Comcast Reaches $50M Class Action Settlement over Monopoly Claims

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On Tuesday, the plaintiff in a long-running antitrust class action lawsuit accusing Comcast Corp. of controlling a regional monopoly for cable television services has asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to preliminarily approve a $50 million class action settlement.

Plaintiff Stanford Glaberson also seeks to certify a Class of Philadelphia cable television customers who currently subscribe or formerly subscribed “at any time from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2008, to video programming services (other than solely to basic cable services) from Comcast, or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, in the counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.”

Under the terms of the proposed Comcast class action settlement, Class Members will be able to select either a one-time credit of $15 or a selection of Comcast services, such as six free pay-per-view movies (estimated value of $39.94). Comcast customers who subscribe to Xfinity high speed internet can also choose a four month free upgrade in internet service from Performance Level to Blast (estimated value of $40), or from Blast to Extreme 105 (estimated value of $38), or two free months of The Movie Channel (estimated value of $43.90).

Current Comcast subscribers who do not elect any of the above benefits will automatically receive two free months of The Movie Channel, according to the Comcast class action settlement documents. Former Comcast subscribers who submit a valid Claim Form will be entitled to a $15 cash payment.

Glaberson, along with several other plaintiffs, initially filed the Comcast class action lawsuit in December 2003, alleging Comcast unlawfully monopolized the Philadelphia television services market. Comcast vigorously fought the class action lawsuit. In 2010, Comcast appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. In its Comcast v. Behrend decision, the Supreme Court determined that certification was inappropriate because the plaintiffs had not established the proposed Class had enough in common or had experienced measurable common damages.

In November 2013, the revised Comcast class action lawsuit survived a dismissal bid, and the court allowed the plaintiff to resubmit an amended Comcast class action lawsuit, as long as it did not include the legal questions that had been rejected in Comcast v. Behrend.

Subsequently, Glaberson filed an amended Comcast class action lawsuit that included only a putative Class of Philadelphia-area residents. Now, he argues that this proposed Comcast monopoly settlement “satisfies all requirements for certification of the Philadelphia Settlement Class.”

Further information about the Comcast monopoly class action settlement was not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

The plaintiffs are represented by Barry Barnett, Daniel H. Charest and LeElle Krompass of Susman Godfrey LLP; Samuel D. Heins, Vincent J. Esades, David Woodward and Jessica N. Servais of Heins Mills & Olson PLC; and Joseph Goldberg of Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Urias & Ward PA.

The Comcast Monopoly Class Action Lawsuit is Stanford Glaberson, et al. v. Comcast Corp., Case No. 2:03-cv-06604, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

UPDATE: Instructions on how to file a claim for the Comcast class action settlement are now available! Click here or visit www.CableSettlement.com for details.

UPDATE 2: A judge gave final approval to the Philadelphia Comcast monopoly class action settlement on Sept. 22, 2015.

UPDATE 3: A Class Member filed an appeal to the Comcast monopoly class action settlement on Oct. 21, 2015.

UPDATE 4: On Feb. 23, 2016, according to our readers, Class Members who submitted timely and valid claims for the Comcast settlement began receiving checks worth as much as $15.