A settlement has been reached with AT&T in class action litigation
involving claims that third-party mobile content providers have placed
unauthorized charges on the cell phone bills of customers throughout the
country. The settlement, which was preliminarily approved by a Georgia
court on Friday, entitles AT&T Mobility customers to receive refunds of
unauthorized charges.
Third party mobile content refers to products such as ringtones, games,
graphics and news or other alerts that generally are purchased over the
internet and are charged directly to customers'
cell phone bills. Although these products were not available in the
United States as recently as five years ago, they have evolved to form a
large and increasingly important industry. The lawsuits alleged that
there were not adequate safeguards in place to ensure that customers are
only billed for services they agreed to purchase.
Class members are encouraged to visit www.thirdpartycontentrefund.com
to learn more details about the settlement and how to apply for refunds.
Class members may also call the claims administrator directly at
1-877-465-4797.
Their website states:
Who is in the Settlement Class? You are a member of the
Settlement Class and your rights are affected if you are a person (or
entity) in the United States or its Territories with an AT&T
Mobility account, and who was billed for third party mobile content
from January 1, 2004 to May 30, 2008, and were not previously refunded
for this charge.
Customers will be able to receive r refunds for charges that appeared on up to three of their monthly bills
This is the first nationwide settlement of its kind and promises to
serve as a benchmark for the mobile content industry more generally.
Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile face similar lawsuits.
Attorneys Jay Edelson, Myles McGuire and Scott A. Kamber of
KamberEdelson, LLC, were appointed by the Court to serve as the co-lead
attorneys for the class. "Most defendants who
are sued tell us that their primary goal is to protect their customers,"
explained Edelson. "By agreeing to provide
this type of unprecedented relief, AT&T proves that it stands behind its
words. This is both a great result for the class and should put a lot of
pressure on other carriers to demonstrate that they, too, are serious
about their customers' welfare."
The settlement involves over a dozen lawsuits that were filed throughout
the country. After preliminary negotiations, the parties mediated with
the assistance of respected mediator Rodney Max of Upchurch Watson White
& Max Mediation Group, who helped the parties reach a settlement.