Ohio Joins States Covered by Class Action LawsuitsTargeting AOL For Damaging Users' Computers;...

Business Editors, High-Tech/Legal Writers

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2000

America Online (NYSE:AOL), the world's largest Internet service provider, is again the target of a class-action lawsuit for its latest version AOL 5.0 which critics claim causes damage to users' computers.

Today, AOL was hit with a class-action lawsuit in Ohio, allowing Ohio residents the opportunity to join the class-action lawsuits that have sprung up against AOL across the country.

The proposed class-action lawsuit was filed in Hamilton County Court in Cincinnati, Ohio under the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act. The lawsuit claims that AOL knowingly released AOL 5.O so that, without warning, it made major changes to users' computers, rendering them unstable and, in some cases inoperable. The suit also claims that AOL effectively barred customers from connecting with competing ISPs.

Attorney Steve Berman, known for his national expertise in class-action lawsuits including the Big Tobacco settlement, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Ohio residents who have installed AOL 5.0 and have experienced difficulty connecting to competing ISPs. The Ohio class-action filing comes on the heels of similar lawsuits filed in Washington, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Jersey, and Oregon.

"Since we filed our initial complaint in Washington, we have literally received hundreds of calls and e-mails from disgruntled AOL users from all across the country asking how they could join the AOL lawsuit," Berman said. "We've recently filed complaints in a number of states, including a national class-action suit, but could well continue to expand our efforts to other states," Berman said.

The suit claims the Internet giant failed to divulge to its users that the AOL 5.0 upgrade would make dramatic changes to the users' operating systems and would interfere with the user's ability to connect to the competing ISP networks.

"AOL 5.0 promised users 500 free hours of faster, better Internet access," Berman said. "But in reality, many novice users found that once they installed AOL 5.0, removing the software was nearly impossible. This was a brazen attempt by AOL to hold these customers hostage as long as they wanted to connect to the Internet."

According to Berman, named plaintiff Connie Kinser installed AOL 5.0 and immediately began experiencing problems. In addition to `fatal error' messages, Kinser was unable to connect with any other ISP. After spending days trying to undo the changes caused by AOL, Kinser resorted to purchasing a new computer rather than pour additional resources into correcting the problems.

The class, if approved, would represent all AOL users in Ohio who subscribe to the service and installed AOL 5.0. According to Berman, the exact number of people affected by this is yet unknown, but could number in the tens of thousands.

Berman is managing partner of Hagens Berman. Berman's practice is focused on securities, antitrust, ERISA, and consumer and environmental matters, with a heavy emphasis on class actions. Berman represented 13 states in suits against Big Tobacco, and was one of the prime architects of the groundbreaking Ligget settlement. Other class actions the firm handled include matters involving The Boeing Company, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Egghead, Nordstrom, Boston Chicken, Noah's Bagels, Louisiana Pacific and Washington Public Power Supply (WPPSS). For more information, visit www.hagens-berman.com

ED NOTE: Accredited media may request copies of the complaint or to arrange interviews with plaintiffs or counsel by contacting Mark Firmani at 206/443-9357 or mark@firmani.com