DISH Network Class Action Lawsuit
Practice Area: Consumer Protection and Unsafe Products
What is the case about?
In March 2011, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC and co-counsel Girard Gibbs LLP and The Wentz Law Firm filed a national class action lawsuit alleging that DISH unlawfully raised its prices for satellite television services in February 2011. The suit alleges that DISH breached its contracts and violated the Colorado Consumer Protection Act when it raised prices on customers who were bound by a two-year contract with discounted pricing for the first 12-months. The Court preliminarily approved a settlement on November 23, 2011.
Am I eligible for a benefit under the settlement?
You may be eligible to receive a benefit under the settlement if you:
- reside in the United States,
- activated DISH programming services between February 1, 2009 and January 31, 2011 with a 24-month commitment term and an initial 12-month, promotional discounted price, and
- your programming package was subject to DISH’s February 2011 price increase.
If you are eligible for a benefit, you will receive a notice from DISH. The notice may come with your printed bill, either as an insert or as one page of the bill, or as an e-mail from DISH. If you have received a bill from DISH in January 2012, but did not receive a settlement notice and think you might be eligible, you can call DISH at 877-289-4307 to determine your eligibility.
Please note that customers are not eligible for benefits if they:
- received programming, equipment, or monetary accommodations after the February 2011 price increase in response to complaint(s) about the price increase, or
-
are customers who were in the second year of their 24-month commitment term for one of the following packages: DISH’s America’s Everything Pak, Latino Welcome Pack, Latino Clásico, Latino Plus, Latino Dos, or Latino Max at the time of the February 2011 price increase.
What benefits are available to me?
Benefits available to class members include:
- account credits
- free Pay-Per-View vouchers,
- free Blockbuster By Mail service
- DISH’s promise not to raise prices again until January 31, 2013 for certain packages
To determine the exact benefits available to you, you need to determine your class sub-group, which is stated in the notice you received from DISH as "Current DISH Customer Class Sub-Group #," "Former DISH Customer Class Sub-Group #," or "Second Year DISH Customer Class Sub-Group."
If you received notice with your printed bill, the sub-group is included about halfway down the notice in a sentence that begins "DISH has determined that . . . ." If you received an e-mail notice, the sub-group is stated in the first sentence of section #8 ("What can I get from the settlement?") of that notice. If you cannot locate your sub-group or think the sub-group stated in your notice is wrong, you can call DISH at 877-289-4307 for assistance.
Once you have determined your sub-group, you can access a full class notice that describes the benefits available to you. The full class notices are available below under Settlement Documents.
How do I get my benefit?
If you are in the Second Year DISH Customer Sub-Group, you do not need to do anything to receive your benefit; there is no claim form to complete and you will automatically receive the benefit available to you unless you exclude yourself from the class.
If you are in any other sub-group (such a Current DISH Customer Class Sub-Group 1, 2, or 3 or Former DISH Customer Class Sub-Group 1, 2, or 3), you must fill out and submit a claim form to receive the full benefits available to you. Claim forms are available above at the top right of this page and also below under Settlement Documents (combined with a full class notice). Select and print the claim form for your class sub-group, check the benefit option you want to receive, fill-in all the requested information, and return the completed form to the address (or e-mail) stated on the claim form.
What are my options under the settlement?
If you do nothing and the Court grants final approval of the settlement, you will remain a class member. If you are in the Second Year DISH Customer Class Sub-Group or the Current DISH Customer Class Sub-Group 1, 2, or 3, you will receive the benefit of DISH’s promise not to raise rates again until January 31, 2013 on certain packages. You will receive no other benefits and you will give up your right to sue DISH for the February 2011 price increase.
If you are in a sub-group with a claim form, and you properly complete and timely submit a claim form, you will also receive the additional benefit you select if the Court grants final approval of the settlement.
You may also comment on or object to the settlement, but you must remain a class member to do so. The full class notices posted below include instructions for commenting or objecting.
Or you may ask to be excluded from the class. You will not receive any of the benefits provided under the settlement but will retain your right to sue DISH for the February 2011 price increase. See the full class notice for instructions to opt-out of the settlement.
Important Dates
Written comments and objections must be received no later than March 2, 2012. Or you may state your comment or objection in person at the final approval hearing on March 21, 2012.
Exclusion requests to opt-out of the settlement must be post-marked by March 2, 2012.
Claim forms must be post-marked or e-mailed by March 10, 2012.
The Final Approval Hearing will be held on March 21, 2012 at 9:00 a.m.