Friday, November 6, 2009
Is Verizon’s New Early-Termination Fee Anti-Consumer?
Beginning Nov. 15, Verizon subscribers looking to get out of their smart-phone contracts early will pay $350 for the privilege. That early-termination fee is double the current one, but Verizon insists it’s justified because of the higher prices of today’s phones. An interesting move for a carrier that just last year agreed to pay $21 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by California consumers over the very early-termination fees it is now increasing.
Google’s gone and run afoul of the Department of Justice again. Its interest piqued by the growing outcry over the company’s proposed book-search settlement with authors and publishers, the agency has opened an inquiry. 
If you thought the Vista Capable lawsuit was all but over with its recent decertification as a class action, think again. The plaintiffs in the suit against Microsoft have narrowed its scope a bit and are asking a federal judge to reinstate its class-action status.
