After Mel, the deluge
August 25, 2011 at 3:55 AM (PT)
A UNITED STATES District Judge has approved SIRIUS XM RADIO’s $180 million settlement of a class action suit filed on behalf of subscribers over the service’s rate hike after the merger of SIRIUS and XM.
BLOOMBERG reports that the settlement, approved by Judge HAROLD BAER, offers no monetary relief directly to subscribers, but the Judge said that he “reviewed the settlement’s substantive terms and conclude that they demonstrate sufficient fairness, adequacy and reasonableness. The vast majority of class members will benefit in the course of their normal subscription payments.” Lawyers will be paid $13 million in fees under the settlement, and rates will remain stable through the end of 2011.
The suit was filed by CARL BLESSING in 2009 after the satellite radio service added a fee to cover music royalty payments and raised some other prices, including a new Internet access fee and higher charges for service to additional receivers, in conflict with promises made to the FCC and Department of Justice in getting approval for the merger.
