Wal-Mart ready to settle Netflix case for $27.5M

(AP) -- More than 25 million current and former Netflix subscribers are being offered a sliver of a $27.5 million settlement from Wal-Mart. The proposed payment is being made to settle allegations that the video subscription service and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. illegally conspired to inflate the prices to rent and buy DVDs.

Most people covered by the agreement weren't notified until the details were sent in mass e-mails late Tuesday. A hearing on the settlement's merits is scheduled for March 14 in an Oakland, Calif. federal court.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, is paying for the settlement without acknowledging any wrongdoing. The proceeds will be offered in cash or Wal-Mart gift cards.

Netflix Inc. plans to defend itself against the allegations in a trial scheduled to begin Jan. 23.

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