September 14, 2004

A Madison County class action against the big phone company Ameritech is being settled for (conjecturally) $12.4 million for consumers and (most definitely) $1.9 million for class counsel. There were some alterations to the original settlement terms, following objections by consumer advocates, but class counsel including Korein Tillery succeeded in preventing any award of fees to the consumerists. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's coverage quotes Judge Nicholas Byron as saying to Ameritech lawyer Leslie Smith, regarding the county's notorious reputation: "I hope you're not agreeing [to the settlement] just because you're in Madison County." Smith's reply is unrecorded.