Enderlin v XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.
Arkansas Man Sues XM Satellite Radio, Claims Radio Is Not Commercial Free
Matthew Enderlin, an Arkansas resident, filed a class action lawsuit against XM Satellite Radio claiming that the company's marketing of its music channels as completely commercial free is "false, misleading and deceptive." The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, seeks punitive damages and to ban the D.C. company from advertising and selling "commercial-free" products. The complaint states that XM's commercial-free claim violates the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and identifies similar statutes in 41 states and the District of Columbia.
XM advertises that their service is commercial-free when, in fact, it's anything but," said the attorney for Mr. Enderlin. The lawyer continues "Mr. Enderlin repeatedly heard promotions for text-messaging services provided by a large telecommunications company on XM music channels."
Attorneys for Mr. Enderlin will file a motion for class-action certification within the next 60 days in which Mr. Enderlin would represent a national group of similar consumers who subscribed to the service or bought equipment needed to hear it since Nov. 12, 2001.
The suit does not give an exact number of potentially affected consumers, but it estimates it to be "in the millions." XM recently surpassed 6 million subscribers, compared with November 2001 when the company estimated it had 5,000.
