Priceline Faces Class Actions

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November 7, 2003
Priceline faces consumer lawsuits in at least three states over its alleged practice of failing to disclose to customers that the airline ticket it is offering are for cities other than those specified in the counter-offers it issues to consumers.

Cases are pending in California, Illinois and Connecticut courts, according to Richard J. Doherty of Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates, a Chicago law firm representing the plaintiffs.

"This is not a minor inconvenience. We're not talking about an airport on the other side of town," Doherty said. "For example, a consumer wanting to go to Orlando, ends up in Tampa, 90 miles away. A consumer bidding on a ticket to Lincoln City, Nebraska, ends up in Joplin, Missouri. A consumer wanting to go to Sarasota, Florida, ends up in Birmingham, Alabama."

Last week, Priceline oved to dismiss the Illinois case on the grounds that its counter-offer page was not deceptive but the judge rejected the argument and allowed the case to proceed.

Lawyers for the consumers are now working on winning class action certification in the three cases, Horwitz said.

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