Siegel v Illinois Municipalities
Cell Phone Users Seek to Recover Fees from Illinois Municipalities
The class has been certified in an action filed against various Illinois municipalities on behalf of residents with mobile phones who paid Telecommunications Infrastructure Maintenance Fees attributable to any municipality other than Chicago between January 1, 1998, and February 8, 2002. Residents who have their cellular service through U.S. Cellular or PrimeCo Personal Communications are not part of this action. The action alleges that the fees were illegal under the Illinois constitution. Eligible participants do not need to take any action to remain a part of the class.
The action alleges that many cities and towns in Illinois did not actually maintain any of the infrastructure necessary to cellular communications, other than switching stations in their city limits. Allegedly, they collected the fees even though they provided virtually no services. The city of Chicago and cell carriers U.S. Cellular and PrimeCo Personal Communications have been omitted from this certification because they settled separately in negotiations that have already been approved and implemented.
The action does not apply to any Infrastructure Maintenance Fees that have been instituted as replacements for those that were implemented prior to February 2002. Any fees paid since then have been permitted by the Illinois Supreme Court and are legal.
If you are eligible to participate in this action, you should contact the class attorneys to assure that they have your current address.
