Dish Network recently settled a lawsuit for calling numbers who were on a Do Not Call list. Check and see if you are owed $1,200 or more.
Dish Network settled a $61 million class-action lawsuit over telemarketing calls they made to people on the national Do Not Call Registry. The 51,000 calls in question were made between 2010 and 2011. In total, over 18,000 people were affected and are entitled to a settlement. The national Do Not Call Registry was designed to reduce the number of unwanted telemarketing calls people receive, but companies like Dish Network sometimes call you anyways. At the conclusion of the lawsuit, a jury awarded $400 for each of the calls made in violation of the Do Not Call Registry, but the judge increased the settlement to $1,200 per call after determining that Dish "willfully and knowingly" violated the registry. If you were called multiple times by the company, you could receive an even larger settlement! Check and see if you are one of the calls here.
Dish Network is currently appealing the case. Unfortunately, affected individuals will not get their claim until the appeals process is completed. Lawyers predict that will take 6-12 months. Dish claims an outside contractor, who has since closed down, is responsible for the calls. Dish already lost in a separate government case and had to pay a $280 million penalty.
The lawyers representing the people called by Dish Network now have a surprising problem. Not enough callers are coming forward to claim their settlement. Ironically, people who were called by Dish Network are hesitant to believe this lawsuit is real and don't want to fall for a scam. But the lawyers want people to know the case is real and they should be reimbursed for the award they deserve.
What do you think? Did you receive a call from Dish Network? Let us know in the comments below!
This article was originally written for Our Community Now -- Washington, D.C., by Brianna Grant.
