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At the end of 2014, Dish Network LLC was hit with a class action lawsuit for allegedly charging consumers “tens of millions of dollars” for satellite programming, a service which Dish allegedly failed to provide to paying customers.
Plaintiff Neil Stokes, a resident of Missouri, has filed this Dish Network class action lawsuit, seeking “actual damages, injunctive relief and declaratory relief arising out of DISH’s failure to provide to Plaintiff and the Class monetary relief, such as a credit, rebate, or reimbursement of the tens of millions of dollars paid to DISH by Plaintiff and the Class, for satellite television programming which DISH failed to provide.”
Stokes has been a subscriber of Dish Network satellite programming since 2008, at which point in time he selected and paid for the “America’s Top 120” package, which originally included Turner Programming and Fox News Programming. The plaintiff’s programming package selection was later confirmed by Dish Network and he continued to pay for this service from 2008 through 2014.
However, Stokes alleges that the company’s confirmation did not disclose to plaintiff or other Class Members that Dish Network may at any time during the subscription period, “delete or change any of the programming paid for by the Plaintiff and the Class, or change the pricing of such programming, without any credit, recourse, or recompense to Plaintiff and the Class,” according to the satellite programming class action lawsuit.
On Oct. 21, 2014, the carriage agreement between Dish Network and Turner Broadcasting System Inc. expired, a fact that Dish was allegedly aware of prior to October 2014. On the expiration date, Dish Network made the conscious choice to not renew the Dish/Turner agreement, according to the Dish Network class action lawsuit. From Oct. 21 through Nov. 20 2014, Dish did not provide paying consumers, like Stokes, with their full Dish satellite programming package.
Similarly, on Dec. 21 of the same year, the carriage agreement between Fox News Programming expired, something that Dish was completely aware of prior to December, according to the Dish Network class action lawsuit. In December of last year, Dish Network decided not to renew the Fox contract, and as a result, Dish Network has not provided the previously included Fox channels to Stokes and other Class Members from December to the present.
According to the Dish Network satellite programming class action lawsuit, Stokes alleges Dish Network:
“(a) failed to provide the Turner Programming [and Fox News Programming] to Plaintiff and the Class; (b) pocketed the millions of dollars paid by Plaintiff and the Class to DISH for such programming; (c) refused to provide to Plaintiff and the Class a full credit and/or reduction in DISH’s monthly fees or any other monetary relief; and (d) refused to permit Class members to terminate their Subscriber Agreements without payment of a termination fee to DISH.”
Stokes further alleges Dish Network continues to advertise their satellite programming packages, claiming they include Fox News Channels, despite the contract termination.
The satellite programming class action lawsuit brings several allegations against Dish Network, including claims of breach of contract, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, Colorado Consumer Protection Act, Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, and declaratory relief.
In this Dish Network class action lawsuit, Stokes is seeking to represent himself and a proposed National Class and Subclass of similarly situated Dish Network satellite programming consumers. He is seeking relief in the form of Class and subclass certification, individual actual damages for Stokes, aggregate actual damages for the Class and subclass, disgorgement of profits by Dish Network for programming not provided, punitive damages, among other forms of injunctive relief for the plaintiff and the Class.
The Dish Network Satellite Programming Class Action Lawsuit is Stokes v. Dish Network LLC, Case No. 2:14-CV-04338, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
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121 thoughts onDish Network Hit with Satellite Programming Class Action Lawsuit
Also would like to join a clases action lawsuit. We Are stuck too in a contract with dish network that they will not let us out of before pay 800. 00 hundred dollars. And we had only one week with the service. The reason that we don’t want anymore with the company its because it’s a crap the service the internet don’t work after three days and the TV it’s frozen all time. If someone can help me with a number or association. Thanks.
i was just told by dish network…that if they don’t come out and change our equipment, i will not be able to receive programing…i in formed them there is 5 or more feet of snow by my dishes ….they informed me..that i will lose my signal….i asked that means you will stop charging me…they said .no…you will still be getting charged…i asked who can you charge for a service im not receiving ….he said we will…i said ill get back to you…were looking at other options….any ideas people….let me know
Is this suit still open for clamaints?
I cancelled Dish Network on Feb. 6 and was refused compensation for missing Fox News while Dish refused to provide that programming. I would like to join in a class action lawsuit, Stokes vs Dish or any other more appropriate.
Im,glad all you ignorant people dont get Fox. Hahaa. Hope you lose your case. F fox and al l you sorry ass republicans.I love it
Sign me up for the class action lawsuit. I am also considering filing in small claims court in Missouri for 2 months refund, plus 2 year contract cost for DirectTV. It costs $100 to file and they need to show up to defend in court. If I were to follow through they would not pay. Then I could go to the State Atty General to cause a stink.
I want to join this lawsuit if possible. It sucks that big companies can play games like this on their customers and get away with it.
Also would like to join a class action lawsuit. We are stuck in a contract with Dish Network that they will not let us out of. As senior citizens we are on a fixed income and can not afford the buy out of like close to $400 to get out of it. That is if they are still offering the $20 per month buy out, which I doubt. The main reason that we have them is Fox News and they are not doing anything about getting it back. And to make matters worse they are blocking people from posting on their f/b page anything that is a link to Fox News and the dispute that they are having with them.
SOMEONE PLEASE TAKE THIS AS A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT!!!
We the customers are being held hostage with no recourse in this situation. And they will sue you for the balance of the contract and ruin your credit rating.
Mi nombre es Lelio Pacciardi, residente en California. He sido víctima de innumerables abusos por parte de Dish: falsa publicidad; falsos contratos que nunca vi ni suscribí; cobros arbitrarios incluso por parte de terceros (“socios comerciales” de Dish); cargos escondidos aunados a un pésimo servicio; agresión psicológica vía llamadas automáticas, email, facturas de papel por servicios no recibidos; maltrato del personal de “atención al cliente”; facturación galopante en un período en el que ya tenía otro proveedor de televisión por cable e internet; etc., etc., etc. Denuncié todo esto, incluidos los muchos etcéteras, ante la California Public Utilities Commission, que se declaró incompetente para conocer el caso y me sugirió dirigirme a la “autoridad de la franquicia local” o al “gobierno local”, sin especificarme quiénes son. Hice cinco denuncias vía correo físico y emails a la Federal Communications Commission-FCC y, cuando llamé a esa institución para ser informado sobre mi caso, me contestaron que yo no aparecía en el sistema y que debía empezar desde cero presentando todo otra vez. Eso hice el 23 de diciembre pasado (número de referencia 14-C00633042), y hace dos días recibí la respuesta de la FCC, en la que ésta declara que mi queja no es de su jurisdicción y que me debo comunicar con otra agencia, presumiblemente la Federal Trade Commision-FTC (la carta no es del todo clara). Tengo la impresión de que el funcionario de la FCC que recibió mi caso (el resumen de cinco denuncias previas) prefirió desentenderse de una queja tan extensa. Tengo la impresión de que el mismo funcionario pensó que un denunciante individual (¿e hispanohablante?) no merecía la adecuada atención. Tengo la impresión de que la FCC privilegia las demandas colectivas o que pueden tener impacto en la opinión pública. Sé positivamente que la FCC es la institución correcta para receptar mis quejas porque así me lo informó la División de Defensa del Consumidor de California. Sé positivamente que todos y cada uno de los abusos reseñados en mis quejas corresponden a lo contemplado en los formularios de la FCC, que mal puede afirmar que no son materia de su jurisdicción. Sé positivamente que cada queja, y el posterior resumen de todas, están acompañadas con las pruebas necesarias y suficientes para sancionar ejemplarmente a Dish. Sé positivamente que no soy una persona mediocre, ingenua e ignorante de sus derechos. Sé, positivamente, que Dish está reeditando los procedimientos dolosos –corregidos y aumentados– de su antecesora y hoy matriz EchoStar. Y veo, positivamente, que ha aprendido a manipular la ley y a las instituciones que deben velar por los derechos del consumidor. Por lo expuesto, les solicito me pongan en contacto con cualquier oficina legal que esté empeñada en una demanda colectiva en contra de Dish, para que mi voz sea escuchada y mis pruebas sumadas a las de cientos de miles de usuarios defraudados.
Atentamente
Lelio Pacciardi
ID de California: D4722010
I’ve also had it with Dish and with them dropping Fox . It took 5 calls over 2 days to cancel my service. The waiting time is consistently 25 to 30 minutes… so call them as soon as they open at 7 AM eastern time. On the last call this morning I was transferred 3 times. With each offering credits to get me to stay. On the last one offered $45 credit for each of the next 10 months. I told them I wouldn’t take $100 for each month to stay. Dish wanted me to confirm that there was a $130 cancellation fee. I told them repeatedly that I absolutely would not pay $130 and in my opinion they owed me money for payment of services not rendered. I was them transferred to \The office of the President\….who tried to strong arm me a bit. The guy said I needed to move the subscription to someone else. I told him that was Dish’s problem and that most people I knew with Dish were also in the process of dropping it. When it was all said and done..they canceled without the fee….and with me agreeing to pay the month to date charges.
Also….I just noticed that Dish has started billing for services in advance. DirecTv installed their new service late yesterday and the installer said they are overwhelmed with new customers dropping Dish.