My printer said they overprinted my books and that they’re selling them at half-price. They are paying me no royalties. They did not have my permission to do this. When I asked my printer about this issue, I was told, quite curtly, that there was nothing that could be done, that I had no recourse and “printers selling cheap, brand new books without permission is a simple fact of publishing.”

I consulted a lawyer on this and other matters and was told that this action was NOT an accepted or legal practice, as far as his research showed.

Am I totally out of line assuming that this is NOT acceptable?

Unless you gave up all rights to your book, your printer is indeed ripping you off. It is doubtful that your contract with them allows them to overprint books and then selling them at reduced rates with no payment due to the author.

Your printer is doing some pretty dirty business and you should have your attorney intervene ASAP.