Gallagher & Associates Law Firm 
Client Matters
 
June 2011

 

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AT&T Sued for IPhone Billing

 

AT&T is being sued for systematically overcharging its iPhone and iPad customers for data transactions, primarily small charges which amount to millions of dollars in revenue for the wireless carrier.

 

"AT&T's billing system for iPhone and iPad data transactions is like a rigged gas pump that charges for a full gallon when it pumps only nine-tenths of a gallon into your car's tank," the suit alleged. "AT&T's bills systematically overstate the amount of data used on each data transaction involving an iPhone or iPad account."

 

According to the federal class-action suit, an independent consulting firm hired by plaintiff conducted a two-month study of AT&T's data usage billing practices, and discovered the carrier systematically overstated web server traffic by 7% to 14% -- and in some cases by more than 300%

 

As a result, an iPhone user who downloads a 50 KB website will typically be billed for 53.5 KB (a 7% price hike) to as much as 150 KB (a 300% overcharge). The suit also accuses AT&T of billing customers for non-use.  "It gets worse," the suit charges. "Not only does AT&T systematically overbill for every data transaction, it also bills for phantom data traffic when there is no actual data usage initiated by the customer."

 

This claim was based on findings from the consulting firm, which purchased an iPhone from an AT&T store, closed all applications, disabled all notifications and services, deactivated the email and left it alone for 10 days.

 

"During this 10-day period, AT&T billed the test account for 35 data transactions totaling 2,292 KB of usage," the suit claims. "This is like the rigged gas pump charging you when you never even pulled your car into the station."  Other tests by the consulting firm also purportedly showed that AT&T's billing system fails to accurately record the time and date of data usage, making it difficult for customers to track their usage and take advantage of their full allotment.

 

Although AT&T's alleged overcharges per customer are "modest," the suit says, the effect on AT&T's bottom line is "huge." AT&T has 92.8 million customers, and for the fourth quarter of 2010, reported a wireless data revenue increase of $1.1 billion, or 27.4%, from a year earlier. A "significant portion" of those revenues, the suit says, resulted from AT&T's "rigged billing system" for iPhone and iPad data usage.

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FC Tampa Bay Homestand

  Rowdies Al Lang  

 

F.C. Tampa Bay begins a June homestand with games against Carolina on June 4 and Atlanta on June 12.  F.C. Tampa Bay is well into its second North American Soccer League season and plays its home games at Al Lang Stadium in downtown St. Petersburg. 

 

Resurrecting a Rowdies tradition of years past F.C. Tampa Bay will square off against in-state rival Ft. Lauderdale Strikers in the 4th of July match up with fireworks both on and off the field.  More information www.fctampabay.com.

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One Dog Policy

Erika Mariz

Shanghai, home to over 20 million people, recently adopted a one dog per household policy drawing on China's one child policy. Shanghai is not the first city to adopt a one dog policy- Beijing and Guangzhou already implemented the same. This new policy for Shanghai has been the subject of heated debate amongst Shanghai residents. In China, dogs were once regarded as an anti-communist, bourgeois luxury, but many Chinese have come to view them as man's best friend.

The new one dog policy in Shanghai is aimed at reducing the number of dogs in the city as well as an attempt to combat the spread of rabies. The government said the tighter regulation was due to noise, unscooped waste, and the growing risk of dog attacks. The city has more than 100,000 recorded incidents of dog attacks each year since 1996, and thousands of people die every year of rabies in China because of unvaccinated dogs. There are only 140,000 licensed dogs compared to 600,000 unregistered ones in Shanghai. Many of the unlicensed dogs are also unvaccinated. Furthermore, packs of stray dogs can be found throughout the city's suburbs as many first-time dog owners don't spay or neuter their animals and eventually abandon them when they grow tired of the burdens of keeping a pet. Because of these problems, Shanghai is implementing numerous laws aimed at curbing the dog population and spread of disease/dog bites.

However, anyone who currently owns two or more licensed dogs prior to the start of the new laws will be allowed to keep the dogs as long as each dog's license is maintained.

The new regulations also require all dogs in the city to receive vaccinations. Other rules include keeping dogs in public areas leashed at all times, and large dogs must wear muzzles to prevent them from biting others. To encourage more pet owners to license their dogs, the government slashed the cost of the permits. Despite a reduction in the cost of the permits, animal shelters have been expanded in the expectation that many owners will abandon their dogs to avoid paying the license fees. Since this new policy's proposal, there has been plenty of commentary from dog lovers and non-sympathizers to this new policy.As this policy has just gone into effect this month, it will be interesting to see whether these laws are enforced and whether shelters will fill up with dogs or if residents will pay to keep their pooches.

NY AG Investigation

 

New York's Attorney General has requested information and documents from three major Wall Street banks about their mortgage securities operations during the credit boom, indicating the existence of a new investigation into practices that contributed to billions in mortgage losses.  The requests were directed to Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. 

 

Several civil suits have been filed by federal and state regulators since the financial crisis erupted in 2008, some of which have generated settlements and fines, most prominently a $550 million deal between Goldman Sachs and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

But even more questions have been raised in private lawsuits filed against the banks by investors and others who say they were victimized by questionable securitization practices. Some litigants have contended, for example, that the banks dumped loans they knew to be troubled into securities and then misled investors about the quality of those underlying mortgages when selling the investments.

 

The possibility has also been raised that the banks did not disclose to mortgage insurers the risks in the instruments they were agreeing to insure against default. Another potential area of inquiry - the billions of dollars in credit extended by Wall Street to aggressive mortgage lenders that allowed them to continue making questionable loans far longer than they otherwise could have done.

 

Officials at Bank of America and Goldman Sachs declined to comment about the investigation; Morgan Stanley did not respond to a request for comment.

 

During the mortgage boom, Wall Street firms bundled hundreds of billions of dollars in home loans into securities that they sold profitably to investors. After the real estate bubble burst, the perception took hold that the securitization process as performed by the major investment banks contributed to the losses generated in the crisis.

 

Critics contend that Wall Street's securitization machine masked the existence of risky home loans and encouraged reckless lending because pooling the loans and selling them off allowed many participants to avoid responsibility for the losses that followed.

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Red Light Cameras

 

Is the state's red-light camera law is constitutional?  That is a recurring question before a variety of courts within the state.  At issue is a measure passed by the Legislature and signed into law by former Gov. Charlie Crist in July 2010. It allowed tickets to be mailed out to the owners of cars that ran red lights at intersections monitored by cameras.

  

Critics have said that the system deprives ticketed motorists of the constitutional rights to due process and equal protection under the law. Moreover, there is too much of a financial incentive to issue citations, violating the statute's prohibition of ticket quotas.

 

The mechanism of camera tickets tend to coerce drivers to pay rather than defend themselves because the fine is $158. But by going to court, the motorist risks having the fine almost doubled, as well as having points levied on his license, which could increase insurance rates. No points are assessed with camera tickets that aren't appealed.

 

An Orlando Sentinel review of the law found it is applied erratically in the region, especially when it comes to tickets for turning right on a red light. Orlando, for instance, does not enforce right-turn tickets, while Apopka routinely issues citations if the motorist does not come to a complete stop before the white line.

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Insurance Legislation Update 

 

Despite public opposition, Gov. Rick Scott signed SB 408, which drastically changes property insurance for all citizens.  Sen. Mike Fasano and other consumer advocates fought against the legislation as too insurer friendly.  The bill includes the following changes:

 

�Expanding exclusions from losses covered by the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund to include losses caused by perils other than a covered event, such as fire, theft, flood or rising water, as well as amounts paid for waivers of deductibles and bad faith awards.

 

�Limiting public adjuster compensation for reopened or supplemental claims to 20 percent of the claim payment and requiring additional disclosures.

 

�Requires that all sinkhole be filed within two years of the date of loss.

 

�Requiring insurers to provide two replacement cost coverage options for payment of personal property insurance claims.

 

�Requiring a policyholder to file windstorm and hurricane claims within three years.

 

Parts of the bill that failed included provisions that would permit carriers to raise rates without state oversight and approval. 

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In This Issue
IPad/IPhone Billing Lawsuit
FC Tampa Bay
NY AG Investigation
Red Light Cameras
Insurance Update
G&A Team Spotlight
G&A News & Notes
Seal Team 6
Hurricane Outlook
Foreclosed by Neighbors

G&A Spotlight

Allison 

Allison Wallrapp has recenly joined G&A as a law clerk.  Allison is a current student at Stetson University College of Law.  She was previously employed with a large statewide foreclosure law firm in Tampa.

 

Ms. Wallrapp graduated summa cum laude from Rollins College where she was President of the student body.  Ms. Wallrapp is a member of St. Petersburg Bar Association and the Florida Association for Women Lawyers. Allison focuses on foreclosure litigation, consumer law, real estate & insurance law and business litigation.

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Happy Father's Day

 
G&A wants to wish a very happy Father's Day to our dads and to dads everwhere.  Thanks for all you do and mean to us all.

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G&A News & Notes 


*Charles Gallagher was featured on Fox 13 to discuss the pending mortgage fraud settlement among all attorneys general. Fox 13
  
*Gallagher & Associatioes was proud to sponsor the Suncoast PBA's football game at Al Lang Stadium.  The game was a benefit and fund raiser for the fallen St. Petersburg Police officers.
  
*Charles Gallagher authored, "Fla. Stat. 57.105 Attorneys Fees, To the Victor go the Spolis...Or do they?" in the May 2011 Paraclete.    
  
*Ashley Elmore Drew served as the Chair for the St. Petersburg Bar's "Meet the Judges Lunch" held at the Pinellas County Courthouse.
  
*Gallagher & Associates was proud to sponsor the St. Petersburg Bar's Meet the Judges Lunch.
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Disney & Seal Team 6

 

Walt Disney Co. applied for a trademark on the name "Seal Team 6," the name of the unit of specially trained Navy SEALs that killed Osama bin Laden in a raid in Pakistan earlier this month.

 

Three applications filed May 3, the day after the raid, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office were quicky withdrawn on May 26.

 

Companies have tried to trademark combat-related terms before. A day after U.S. allied forces entered Iraq in 2003, Sony applied to trademark the war's catchphrase, "shock and awe," for use as the title of a video game. 

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Hurricane Outlook

 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center has released the 2011 Hurricane forecast.  The Atlantic basin is expected to see an above-normal hurricane season this year, according to the seasonal outlook issued by NOAA.

 

Across the entire Atlantic Basin for the six-month season, which begins June 1, NOAA is predicting the following ranges this year:

 

�12-18 named storms

�6-10 hurricanes

�3-66 major hurricanes

 

Last year's hurricane season was one of the busiest on record with 19 named storms, including 12 hurricanes. No major hurricane has made a U.S. landfall in the last five years.

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Foreclosed by Neighbors

 

Homeowner associations are foreclosing on more and more on delinquent owners of late.   Property managers and condominium boards are foreclosing homes and condominiums over a few thousand dollars in unpaid association fees in a "vengeance foreclosure."

 

When an association forecloses and takes title to a home, the idea is the board will be able to rent it out until the bank forecloses as the primary lien holder. With banks taking years to foreclose on some properties, the board can potentially collect thousands of dollars.  The association board also gives up its ability to put liens on the property when it takes title to it and must pay legal fees.

 

Combine that with a state law enacted last year that allows associations to evict tenants in units with late payments. The law also gives associations the power to bypass owners and collect rent directly from tenants. 

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G&A Email Directory

Charles R. Gallagher III crg@attorneyoffices.org

Erika Mariz   

Ashley Elmore Drew

Jason A. Cox

    Ginny Keeter-Bodkin ginny@attorneyoffices.org

   Christine Heise

 Allison R. Wallrapp 
allison@attorneyoffices.org
 

About Our Firm 

 

Gallagher & Associates Law Firm, P.A. is a boutique consumer law firm in offering concierge legal services to individuals, consumers and small businesses where clients have 24/7 access to their attorney. 

 

Our practice areas include foreclosure defense, insurance litigation, real estate litigation and business law and consumer litigation.


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