Federal Class Action Lawsuit Against AOL Filed Today by Hagens Berman

Business Wire, March 6, 2000

Business Editors, Legal Writers

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 6, 2000

America Online (NYSE:AOL), the world's largest Internet service provider has recently found itself the target of various lawsuits claiming its software, AOL 5.0, has caused damage to users' computers.

Late Friday, the company was hit with a new lawsuit, this one citing a recently enacted federal law designed to safeguard online communications.

The proposed national class-action lawsuit, filed late Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, claims that AOL violated the federal electronic communications law by releasing a version of their software that, without adequate warning, made major changes to users' computers, rendering them unstable, and in some cases, inoperable. The lawsuit also claims that AOL, the world's largest Internet software provider (ISP), effectively barred their customers from connecting with competing ISPs.

Attorney Steve Berman, known for his national expertise in class-action lawsuits including negotiating the Big Tobacco settlement, filed the lawsuit on behalf of all AOL 5.0 users in the U.S. The lawsuit contends that programs such as AOL 5.O and other web browsers that are installed via CD-ROM and Internet download constitute electronic communications and are therefore subject to the federal statute that prohibits illegal altering, modifying or reconfiguring electronic communications files.

The latest class-action filing against AOL comes on the heels of similar lawsuits filed in other states including Arizona, California, New Jersey, New York and Oregon.

"After we filed our original suit on behalf of AOL users in Washington, we immediately began receiving hundreds of calls and e-mails from disgruntled AOL users from all across the country asking how they could join the Washington state lawsuit," Berman said. "We followed up with additional complaints in Arizona, California, New Jersey, New York, and Oregon. Concurrently, we were as researching the federal statues and found that the federal electronic communications laws address this issue dead on center."

The proposed national class-action lawsuit claims AOL failed to divulge to its users that AOL 5.0 would make dramatic changes to the users' operating systems and would interfere with the user's ability to connect to the competing ISP networks.

"AOL 5.0 promised users 500 free hours of faster, better Internet access," Berman said. "But in reality, many novice users found that once they installed AOL 5.0, removing the software was nearly impossible. This was a brazen attempt by AOL to hold these customers hostage as long as they wanted to connect to the Internet."

According to Berman, AOL 5.0 is perhaps the most insidious way the company could force consumers to use AOL. "Once the software was up and running, it changed so many of the systems configurations, the average user had no hope of connecting with anyone else other than AOL. Many who tried to unwind the installation found that it was almost impossible since it affected more than 2000 files."

The class, if approved, would represent all AOL users in the U.S. who subscribe to the service and installed AOL 5.0. According to Berman, the exact number of people affected by this is yet unknown, but could number in the millions.

Berman is managing partner of Hagens Berman. Berman's practice is focused on securities, antitrust, ERISA, and consumer and environmental matters, with a heavy emphasis on class actions. Berman represented 13 states in suits against Big Tobacco, and was one of the prime architects of the groundbreaking Liggett settlement. Other class actions the firm handled include matters involving The Boeing Company, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Egghead, Nordstrom, Boston Chicken, Noah's Bagels, Louisiana Pacific and Washington Public Power Supply (WPPSS).

For more information about this lawsuit, learn how to join the action, or to share experiences regarding AOL 5.0, please visit www.hagens-berman.com.

EDITORS NOTE: Accredited media may request copies of the complaint or arrange interviews with plaintiffs or counsel by contacting Mark Firmani at 206/443-9357 or mark@firmani.com.