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Class Action Lawsuit against Sirius?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by ilovetacos, Apr 25, 2011.

  1. Apr 25, 2011 at 11:11 PM
    #1
    ilovetacos

    ilovetacos [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Anybody else get the email on Saturday, 4/23? I've done some Google searching but can't find a definite answer if this is legit or not.

    I don't expect anyone to read the entire thing but this is the email I received:



    KAMBIZ BATMANGHELICH, et al v. SIRIUS XM RADIO INC. AND STREAM INTERNATIONAL, INC.
    United States District Court for the Central District of California Case No. CV 09-9190 VBF(JCx)
    NOTICE OF PENDENCY AND SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION ​


    NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT
    ATTENTION ALL PERSONS IN CALIFORNIA, FLORIDA, MARYLAND, NEVADA, AND NEW HAMPSHIRE WHO HAD TELEPHONE CALLS WITH SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO OR XM SATELLITE RADIO: YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO MONETARY RECOVERY

    There is now pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California (“Court”) a lawsuit entitled Kambiz Batmanghelich, et al. v. Sirius XM Radio Inc. and Stream International, Inc., Case No. CV-09-9190 VBF(JCx), which involves allegations that telephone calls with Sirius XM Radio Inc. (“Sirius XM”) that were handled by Sirius XM’s customer care provider Stream International, Inc. (“Stream”) (Stream and Sirius XM, collectively, “Defendants”), were monitored and/or recorded without providing notice that the calls may be monitored or recorded. Defendants have denied and continue to deny any liability, and there has been no finding that Defendants have violated any laws.


    THE CLASS
    You are a Class Member and a proposed class action settlement (the “Settlement”) could affect your legal rights if you were in California, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, or New Hampshire (the “Covered States”) and
    (a) placed one or more telephone calls to Sirius Satellite Radio between July 13, 2006 and November 17, 2009, spoke with a representative on behalf of Sirius Satellite Radio, and were not provided with notice that the call may be recorded or monitored; and/or
    (b) received one or more telephone calls from Sirius Satellite Radio between July 13, 2006 and February 1, 2010, spoke with a representative on behalf of Sirius Satellite Radio, and were not provided with notice that the call may be recorded or monitored; and/or
    (c) placed one or more telephone calls to XM Satellite Radio between January 25, 2009 and November 17, 2009, to discuss music royalty fees or cancelling your XM Satellite Radio subscription, spoke with a representative on behalf of XM Satellite Radio, and were not provided with notice that the call may be recorded or monitored (the “Settlement Class”).
    If you qualify to be in the Settlement Class, you are a Class Member and may be entitled to payment of money from the Settlement Amount.


    THE ACTION AND THE SETTLEMENT
    This class action arose out of allegations regarding Defendants monitoring and/or recording telephone calls with customers without always giving notification that the call may be recorded or monitored and/or obtaining consent to recording or monitoring. Representative Plaintiff Kambiz Batmanghelich (“Representative Plaintiff”) alleged in the Complaint that Defendants monitored and/or recorded telephone calls without notice to or consent of the parties to the telephone calls in violation of applicable telephone privacy and/or recording laws. Representative Plaintiff sought fixed damages under the applicable laws, injunctive relief, and an award of attorneys’ fees and costs.
    Defendants have denied liability and dispute all allegations and claims set forth in the Complaint. However, the parties have nonetheless decided to negotiate a settlement of this action in order to avoid the burden, expense and uncertainty of further litigation. Further, the parties, after a thorough investigation of the facts and applicable law concerning all claims and defenses, have agreed that the proposed Settlement is in the best interest of all Class Members and that the proposed Settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate.
    Without admitting liability, Nine Million Four Hundred Eighty Thousand Dollars ($9,480,000) (the “Common Fund”) will be paid to settle the case. The Common Fund, less any attorneys’ fees and costs awarded by the Court to Class Counsel, as well as the costs of class notice and claims administration which are expected to be approximately $450,000, will be the “Settlement Amount.” Subject to approval by the Court, ten thousand dollars ($10,000) from the Settlement Amount will be paid to Representative Plaintiff and the remainder will be distributed to the Class Members. If any of the Settlement Amount remains after payment of all claims of Class Members and Representative Plaintiff, such funds will be paid to charitable organization(s) qualified under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code as more fully set forth in the Amended Settlement Agreement and Release.
    Subject to approval of the Settlement by the Court, each member of the Settlement Class who does not request exclusion from the class and who submits a valid claim as described below shall be entitled to an individual Settlement Amount. The actual amount received by each Class Member will depend on the number of valid claims submitted and approved from each of the various Covered States. Payments to the Class Members will be calculated by: (1) dividing the Settlement Amount less $10,000 by the sum of five times the number of authorized claimants from California plus the number of authorized claimants from Covered States other than California to calculate the “Prorated Settlement Amount,” and (2) distributing five times the Prorated Settlement Amount to each Class Member who was in California when the telephone calls with Defendants were made during the class period, and distributing the Prorated Settlement Amount to each Class Member who was in a Covered State other than California when the telephone calls with Defendants were made during the class period. The maximum individual Settlement Amount for a Class Member who was in California at the time of any telephone call with Defendants during the class period is $5,000 and the maximum individual Settlement Amount for a Class Member who was in another Covered State at the time of the telephone calls with Defendants during the class period is $1,000.


    FINAL JUDGMENT AND RELEASE OF ALL CLAIMS
    If the Court approves the proposed Settlement, it will enter a final judgment in the action on the merits as to all Class Members who do not request to be excluded from the Settlement Class. All Class Members who submit claims, and all Class Members who do not validly and timely request to be excluded from the proposed Settlement, shall be subject to a binding judgment in favor of the Defendants. All such Class Members shall be forever barred from prosecuting their own lawsuits and shall be deemed to have released Defendants and their agents from all claims, causes of action or losses of any kind whatsoever relating to the monitoring or the recording of telephone calls that any Class Member has or may claim to have against such persons that are based upon, arise out of, or in any way relate to any of the acts, omissions or other conduct that were or could have been alleged or otherwise referred to in the action.


    HOW TO MAKE A CLAIM
    Subject to the approval of the Settlement by the Court, if you want to participate in the Settlement, you must complete and submit online the Claim Form that is available on the Internet at the following web address:XXXXXXXXXXXXXX no later than September 10, 2011.
    If you choose to participate in the Settlement by submitting a Claim Form, you will be bound by all of the provisions of the Amended Settlement Agreement and Release, including a full release of claims that will prevent you from separately suing Defendants and their agents.


    TO EXCLUDE YOURSELF FROM THE SETTLEMENT
    You have the right to exclude yourself from the Settlement Class and the Settlement. If you wish to be excluded, you must complete and send a written Request for Exclusion, containing your name, address, signature, and a statement that you meet the criteria of the Settlement Class but wish to be excluded from the Settlement Class, postmarked no later than June 27, 2011 to the Claims Administrator at the following address, with copies sent to Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel:
    Claims Administrator:
    Call Recording Class Action Settlement
    c/o GCG, Inc.
    P.O. Box 9722
    Dublin, Ohio 43017-5622
    Class Counsel:
    Daniel F. Gaines, Esq.
    Kenneth S. Gaines, Esq.
    Gaines & Gaines, APLC
    21550 Oxnard Street, Suite 980
    Woodland Hills, California 91367​


    Defendants’ Counsel:
    Edward D. Totino, Esq.
    DLA Piper LLP (US)
    1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 400
    Los Angeles, California 90067
    Attorneys for Stream International, Inc.
    -and-
    Trenton H. Norris, Esq.
    Arnold & Porter LLP
    One Embarcadero Center, 22nd Floor
    San Francisco, California 94111
    Attorneys for Sirius XM Radio Inc.​

    A short statement of your reason for wanting to be excluded from the Settlement Class is also requested, but it is not required for your request to be valid. If you timely and validly request exclusion from the Settlement Class, you will be excluded from the Settlement Class, you will receive none of the Settlement Amount, and you will not be bound by the judgment entered in the action.


    TO OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENT
    If you wish to object to the Settlement, you must file a written objection and/or a notice of intention to appear with the Court, and serve such objection and/or notice upon Class Counsel and Defendants’ Counsel at the addresses set forth above. Any written objections and/or notice must state, in clear and concise terms, the legal and factual arguments supporting the objection, and must include proof of membership in the Settlement Class. If your objection is rejected, you will be bound by the final judgment as if you had not objected.
    To be considered, the notice and objection papers must be received by the Court and filed and served on Class Counsel and Defendants’ Counsel no later than August 5, 2011. Class Members who do not timely make their objections in this manner will be deemed to have waived all objections and will not be entitled to be heard at the Settlement approval hearing. You may, but need not, enter an appearance through counsel of your choice. If you do, you will be responsible for your personal attorneys’ fees and costs.


    ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
    The full terms of the Settlement are in the Amended Settlement Agreement and Release on file with the Clerk of the Court, and available on the website of the Claims Administrator at www.CallRecordingClassAction.com. Other filings with the Court may also be available on this website. The Amended Settlement Agreement and Release shall govern where there is any conflict between it and this Notice.
    This description of the action is general and does not cover all of the issues and proceedings thus far. In order to see the complete file including the individual terms of the Settlement, you should visit the office of the Clerk of the Court. The Clerk will inform you as to how to obtain the file relating to this lawsuit for inspection and copying at your own expense.


    NOTICE OF COURT HEARING
    The Settlement is subject to final Court approval and a hearing for that purpose has been scheduled for September 12, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. before the Honorable Valerie Baker Fairbank in Courtroom 9 of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, located at 312 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, California, 90012 (“the Final Fairness and Approval Hearing”). You are currently represented by Representative Plaintiff’s counsel, Kenneth S. Gaines, Esq., and Daniel F. Gaines, Esq., Gaines & Gaines, APLC, 21550 Oxnard Street, Suite 980, Woodland Hills, California, 91367, (818) 703-8985; Steven L. Miller, Esq., Steven L. Miller, APLC, 16133 Ventura Blvd., Suite 645, Encino, California, 91436; and Scott A. Miller, Esq., Law Offices of Scott A. Miller, APC, 16133 Ventura Blvd., Ste. 645, Encino, California, 91436, (818) 788-8081 (“Class Counsel”), but may retain your own counsel, if you choose, at your own expense. At the Final Fairness and Approval Hearing, Class Counsel will ask the Court to enter an Order finally approving the Settlement and entering judgment. Class Counsel will also apply for an award of attorneys’ fees not to exceed Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000) plus reimbursement of costs in an amount not to exceed $20,000, which will be paid from the Common Fund, and an incentive payment of $10,000 to the Representative Plaintiff that will be paid from the Settlement Amount.
    YOU MAY CONTACT THE CLAIMS ADMINISTRATOR WITH ANY QUESTIONS AT 1 (877) 690-8231. YOU MAY REQUEST A COPY OF THE COMPLAINT, THE AMENDED SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND RELEASE, OR ANY OTHER FILING IN THE LAWSUIT. YOU MAY ALSO VIEW THE FILES FOR THE CASE BY VISITING THE COURT CLERK’S OFFICE.
    PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT
    OR DEFENSE COUNSEL WITH ANY QUESTIONS
     
  2. Apr 25, 2011 at 11:18 PM
    #2
    ninja90177

    ninja90177 Well-Known Member

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    Unfortunately, these laws very state-to-state on the whole "recording phone calls" laws.

    I know Nevada is one of those states that the laws apply, and they've (Sirius/XM) always addressed themselves clearly, spoke clearly, and announced they were recording the call when they've called me, which was once.

    I hope anyone that was "violated" by law is compensated, but there's always someone out there ready to sue someone else for not doing something they feel they needed to do.
     
  3. Apr 25, 2011 at 11:21 PM
    #3
    island808

    island808 Me l've got brains.

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  4. Apr 25, 2011 at 11:23 PM
    #4
    kingtaco

    kingtaco Well-Known Member

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    I got one too. I started filling mine out but when I got to the part where it asks for you social security number that's where I stopped. I don't see why they would need it. I guess for taxes but I would think it would be up to the individual to pay the taxes. I don't think it's legit. I'm trying ti find out myself.
     
  5. Apr 25, 2011 at 11:26 PM
    #5
    ilovetacos

    ilovetacos [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I've probably made over 50 calls to Sirius since 2005 when I started subscribing and I can't remember if they told me the calls were recorded or not.

    Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. I have always heard the lawyers involved make out with over 75% of the settlement.

    I found a couple links on SternFanNetwork and "Yahoo answers" but some say it's legit and some say it's a scam.
     
  6. Apr 26, 2011 at 12:14 AM
    #6
    ninja90177

    ninja90177 Well-Known Member

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    I've never had to call them, oddly. One of the few services I have that I haven't had to call and bitch about anything. Basically, there's been nothing to record.

    Though, I believe there has been less-than-happy consumers, and I can see where this stems from. I do have to say, though, that someone is out for a "freebie" and that there may be, eventually, a settlement.

    I've been involved in several class-action suits, and the majority have involved the Soldiers & Sailors Civil Relief Act, as a few select companies took it upon themselves to attempt to screw those few of us that fight for what our nation decrees. Even being well aware that we are not in a situation to "hang-out at internet cafes" to "pay our bills," as they so eloquently put it, in their paperwork.

    I'm not up or down on this, but then again, they have to prove the whole thing. If it's illegal to not announce you're recording a call, the same goes both ways.
     
  7. Apr 26, 2011 at 12:27 AM
    #7
    WhatThePho?

    WhatThePho? Greg Graffin 2016

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    Sad people will sue you for anything these days just to make a fortune or a buck.
     
  8. Apr 26, 2011 at 11:40 AM
    #8
    mntbiker2008

    mntbiker2008 First I derp.. then I herp

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    i hate people that want to sue for petty crap like that. kinda wish they would go collapse in a ditch somewhere... world would be soooo much better without them. :rolleyes: if that sounded bad... get over it.. its the truth. :cool:
     
  9. Apr 29, 2011 at 7:08 PM
    #9
    wizbang fl

    wizbang fl New Member

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    The whole class action lawsuit email is a Phishing scheme to try to get you to give up your SSN and information to steal your identity.

    There was a marketing firm that was hacked about 2 weeks ago where users of a lot of services (sirius, comcast, etc) email accounts were obtained. If you notice the email didn't refer to anyone by name. It's a canned letter without giving confirming that you are still at that email.

    A true class action email would at the very least give your name and confirm your account number with Sirius.

    Be careful.......
     

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