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AOL Settles Class Action Suit Over Client Software
An anonymous reader sent in news that AOL is settling a class action suit over their AOL 5.0 software, which usurped people's dial-up networking settings when installed. There's a website for the suit and a
news article about the settlement. Of course, you have to admit you use AOL.
Settlement 15.5 Million
Amount to consumers - 8.7 million
the rest goes to lawyers!
Almost half- goes to lawyers the rest get split up between everyone who claims. So fill out your claim form and sit by the mail box waiting on your check for $1.00. But don't lose the check stub! You've got to pay taxes on that money next April.
This kind of crap just burns me up. AOL throws 15 mil at a problem (I guess they skip sending free CD tins for like a day)- a few lawyers make a killing and everybody else gets jack.
Real victory for the consumer here. And did the lawyer balk at settling? Of course not- they just hit the powerball and won 7 million.
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It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
The settlement page indicates that you have to prove damages by producing a receipt showing that your computer was screwed up / unstable / unable to dial any other isp / etc. and you had to have it fixed. What money does a person get if they fix it themselves, or their granddaughter comes over and makes it all better?
This translates to the right general effect
I really don't understand what you mean. If AOL gets screwed and they pass it off on the insurance co, and the insurance co passes it back by raising rates, do you think that AOL is the one getting screwed? Absolutly not. They are just going to raise thier prices, thus passing it back to the consumer.
Everyone seems to cheer when a big company gets screwed somehow, but I hate to see it personally. Every single time it's the consumer who ends up paying for it. It's just like when someone wins a $50 million dollar medical malpractice suit against a hospial. Everyone says "yeah, get 'em they are way over paid anyway". Is the hostpial really getting screwed? No, they just raise thier rates to pay for it. Who does that affect? The insurance co's. What do they do? Raise thier rates. Who does that affect? Usually our employers. What do they do? Stop paying for heath insurace for employees. So who got screwed by the malpractice suit? Us. Same thing here, who gets screwed by AOL paying out all kinds of cash? AOL customers, who are not the ones doing anything wrong. (nessisarily)
Sigs are out of style, so I'm not going to use one...oh wait..