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A proposed $6.7 million settlement between The Washington Post and consumers who say their subscriptions were automatically renewed in violation of the law can move to the next stage, a judge has ruled.
In a remote hearing Wednesday, U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick said he was granting preliminary approval to the settlement, which was brought under the Automatic Renewal Law in a California federal court, Law360 reported.
The Washington Post settlement comes on the heels of a similar New York Times settlement. In early June, The New York Times Co. agreed to a $5.563 million class action settlement benefiting certain consumers whose subscriptions to the newspaper renewed automatically.
On Wednesday, Judge Orrick said The Washington Post deal seemed fair, “especially in comparison to the agreement that has already been approved regarding the New York Times settlement,” Law360 reported.
The settlement covers about 321,000 California Class members who experienced automatically renewing digital subscriptions and incurred charges between July 29, 2016, and April 1, 2021.
The class action lawsuit was initially brought by Plaintiff Deborah Jordan in July 2020. She said she signed up for a free trial digital subscription to The Washington Post in 2018, but then saw the free trial was automatically converted to a paid, renewing subscription when it ended.
She said she had no knowledge this was happening, and that The Washington Post didn’t provide the legally-required disclosures.
Jordan, under the proposal, would get $5,000 as lead plaintiff on the settlement, and attorneys get up to $2 million in fees.
The Washington Post settlement also includes more than $4.3 million worth of automatic account credit codes for class members. Those who elect to receive cash will apply to a pool of $2.4 million.
The Washington Post has agreed to comply with California’s Automatic Renewal Law moving forward. In the case of the New York Times settlement, the company denies the claims. That settlement is also open to California residents only.
Have you had a subscription automatically renew without your permission? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Frederick J. Klorczyk III, Neal J. Deckant and Julia K. Venditti of Bursor & Fisher PA.
The Washington Post Subscriber Class Action Settlement is Deborah Jordan v. WP Co. LLC, Case No. 3:20-cv-05218, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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One thought on $6.7M Washington Post Settlement With Auto-Renewed Subscribers Gets Initial Go-Ahead
Even after calling repeatedly still keeps charging