Many aspects of business are all about the fine print and correctly interpreting the terms of conditions presented. In many cases a Las Vegas business owner can advertise something in order to get the attention of consumers, and follow those statements up with a disclaimer that slightly skews the initial claim. This can be a perfectly legal tactic, but if taken too far it may be considered unlawful.
One woman filed a civil appeals lawsuit against Skype, an online calling service, after her case was dismissed by a lower court. She believes that Skype acted negligently by claiming that their online calling plans are unlimited even though very specific limitations are attached to them, according to a Fair Usage Policy Skype upholds and clearly lists on their website. Under this policy, those who use the unlimited internet calling plan are restricted to calling only 50 numbers per day over a total of six hours.
The woman asserts that Skype violated the laws of unfair competition by falsely advertising the plan as unlimited. A trial court judge ruled that because Skype listed the Fair Usage Policy on their website, they did their due diligence in appropriately representing the terms of the plan. As such, the woman appealed and court documents show that the appellate court judge has given her the right to present her class action lawsuit against Skype.
Those who believe that their civil litigation lawsuit was erroneously dismissed should speak with a litigation and appeals attorney who may be able to help file a civil appeals suit.
Source: Courthouse News Service, “Skype Must Defend False Advertising Class Action,” Jeff D. Gorman, Oct. 11, 2013
