Posted by chicagomedia.org on October 06, 2007 at 23:08:06:
A Chicago radio station accused of stiffing four listeners out of contest prizes has settled claims with two of them, months after the promises of prizes were made.
But the remaining two are continuing with lawsuits against WLEY-FM (107.9), "La Ley," saying it has failed to live up to its promises.
One listener who was denied the prize of a Corvette accused a lawyer for the station's parent company of threatening to report her illegal immigration status to federal officials.
But now, according to the station and attorneys for Maribel Nava Alvarez, the station has delivered to her family a car once owned by Mexican-American singer Juan Rivera.
And three winners of an "American Idol"-style singing contest also sued the station, accusing it of failing to deliver promised prizes, including a recording contract and studio time.
The first-place winner, Ernesto Hurtado, accepted a settlement. The other two contestants say it was a large cash payment, but they held out, in part because the settlement included a gag order, preventing anyone from talking about it.
"A lot of things about it just didn't seem right," said second-place winner Luis Arreola.
Third-place winner Yolanda Chaidez said she and Arreola are now looking for new lawyers, as "I just feel like we've been lied to."
Isabel Bucaram-Montana, spokeswoman for Spanish Broadcasting System, which owns the station, said they "were surprised and regretted" that Chaidez and Arreola "repudiated the settlement with us" and will now defend their case.