Case Details

Year Initiated/Committed

1989

Year Resolved

1991

Settlement Amount

$5 million credits, $4,863,335 damages

Court

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Docket Number

89-2839-CIV-Nesbitt

Lead State

FL

Participating States

FL

Defendant(s)

Southern Bell Telephone Company

Case Description

Florida intervened in the Davis v. Southern Bell action, seeking injunctive relief and civil penalties, alleging that Southern Bell Telephone Company (Southern Bell) monopolized inside wire maintenance and other optional service markets and overcharged subscribers; that Southern Bell’s marketing for certain optional services contained misrepresentations, that Southern Bell billed certain customers for optional inside wire maintenance plans and other optional services which customers did not know they had or did not know were optional.
In order to settle the dispute on behalf of the class and the State of Florida, the parties entered a settlement agreement. As part of the agreement, Southern Bell agreed to provide affected customers with credit toward optional services or offered a reduction in the cost of their existing service plans. These credits ultimately totaled over $5 million. Additionally, Southern Bell agreed to pay $4,863,335 in damages. Of the settlement proceeds, $905,554 was distributed to pay the state’s investigative costs and attorney’s fees.