SiriusXM Radio Loses $96M Class Action Lawsuit

US pay-radio broadcaster SiriusXM has lost a Class Action lawsuit. The action was heard before a California federal court where SiriusXM was accused of misleading subscribers about the terms of a ‘lifetime subscription’. The action said that listeners signed up on ‘Lifetime Plans’ or ‘Lifetime Subscriptions’ deals and yet had not received the promised services, reports Advanced-Television.

Sirius XM asserted to the court that its ‘Lifetime Subscriptions’ were limited to the life of the radio originally used for the subscription (as opposed to the life of the subscriber) and that its ‘Lifetime Subscriptions’ were subject to a limited number of radio transfers, subject to a $75 transfer fee for each such transfer.

SiriusXM had charged fees ranging from $357 to $755 for one of its lifetime offers.

The settlement totals $96 million with some $3.47 million going to the lawyers.

But the Class Action members do receive other benefits. Under the Settlement, Class Members with ‘Lifetime Subscriptions’ that are active as of June 5th 2020 (‘Active Lifetime Subscriptions’) will be able to transfer their ‘Lifetime Subscriptions’ from one satellite radio to another radio capable of receiving Sirius XM’s satellite radio service (either pursuant to a paid or trial subscription to satellite radio and/or data services) for an unlimited number of times provided that they pay a transfer fee to Sirius XM of $35 for each transfer. The Settlement reduces the transfer fee from $75 to $35.

The settlement affects about 964,000 individuals. Their benefits are estimated to be worth $421.5 million, according to an expert for the plaintiffs.