Symantec and McAfee also agreed to "provide electronic notification to consumers before and after renewal of the subscription," Cuomo's office said at the time.

The 2009 deal did not ban automatic subscription renewals, however.

Elan's lawsuit claimed that Symantec had not abided by the settlement. "Prior to the automatic renewal, defendant failed to offer plaintiff an opportunity to decline to renew the license for another year," the lawsuit maintained. "If plaintiff had notice of an opportunity to decline the automatic renewal, plaintiff would not have renewed the license."

Last July, Cuomo said the settlement with Symantec and McAfee meant that they could not longer "hide the ball with renewal fees."

Elan charged Symantec with deceptive business practices and unjust enrichment, and asked the court to make the company refund all fees generated by automatic renewals. He also asked the court to grant the lawsuit class-action status, which would open the case to a potential pool of thousands.