I just can't believe it. This comes from Tom Taylor's daily briefing: (just in case you didn't see it)
That disputed $180 million Sirius XM class-action settlement is okayed by a judge.
The Carl Blessing lawsuit was filed in 2009, alleging that Sirius XM failed to keep its word about not raising subscriber prices following the mid-2008 merger of the two rivals. The terms of the settlement just approved by U.S. District Court Judge Harold Baer give the attorneys $13 million in fees – but not a penny of cash to current or former subscribers. It goes into the books as being worth $180 million, but it’s almost all calculated from the value of Sirius XM agreeing not to raise its prices until after December 31. CEO Mel Karmazin confidently told analysts on a recent conference call (May 4 TRI Newsletter) that he planned to hike prices by “more than inflation.” He said “it would be something that would be compensating the company for its investment in content.” (Though Mel has been diligently chopping programming costs.) The Blessing lawsuit alleged that actions like last year’s $2-a-month pass-along music royalty fee and other hikes were improper. Now Bloomberg says Judge Baer believes the settlement terms "demonstrate sufficient fairness, adequacy and reasonableness....the vast majority of class members will benefit in the course of their normal subscription payments." In the $13 million in legal fees he approved, Judge Baer “found nothing to suggest exorbitant rates nor double billing, nor padding of any kind.”
That disputed $180 million Sirius XM class-action settlement is okayed by a judge.
The Carl Blessing lawsuit was filed in 2009, alleging that Sirius XM failed to keep its word about not raising subscriber prices following the mid-2008 merger of the two rivals. The terms of the settlement just approved by U.S. District Court Judge Harold Baer give the attorneys $13 million in fees – but not a penny of cash to current or former subscribers. It goes into the books as being worth $180 million, but it’s almost all calculated from the value of Sirius XM agreeing not to raise its prices until after December 31. CEO Mel Karmazin confidently told analysts on a recent conference call (May 4 TRI Newsletter) that he planned to hike prices by “more than inflation.” He said “it would be something that would be compensating the company for its investment in content.” (Though Mel has been diligently chopping programming costs.) The Blessing lawsuit alleged that actions like last year’s $2-a-month pass-along music royalty fee and other hikes were improper. Now Bloomberg says Judge Baer believes the settlement terms "demonstrate sufficient fairness, adequacy and reasonableness....the vast majority of class members will benefit in the course of their normal subscription payments." In the $13 million in legal fees he approved, Judge Baer “found nothing to suggest exorbitant rates nor double billing, nor padding of any kind.”
