Judge OKs AOL Access Settlement

A judge in Chicago approved a settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed by subscribers to America Online Inc. who had trouble accessing the network last year. The settlement, which some attorneys had argued would benefit only a small number of the estimated 8 million class members, was approved by Cook County Circuit Judge Stephen Schiller. In a 10-page opinion, Schiller wrote that as of November, AOL had testified it had received 128,479 claims pursuant to the proposed settlement, while only 250 objections and 740 exclusions had been received. The lawsuit was filed after the company was besieged by complaints when some subscribers found they had trouble accessing Dulles, Va.-based AOL’s network after the company decided to charge a flat monthly fee in late 1996. The settlement provides refunds based on the plan a subscriber used and amount of time using the network. The company has not specified the cost of resolving the nationwide class action, though it did say last April that it believed a $24-million charge it took against earnings will cover refunds and credits for all subscribers. AOL previously reached an agreement of voluntary compliance with 45 state attorneys general in the matter.