L.A. woman files proposed class-action lawsuit against embattled author

By: North County Times wire services | Friday, January 13, 2006 10:24 PM PST ∞

LOS ANGELES - A woman filed a proposed class-action lawsuit in Los Angeles against writer James Frey over his controversial memoir about his recovery from drug and alcohol abuse, court paper showed Friday.

Earlier this week, The Smoking Gun, an investigative Web site, alleged that Frey fabricated some information in his book, "A Million Little Pieces," including his criminal record.

More than 3 1/2 million copies of the memoir, which was selected for Oprah Winfrey's book club, have been sold since it was published in 2003 by Random House's Doubleday division.

A message left after regular business hours with Doubleday publicist Alison Rich, seeking comment on the lawsuit, was not immediately returned.

In her complaint filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Sara Rubenstein says she read the book last summer.

"Plaintiff made her purchase in reliance upon defendants' deceptive, fraudulent and false representations that the book was a non-fiction literary work," the suit states. "Plaintiff would not have purchased the book had defendants truthfully disclosed that many of the events portrayed in the book were fiction."

Rubenstein wants a judge to order Frey and co-defendant Random House to refund the cost of the book to all California readers who bought it between 2003 and this week.

She is also seeking restitution for class members and a court order requiring the defendants "to publish notice of the truth regarding the book."

At least one other lawsuit has been filed against Doubleday over Frey's memoir. Pilar More, a mother of two, sued Doubleday in Cook County, Ill., alleging consumer fraud and seeking unspecified damages.

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Appalled wrote on Feb 1, 2006 8:04 PM:Obviously, these women don't have enough kids to take up there time. Just chalk it up to a good read and move on!!!!!!!!!! If filed a class action suit everytime I felt I was deceived, I would live in a courthouse. Ladies GET A LIFE!!!!!!! There are bigger things to fight than this.

Principle of the Matter wrote on Feb 2, 2006 8:10 AM:I don't think this is about anybody getting or having a life. This is about integrity and many people paid their hard earned money so that Frey can get rich lying. The publisher should have offered a refund up front. On the other hand, Frey is a self-admitted addict and from my experience working with addicts in the mental health profession, they all have a thread of dishonesty running thru them. Frey admits he NEVER adopted a 12 step program and encourages him to get honest with himself and others, so why would anybody think he is honest? The only shame is that he profited financially from from writing what is now junk.

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