A Georgia judge allowed consumers to sue Orkin Exterminating Co. as a group over claims that the pest-control company cheated them out of termite treatments. Cobb Superior Court Judge Stephen Schuster on Friday granted class-action status to a 2001 lawsuit on behalf of as many as 70,000 consumers who seek unspecified monetary damages. Orkin is a unit of Atlanta-based Rollins Inc. Lead plaintiffs Ernest and Dolores Warren claim they were promised termite treatments and yearly inspections by Orkin, only to have their signatures forged on receipts while the work was left undone. In Florida, Orkin in June ended a long legal battle with a Ponte Vedra Beach homeowner over termite damage, agreement and agreed to pay him nearly $4.6 million. It's in negotiations with the Florida Attorney General's Office over a statewide settlement involving allegations of inadequate inspections and improper repairs to termite-damaged homes.