Division began investigating Matthew Bender a nd Reed Elsevier
US Constitution
after a staff member with the Attorney Generalœs Office received a Florida Bar publication which he had not
ordered, together with a bill stating that he owed Matthew Bender for the cost of the book. The investigation
Keep up with our latest revealed that Matthew Bender sent new editions and updates of publications automatically to customers
news and consumer who had previously purchased the publications, sometimes several years prior, and re newed annual
information: subscriptions automatically, allegedly without specific consent from consumers.

As part of the settlement, refunds will be offered to all Florida customers who paid for automatic shipments
of Florida Bar publications or who received their first automatic shipments of certa in types of publications
after February 13, 2005. Matthew Bender will send claim forms to all customers who a re entitled to request
refunds. The companies will also pay $275,000 to the Florida State University Law Sc hoolœs Richard W.
Newsletter Ervin Eminent Scholar Chair, which was established in 1999 by then-Attorney General Bob Butterworth.
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In addition to the payment to the law school and the customer refunds, the companies will pay $2 million to
Twitter the Attorney Generalœs Office for attorneys' fees and costs and for future investigation and enforcement.
The companies will also modify their practices nationwide to ensure that automatic s hipment arrangements
and automatic renewal subscriptions of Matthew Bender publications are entered into only after all
Florida Toll-free Fraud appropriate disclosures detailed in the agreement are provided to customers and the customers provide
Hotline: affirmative consent to the terms. The companies cooperated fully with the Attorney G eneralœs investigation.
1-866-966-7226
This is the second agreement reached with companies in the law book industry which use automatic
Contact Us shipments to distribute publications to libraries, government agencies and law firms in Florida. The earlier
agreement was reached with Thompson Publishing Group, Inc. in May 2008.

A copy of the agreement is available online at: http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/KGRG-7R5JAQ

/$file/MatthewBenderAVC.pdf

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