Sarah Mirando  |  October 15, 2013

Category: Legal News

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Appeals Court Allows Skype Class Action Lawsuit to Proceed

By Anne Bucher

 

Skype Class Action LawsuitA California appeals court has revived a class action lawsuit against Skype Inc., finding that the plaintiff had sufficiently argued that the company tricked consumers with an “unlimited” plan that actually included caps on the number and length of calls a user can make.


Melissa Chapman, the lead plaintiff in the Skype class action lawsuit, represents Class Members who claim they purchased an “unlimited” calling plan from Skype that included usage limits that they were never informed about. According to the class action lawsuit, the Internet communications company included a disclaimer on its website and in its terms of use that explained that the plan had limits. However, Chapman argues that the disclaimer was not readily accessible to the majority of users who purchased the unlimited call plan.

In its decision to revive the Skype class action lawsuit, the appeals court considered whether a reasonable consumer would believe that an “unlimited” plan would include caps on usage.

“We conclude that the answer is yes,” the panel wrote in its October 4 decision. “The trier of fact reasonably could conclude based on the facts alleged in the complaint and those judicially noticed that consumers are likely to believe that Skype’s ‘Unlimited U.S. & Canada’ calling plan offers unlimited calling within the United States and Canada for a fixed monthly fee, and that they will fail to notice the disclosure to the contrary in the fair usage policy.”

Chapman initially filed the Skype class action lawsuit in May 2011, claiming that Skype tricked her into buying the plan by calling it “unlimited.” Believing that there were no caps on her plan, she was shocked to receive her bill, which noted that users were limited to six hours of calls per day, 50 calls per day and 10,000 minutes of calls per month.

Skype argues that it provides a disclaimer on the same page of the website that consumers see when they purchase the “unlimited” calling plan. According to the class action lawsuit, a superscript number is located next to the word “unlimited.” That superscript number links to Skye’s fair use policy which delineates the limits in the plan.

In her class action lawsuit, Chapman argues that most users never see that disclaimer, and that naming the plan “unlimited” when it includes usage caps is an action that is meant to be deceptive. She argues that the superscript number references a link at the bottom of the page, stating simply: “A fair usage policy applies.” This link connects the reader to the Fair Usage Policy, which indicates the plan’s usage limits, on a separate page.

The lower court agreed with Skype, which argued that Chapman had clicked on an agreement to the terms of service of the “unlimited” calling plan, which included the fair use agreement that specified the plan’s limitations.

The appeals court reversed the lower court’s decision, finding that Chapman sufficiently argued that Skype had violated California’s Unfair Competition Law, Consumer Legal Remedies Act and false advertising law. The court will also allow Chapman to amend the class action lawsuit regarding her claims of unjust enrichment, intentional and negligent misrepresentation.

Chapman is represented by James K. Kawahito of Kawahito Shraga & Westrick and by Geoffrey Stover.

The Skype Class Action Lawsuit is Melissa Chapman, et al. v. Skype Inc., Case No. B241398, in the Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District.

 

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11 thoughts onAppeals Court Allows Skype Class Action Lawsuit to Proceed

  1. PF Yost says:

    I want to start a new CA lawsuit. Skype has tricked a lot of consumers. Help!

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