AOL agrees to settle 'wrongful billing' lawsuit
To 'avoid the burden and expense of litigation'
Posted in Telecoms, 9th January 2006 14:12 GMT
See what The Register's experts have to say on application security
AOL has agreed to cough up as much as $25m to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged the giant ISP "wrongfully billed consumers".
The agreement forms part of a proposed class action settlement reached by the Illinois state court after both sides in the case agreed to mediation conducted by a retired federal judge.
According to a statement issued Friday, the settlement covers claims that AOL "wrongfully billed consumers for online services, such as additional and 'spun-off' AOL accounts, and other services and products, such as AOL Desk Planner, without first receiving consumers' consent or authorization".
The agreement still needs court approval but if given the go-ahead could cost AOL up to $25m.
For its part, AOL "strenuously denies the plaintiffs' allegations, or that a class manageable for trial is certifiable".
However, the Time Warner-owned internet outfit agreed to settle the action "to avoid the burden and expense of litigation", said the statement. ®
See what The Register's experts have to say on application security


The future of SaaS and IT infrastructure management
Airport insecurity: the case of lost laptops
Reducing messaging and web security costs with managed services

Win a Samsung C6625!
Is your cameraphone an oxymoron?
Reg Mobile and Wireless newsletter is go! go! go!
Sign up, sign up for The Register IT security newsletter