A US appeals court has rejected Apple’s request to delay e-books trail

The trial for damages in the e-books price-fixing lawsuit against Apple is to proceed on July 14 after an appeals court declined to stay it. The US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled Thursday that Apple did not qualify for a stay during appeal on proceedings in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, where the case is scheduled to go on trial to determine damages. A temporary stay entered by the appeals court last month was ended. US District Judge Denise Cote of the New York court ruled last year that Apple and five major US publishers had conspired to raise prices in the ebook market to counter Amazon.com.

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday rejected Apple Inc’s bid to delay a July trial to determine damages after the company was found to have colluded to fix the prices of e-books. In a brief order, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said the July 14 trial should proceed as scheduled, while Apple separately pursues its appeal of U.S. District Judge Denise Cote’s ruling that it conspired with five publishers to raise e-book prices. Cote ruled last year after a non-jury trial that the conduct of the iPad maker impeded e-book competitors such as Amazon.com Inc. More than two dozen state attorneys general joined the Department of Justice in suing Apple over e-books price fixing. Those states, as well as a group of consumers, are seeking up to $840 million in damages. The exact amount of damages will be litigated before Cote at a trial scheduled for July 14. A lawyer and a spokesman for Apple did not immediately comment on the order.