Settlements Mask Early Termination Fee Lawsuit
By John Curran
Many people who file employment claims against their bosses or co-workers often reach out-of-court settlements rather than go through the expense of going to trial. Even when plaintiffs fighting over early termination fees are trying to get class certification, they may cut a deal with the company to cover costs of the litigation.
That’s what happened with a case involving Comcast Business Class Service users who had filed a class action lawsuit saying that the telecommunications provider had illegally charged fees for service termination as well as equipment. However, those outside of the legal community may be unaware that the three plaintiffs who had hired early termination fee lawsuit attorneys actually had success, with full relief if not punitive damages.
It is one of the unheralded aspects of cases, even those that seek to certify a class and help potentially thousands of people who have been the victim of allegedly illegal early termination fees. Often, a company will settle with a few plaintiffs to potentially delay any proceedings, although it is unclear whether this was the case for the Comcast Business Class Service defendants.
That is why it is important for people who think they have been assessed an early termination fee that does not match up with contract law seek out legal help. Specifically, some law firms are finding that Californians who sign up for home security monitoring or do business with payment processing services are facing similar problems with improper early termination fees.
Specifically, a recent class action lawsuit claims that the home security firm ADT improperly assessed a flat-rate ETF for customers if they did not complete the term of their contract in addition to monthly payment increases that contravened homeowners’ contracts. The former is problematic because according to contract law, a company can only seek the lost profits that they would have made as a result of the customer continuing to pay. For example, consider a customer who had five months remaining on their contract, and the company made $10 in profit each month.
The legal damages for breach of contract should be $50, and double that for 10 months. Early termination fee lawsuit attorneys argue that the flat-rate early termination fees are illegal. People who think that they have faced similar issues in California should consider getting a free legal consultation. One is available at the California Early Termination Fee (ETF) Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. It is the first step in getting the jury award or settlement that the facts of your case merit.
Updated June 7th, 2013
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