Subject: [NEXTEL-1] AT&T Wireless faces class action lawsuit

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 09 Dec 2002 03:13:23 -0500

12/09/2002

AT&T Wireless faces class action lawsuit

In a landmark decision, the Dallas Court of Appeals issued an opinion Tuesday concluding
that wireless carriers have to abide by state consumer protection and contract laws or
face liability in state courts. The proposed class-action case of Bryceland v. AT&T
Wireless, the first of its kind in the state, alleges that AT&T misrepresented the quality
of its services, intentionally "overbooked" its network and failed to credit customers for
dropped calls.

AT&T customers Charles Bryceland, Darrin Brawner and Trey Christensen brought suit against
AT&T Wireless in 1999. "Three out of every four calls that I tried to make were either
dropped or not connected in the first place," says Brawner. Christensen, a Dallas
resident, was upset by AT&T's practice of "overbooking" its network. "They intentionally
signed up more subscribers than they could handle, like selling 1,000 tickets to a theater
with only 800 seats," says Christensen.

AT&T argued that, under the Federal Communication Act, consumers had no right to sue in
state courts for violation of state contract and consumer protection laws. The Court of
Appeals did not agree, holding that cell phone companies could be sued in Texas courts.

Dallas attorney Rob Scott, who represented the plaintiffs in court, believes this decision
sends an important message to all cell phone companies offering services in the state of
Texas. "This case makes it clear that the courts will not give these companies special
treatment," says Scott. "The Federal Communications Act does not protect cell phone
companies from being held to the same consumer protection and state contract laws that
govern all companies. Now these companies will be held responsible for false advertising
and other deceptive trade practices."

The Dallas Court of Appeals remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/