AT&T has settled a class action involving unauthorized cell phone charges for mobile content including ringtones, games and graphics. Although financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, AT&T
will pay $4.3 million just to cover plaintiffs' legal costs.
The settlement, approved by a Georgia court, includes more than a dozen lawsuits filed by AT&T subscribers nationwide,
according to law firm KamberEdelson, lead counsel for the plaintiffs. The suits alleged adequate safeguards were not in place to ensure customers were billed only for services they had purchased.
At issue were partnerships AT&T had with mobile content providers, that let the companies automatically charge ringtones and other things to customers' accounts. Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel and
T-Mobile USA face similar suits.
--Mark Walsh