The shill bidding case involving former SnapNames Vice President Nelson Brady, aka âHalvarezâ, bid up the prices for domain names with false bids has come to a conclusion. The class action settlement, filed by those who thought their domain name prices were artificially inflated, will see claimants offered the same settlement terms and amounts as those offered to affected bidders in the rebate offer last November.
Under the settlement class members (which are United States residents who were extended the rebate offer but have not yet accepted) have been or shortly will be notified of the settlement terms and amounts (which are identical to the amounts affected bidders were offered in the rebate offer we extended last November).
âHalvarezâ was the bidding name of a SnapNames.com domain name auction bidder who bid in approximately 50,000 auctions between 2005 and 2009.
âWhile this has been an unfortunate situation for SnapNames and its customers and employees, weâre proud of the faith our customers have shown us in the past year. Weâre pleased to have these matters settled and are moving on with our business and our focus on serving customers,â said Jeff Kupietzky, CEO of Oversee.net.
SnapNames have advised that unless a class member opts out of the settlement, that member is bound by the settlement terms, which include a release of all further claims against SnapNames and Oversee relating to the âHalvarezâ matter.
As a result of the case, SnapNames has created and adopted a formal policy regarding inappropriate bidding activity, and will make annual reports available to SnapNames customers regarding any reports or investigations of inappropriate bidding.
Separately, SnapNames advised they have also resolved their outstanding claim against Nelson Brady. While terms of the settlement are not public and will not be disclosed, Oversee believes the financial penalty is appropriate considering the seriousness of the improper activity.
More details on the settlement are available from:
https://www.snapnames.com/legal/settlement.jsp