May 8, 2008: 05:39 p.m.
Court Preliminarily Approves Revised Settlement in Nationwide Class
Action Against Time Warner Cable
New Settlement Promises Availability of Benefits to Millions of
Additional Class Members
Case: Parker et al. v. Time Warner Entertainment Co., et al.,
1:98-cv-04265-ILG-JMA (EDNY)
United States District Court Judge Leo Glasser,
Eastern District of New York, entered orders (Doc
201 /
Doc 202) today preliminarily
approving a revised settlement agreement in a lawsuit involving millions
of Time Warner Cable subscribers. The lawsuit claimed that Time
Warner Cable is required to tell subscribers how it collects and uses
their personal information, and that Time Warner Cable failed to do so
in compliance with applicable law. Daniel Anderson, attorney for
objectors to the previous settlement, attended the preliminary approval
hearing in New York on May 7th and advised the Court that the new
settlement was vastly superior to the previous settlement and should be
preliminarily approved. Accordingly, Mr. Anderson said that he was
pleased with the results.
Mr. Anderson filed an objection to the previous settlement on behalf of
two class members because the settlement: (1) failed to provide proper
notice to any class member that was not a current Time Warner Cable
Subscriber; and, (2) discriminated amongst class members by providing
benefits only to current subscribers or those subscribers living in an
area served by Time Warner Cable. The Court
denied the parties'
request to grant final approval to the previous settlement on May 19,
2006.
Mr. Anderson hailed the action by the District Court as a huge victory for consumers. Under the new settlement, over 5 million additional class members will now receive mailed notice of the settlement, and over 7 million class members will now have the opportunity to receive cash benefits. "Judge Glasser absolutely did the right thing in denying the motion to approve the previous settlement, and in preliminarily approving the revised settlement," Anderson said. "The entire process thus far has served as a shining example of what the drafters of Rule 23 (of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure) envisioned when they provided class members, such as my clients, the opportunity to object to a proposed settlement," Anderson added.
Anderson acknowledged that many class members receiving the notice without any knowledge of the previous settlement will see the settlement as nothing more than an opportunity for "lawyers to line their pockets." Anderson said, however, "the real story is not that class members get $5 and the lawyers get $5 million - the real story is that the system worked." "No matter what you think of the deal," Anderson added, "it is much much better than it would have been if my clients had not objected and if the Court had not done its job."
The parties will now begin the process of notifying class members of their rights under the proposed settlement, and how to obtain benefits. The parties have established a web site at http://www.twcsettlement.com that will provide additional information to class members, including the class notice and claim form. A final approval hearing is currently scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on December 9, 2008.