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Home » Latest News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

Dan Bryden
Sprenger + Lang, PLLC
(612)-871-8910

Beth Terrell
Terrell Marshall & Daudt, PLLC
(206) 816-6605

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON (January 15, 2009)

By Order dated January 9, 2009, the Honorable Thomas J. Zilly appointed Sprenger & Lang, PLLC, Terrell Marshall & Daudt and the Law Office of Kimberlee L. Gunning as interim class counsel in the action styled as Vernon et al. v. Qwest Communications International et al. The multi-state lawsuit seeks to void a $200 "Early Termination Fee" Qwest charges its internet service customers who cancel their service before the expiration of a purported term commitment. The class, if approved, would cover Qwest customers in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

According to the Complaint, Qwest surprises customers with the ETF when they seek to cancel service. The documents that Qwest provides to customers state that the arrangement is month-to-month, but Qwest contends that customers orally agreed to the longer term. When plaintiff Robin Vernon asked for proof of this supposed oral agreement, however, Qwest was unable to provide it. Plaintiffs claim that the supposed oral agreements are unenforceable under the Statute of Frauds, a long-established principle of contract law that requires that agreements for periods of over one year must be set out in signed writings.

In addition to appointing interim class counsel, Judge Zilly's order sets forth various deadlines relating to Qwest's Motion to Compel Arbitration, Motion to Dismiss and Motion to Transfer Venue.

ABOUT THE FIRMS

Sprenger + Lang, PLLC, with offices in Minneapolis, MN and Washington, D.C., has obtained some of the country's largest gender, age, and race discrimination judgments on behalf of tens of thousands of discrimination victims. Sprenger & Lang has successfully represented classes of plaintiffs against companies such as Morgan Stanley, CBS, C.H. Robinson, New York Life, Northwest Airlines, First Union, Amtrak and Ceridian Corporation. In addition, the Firm has brought consumer class actions against large scale enterprises such as The United States Department of Education, Homecomings Financial Network and DirecTV. The firm is featured in the book Class Action, which discusses a gender discrimination class action lawsuit that the firm successfully prosecuted for over ten years and inspired the recent feature film North Country. More information is available on the firm's website, www.sprengerlang.com.

Terrell Marshall & Daudt PLLC ("TMD"), located in Seattle, Washington, prosecutes class and collective action cases on behalf of employees, consumers, investors, and other individuals against defendants ranging from small local businesses to Fortune 500 companies. TMD is currently prosecuting class actions against corporate giants such as Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Best Buy, General Motors, and Dell. TMD currently represents 70,000 current and former Wal-Mart employees in the state of Washington who were denied meal and rest breaks, worked off the clock, and whose time cards were altered to avoid payment of overtime. TMD's attorneys have successfully obtained settlements for consumers and employees worth hundreds of millions of dollars. More information is available on the firm's website, www.tmdlegal.com.

The Law Office of Kimberlee L. Gunning, PLLC, located in Seattle, Washington, limits its practice to consumer and employment law, as well as appeals in all areas of civil and administrative law. Before founding the firm, principal Kimberlee Gunning practiced complex civil litigation at a prominent Seattle firm for several years. She has significant experience in prosecuting class action claims against large corporations and has a proven track record briefing complex issues before state and federal trial courts and on appeal. Her reported cases include a recent Washington Supreme Court decision, Nelson v. Appleway Chevrolet, Inc., 157 P.3d 847 (Wash. 2007), upholding class certification and summary judgment orders in favor of a class of consumers who challenged a car dealership's illegal sales practices.