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AOL Inc. was able to convince a California federal judge to dismiss a proposed class action lawsuit accusing the Internet giant of charging customers for dial-up service after they switched to broadband after successfully proving that the plaintiffs knew they could stop paying the charges.
The class action lawsuit was filed in October by AOL customer Harvey Dunn, who said that he signed up for AOL’s internet dial-up service more than 10 years ago, which also gave him access to other AOL content and the company’s email service. Dunn alleged that when AOL stopped charging for these services that he was never informed, but that he continued to be charged by the Internet company using the name “AOL Service” as the charge description.
In its Dec. 2 motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit, AOL explained that when Dunn began using a broadband service provider that he did know how to change the status of his account from AOL’s paid service to the free one by changing his membership level because he changed his status twice.
“Dunn’s conduct also suggests that he knew that his AOL paid plan provided more services and benefits than just dial-up service,” the motion stated. “Plaintiff used AOL’s paid services on multiple occasions. Plaintiff’s conduct further indicates ready familiarity with the distinctions between free and fee-based AOL accounts.”
The two parties stipulated the dismissal on Friday prior to the judge’s order on Monday because it was determined that Dunn’s claim that he didn’t really understand how AOL’s services worked was incorrect and that AOL had not used any deceptive practices.
The plaintiff is represented by David E. Azar, Nicole M. Duckett, Lori G. Feldman, Andrei V. Rado and Johnathan P. Seredynski of Milberg LLP and by Helen I. Zeldes of Zeldes Haeggquist & Eck LLP.
The AOL Dial-Up Class Action Lawsuit is Harvey Dunn v. AOL Inc., Case No. 2:13-cv-07991, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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One thought on AOL Class Action Lawsuit Gets Tossed By Calif. Court
I am in the state of alabama. AOL has been billing me for 2 years and I cancelled my service with them. I call and only get a recording. I have to change my Bank information to get this stopped which is unfair to me.