State files counterclaim
against book buyer

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

The state attorney general has responded to an appeal filed last month by mainland book buyer Baker & Taylor protesting the termination of its $11 million, 51/4-year contract to acquire and supply books to Hawaii libraries.

In a 22-page response filed in Circuit Court on Monday, the state included counterclaims seeking damage for breach of contract and restitution for an initial $730,000 payment, said Deputy Attorney General John Dellera.

The claims made by the state include Baker & Taylor's failure to:

Select books consistent with branch library requirements.

Deliver books in sufficient quantity and in timely fashion.

Provide suitable materials to the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

Deliver and provide adequate quantities of reference books, award and best-seller books, standing orders, children's books, young-adult books and Hawaiiana selections.

An attorney for Baker & Taylor said the allegations contained in the state's response are unfounded.

Baker & Taylor, in its appeal filed Nov. 10, detailed its efforts to comply with its contractual obligations.

It also asked the court to find that termination of the contract was "factually and legally unjustified and wrongful," and is seeking damages in an amount to be determined at trial.

"Our position is most of the problems cited were created by the library system," said Bill Hunt, Honolulu attorney for Baker & Taylor. "We leave the evidence to the court."

The Hawaii State Public Library System is responding to a subpoena of its records and will make them available to Baker & Taylor by Dec. 26, said state Librarian Bart Kane.

The state is also preparing to subpoena Baker & Taylor records before Christmas.

The five counterclaims seek damages for the cost of buying books, the return purchase price of books paid for and not delivered, duplicates of materials already in Hawaii's library collections, and approximately $20,000 for books and materials delivered after the contract was terminated, Dellera said.

The $730,000 the state is also seeking to recover was for start-up costs for Baker & Taylor to integrate its computer system with the library's automation system.

The library system made payments totaling $2.8 million to Baker & Taylor for the fiscal year 1997. Baker & Taylor was to deliver 134,020 books.

Instead, it delivered 105,526 books before July 22 -- 64,355 fewer units than the state paid for in full. That amounts to more than $1.3 million in undelivered goods, at $20.95 per unit, the state said.