1. Definition of Terms
"ACNA" means Access Customer Name Abbreviation.
"ANI" means Automatic Number Identifier.
"Billing Agent" means OAN Services, Inc., or any other clearinghouse or billing aggregator that has been or is billing and collecting on behalf of the Respondents in California.
"BTN" means the Billing Telephone Number of the consumer's telephone line that is billed for telephone services provisioned by the Companies, and any other telephone line of the consumer that is billed under the same BTN for telephone services provisioned by the Companies.
"CAB" means the Consumer Affairs Branch of the California Public Utilities Commission.
"CSD" means the Consumer Services Division of the California Public Utilities Commission.
"CIC" means Carrier Identification Code.
"Corporation" means a corporation, a company, an association, or a joint stock association.
"CPCN" means those Certificates of Public Necessity and Convenience granted by the Commission and such CPCNs that are held by any of the following businesses of the Respondents: (i) Long Distance Charges, Inc. (U-5561); (ii) Least Cost Routing, Inc.
(U-4206-C); (iii) National Telecommunications, Inc. (ESP1176); and (iv) Internet Telephone Company, Inc. (U- 6107-C).
"CSD Declarations" means those Declarations of Stephanie Amato and Steve Northrop, including the tabulated attachments thereto, a copy of which was provided the Respondents pursuant to the Order Instituting Investigation, I.00-01-018;
"Date of Issuance" means the date when the Commission mails to the Parties the order or decision adopting this Settlement.
"Day" means a calendar day unless otherwise stated.
"Eligible Consumer" means those California consumers (whether a person or corporation) who were reported by the Commission Consumer Affairs Branch (CAB), the consumer's local exchange carrier (LEC), any of the Respondents, or an underlying facilities based carrier (e.g., WorldCom, Inc. (WorldCom) or Tel-Save, Inc.), as having complained during the period from January 1996 through December 1999 that one or more of the Companies without authorization switched (or caused a LEC to switch) consumers' presubscribed toll or long distance telephone service provider to any of the Companies. This includes any unauthorized switching accomplished by using an underlying carrier's CIC, which the LEC designated and recorded as a PIC dispute involving the underlying carrier but which the underlying carrier determined as a PIC dispute involving one or more of the aforementioned Respondents. Unauthorized switching also includes PIC disputes reported by an LEC or an underlying facilities- based provider, and involving one or more of the Companies and their underlying facilities-based provider. An Eligible Consumer shall be entitled to restitution for each telephone line(s) that was switched without authorization.
"Existing Customer" means (i) those California consumers whose BTN Respondents's Billing Agent(s) has billed on behalf of the Companies or any fictitious business name thereof during the period March 1 to August 30, 2000, and which billing subsequently appears as a separate insert in the envelope containing the consumers' monthly telephone billing statement mailed by the customers' LEC.
"Fee Agreement" means that contract between the Respondents and the Settlement Claims Administrator for the performance of settlement claims services as described in the Settlement Claims Administration Plan.
"Joint Motion" means the All Parties Joint Motion for Commission Adoption of the Settlement signed by the attorneys for the Parties, and filed at the Commission with this Settlement attached.
"Notice" means the CSD written statement that the Settlement Claims Administrator will include with its mailing of Switching Fee Payment Checks to Existing Customers. This Notice shall inform the Existing Customers that by the end of the Transition Period, they must switch from the Companies to another toll/long-distance carrier because as part of this Settlement, the Companies will no longer provide telephone services, and the enclosed Switching Fee Payment Check is to reasonably compensate them for the LEC charge for the switching.
"Paragraph" means the numbered provision set forth in this Settlement.
"Person" means an individual, a firm, and/or a copartnership.
"PIC" means Primary Interexchange Carrier.
"Restitution Account" means that bank account established by the Settlements Claims Administrator and into which Respondents' Restitution Monies shall be deposited and held pending its distribution/mailing to Eligible Consumers.
"Restitution Check" means that bank check drawn by the Settlements Claims Administrator on the Restitution Account for the purpose of delivering restitution to the Eligible Customers.
"Restitution Monies" means those monies paid by the Respondents to the Settlement Claims Administrator for deposit into the Restitution Account, in accordance with this Settlement.
"Rule" means a provision of the Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure, unless otherwise stated.
"Section" means a section of the California Public Utilities Code, unless otherwise stated.
"Settlement Claims Administrator" means Gilardi & Co., LLC, 1115 Magnolia Avenue, Larkspur CA 94939-1055, which as Respondents herein agree, shall process, administer, and mail (i) the Restitution Checks to the Eligible Consumers and (ii) the Switching Fee Payment Checks to Existing Customers, in the manner set forth in this Settlement and the attached Settlement Claims Administration Plan. Remuneration for which services shall be paid entirely and solely by the Respondents to the Settlement Claims Administrator according to the Fee Agreement.
"Settlement Claims Administration Plan" means the written description of the settlement claims services that the Settlement Claims Administrator will perform pursuant to this Settlement and which is hereto attached as Exhibit C and attached to the Fee Agreement.
"Switching Fee Payment Account" means the bank account established by the Settlement Claims Administrator for deposit of monies received from the Companies for purposes of paying each Existing Customer for the cost charged by the LEC for switching the Existing Customer's toll/long distance provider from the Companies to another service provider.
"Switching Fee Payment Checks" means the checks issued to an Existing Customer by the Settlement Claims Administrator pursuant to Paragraph 5.3 to 5.5, and which are drawn on the Switching Fee Payment Account.
"Telephone Corporation" means every corporation or person owning, controlling, operating, or managing any telephone line for compensation within California, and includes a reseller of telephone services.
"Transition Period" means the SIXTY (60) Day period of time that begins on the Day after the date of issuance of the Commission's decision adopting the Settlement and ends -FIFTY-NINE (59) Days later.
"USPS" means the United States Postal Service.
