‘The Shack’ Lawsuit Dismissed

Author William P. Young’s contract dispute
regarding his runaway best-seller, The Shack, has been settled out of court.

Court
documents show that a jury trial was scheduled for late September in Ventura,
Calif., but on Aug. 12 the case was dismissed without prejudice.

Young filed suit in November 2009 against Brad Cummings and
Wayne Jacobsen. Windblown Media countersued for $5 million in federal court
and made a claim over the authorship of the book. Cummings and Jacobsen collaborated with Young in
writing what became a No. 1 New York Times best-selling novel and
founded Windblown Media to publish it after it was rejected by multiple
publishers. Cummings did not respond to queries for
comment.

Hachette Book Group, which in 2008 began to distribute The
Shack, also filed suit against Young and Windblown Media to determine where
royalties should be paid and to protect itself from future lawsuits. In the
wake of the dismissal, Hachette’s statement to Christian
Retailing on the case was: “We’re very pleased that the parties have
resolved their differences and we can move forward.”

Nichole Daiger,
communications/public relations specialist for Los Angeles law firm Loeb &
Loeb—which employs Young’s attorney, Michael Anderson—confirmed that the case was settled, but said that “the terms
are confidential, so unfortunately we are not able to provide any comment or
details.”

The
suits filed concerned more than $8 million in royalties. Young’s contract
had promised him 50 cents per paperback sale and $1 per hardcover sale, and a
third of net profits.

“After
we did an accounting, we recognized that he wasn’t getting paid anywhere near
what he should,” Anderson told Christian Retailing in 2010.

Jacobsen said earlier that God was not “for us or against our brother
Paul [Young]. He is for a resolution steeped in the very things we wrote about
together—love, grace, truth, forgiveness and laying down our lives for each
other. I’m sure Jesus yearns for a full reconciliation, but lacking that, would
at least appreciate it if we could find a gracious resolution and a peaceful
parting.”