S&S argues Yiannopoulos 'accepted' end of contract by failing to return advance

Simon & Schuster US has claimed that by failing to return its advance or respond with “protest or reservation”, Milo Yiannopoulos accepted the cancellation of his book contract, according to reports.

S&S US filed a reply to his breach of contract lawsuit on Friday (28th July), and told the court it had finished his contract "within the unambiguous terms of the publishing agreement", according to Publishers Marketplace, and that by not returning $80,000 advance paid in January, he accepted the termination.

S&S US has allegedly said that by allowing him to keep the money, the company no longer had “any further obligation to him under that agreements” and that by accepting the cash “without protest” his lawsuit is voided by “centuries-old law”.

The publisher’s reply to his lawsuit reportedly said: "On February 22, 2017, Simon & Schuster exercised its contractual rights, terminated the agreement, and allowed Yiannopoulos to retain an $80,000 advance that he would otherwise not be entitled to retain in order to resolve Yiannopoulos's claims that Simon & Schuster had any further obligation to him under that agreement.

“The termination notice clearly and unambiguously stated that the $80,000 was in 'full satisfaction and discharge of Simon & Schuster's obligation under the [Publishing] Agreement.' Yiannopoulos accepted the payment without protest, thereby sealing the accord and satisfaction and barring this lawsuit as a matter of centuries-old law."

In the lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court last month, Yiannopoulos said the publisher’s decision to terminate the contract was due to public perception. S&S US pulled out of its book deal to publish the memoir in February following a radio interview in which he appeared to condone sexual relations with young boys. The full advance from the publisher's imprint, Threshold Editions, was reportedly worth $250,000 (it is not yet known if the $80,000 paid was an instalment or the full amount).

The publisher told The Bookseller on July 10th that it had not yet been served the lawsuit but said it would “fully expect to prevail in court”.

Yiannopoulos self- published Dangerous at the beginning of last month. It was listed as a "number one Bestseller" on Amazon.com's book chart after the title was registered for pre-orders on Tuesday (6th June).