$5M Suit Claims President Carter’s 2006 Book Violated Consumer Protection Laws
A $5 million class-action lawsuit claims President Jimmy Carter deceived the public in a 2006 book by holding out as factually accurate his claims of historical events during Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
According to the suit (PDF), the book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid “is filled with demonstrable falsehoods, omissions and knowing misrepresentations intended to promote Carter’s agenda of anti-Israel propaganda.” The suit, filed in New York federal court, claims a violation of New York consumer protection laws, the Washington Post reports at its Political Bookworm blog.
The complaint also claims negligent and intentional misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and breach of contract.
The suit describes the name plaintiffs as “members of the reading public who thought they could trust a former president of the United States and a well-established book publisher to tell the truth.” Named as defendants are Carter and his publisher, Simon & Schuster.
In a statement sent to the Post, Simon & Schuster maintains that the suit is frivolous and “a chilling attack on free speech that we intend to defend vigorously.”
