Good news and bad news for Internet phone carrier Vonage -- the Federal Trade Commission has decided not to take action against the company, at least for now, but two class action suits have been filed by disgruntled shareholders.
Vonage said the Federal Trade Commission concluded its investigation into the company's 911 disclosures and compliance, and won't take any enforcement action. However, the agency is continuing to look into the firm's telemarketing practices.
The agency opened an informal probe into Vonage's 911 and telemarketing compliance efforts in January 2005. Vonage said it's continuing to provide additional information to the FTC in connection with the telemarketing review.
The stockholder lawsuits allege, among other things, that Vonage omitted or misstated certain facts concerning its recent initial public stock offering.
One of the complaints additionally claims that the IPO prospectus allegedly contained misrepresentations or omissions concerning various Vonage products, including facsimile transmission capability. The company said it has not yet been served with a copy of either complaint.
The suits were filed in the United States District Court in New Jersey.
An earlier lawsuit charged that Vonage's plan to allow its customers to purchase stock in last month's Initial Public Offering, was against the law.
