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This settlement is closed!
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After 13 years of litigation, a Stipulation of Settlement has been reached between Sprint Spectrum LP (Sprint) and a group of account holders claiming Sprint’s $150 and $200 flat-rate early termination fees (ETFs) violated California law.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs contend that Sprint’s flat ETFs of $150 and $200 issued between July 23, 1999 and Mar. 18, 2007 were unlawful because Sprint did not, before inserting an ETF provision into its subscriber contracts, conduct a “reasonable endeavor” to make certain that they did not exceed the actual harm Sprint would suffer from the early termination of consumer contracts, as California law required.
Plaintiffs claimed that by inserting an ETF provision into its subscriber contracts, and by imposing ETFs on and collecting them from Class Members, Sprint violated California’s Unfair Competition Law, Business & Professions Code and the Consumer Legal Remedies Act.
Under the terms of the settlement, Sprint will pay compensation in the amount of $125 per ETF to Class Members who paid ETFs imposed on them for contract terminations that occurred during the Class Period.
The settlement also provides for the resolution through binding arbitration of the parties’ dispute about the attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses to be paid to the attorneys for the Class.
Sprint denies any wrongdoing and denies the plaintiffs’ allegations. In fact, Sprint contends that its ETFs were legal, that it lost profits, and is entitled to an award of damages, as a result of the early termination of the Class Members’ contracts.
Currently, Sprint’s cross-claim for “lost-profits” damages has not yet been decided in the lawsuit. Therefore, it has not yet been determined by what amount, if any, the Class’s refund will be reduced or eliminated entirely due to a complete setoff.
Sprint claims that the actual “lost-profits” damages it suffered as a result of the early terminations exceeds the $73,775,975 of ETFs that the Class Members paid, and that therefore the Class should recover nothing.
Plaintiffs claim that the “lost-profits” damages Sprint suffered, if any, are less than the amount of ETFs the Class Members paid, therefore they are entitled to a net refund of the ETFs they paid.
Class Members who wish to exclude themselves or object to the terms of the settlement must do so by Nov. 23, 2016.
Who’s Eligible
You are an eligible Class Member if you had a wireless telephone personal account with Sprint with a California area code and a California billing address and were charged (and/or paid) a flat fee early termination fee from July 23, 1999 to Mar. 18, 2007, or were charged (and/or paid) an ETF under a Nextel cellphone contract that was initiated on or after Aug. 12, 2005, and terminated on or before Mar. 18, 2007.
Potential Award
$125 for each ETF paid
“If (1) you are the Account Holder and had a Sprint cellphone account for personal use, with a California area code and a California billing address, (2) you paid one or more Sprint flat-rate ETFs for an early contract termination that occurred on or after July 10, 1999 and on or before March 18, 2007, or paid an ETF under a Nextel cellphone contract that was initiated on or after August 12, 2005, and terminated on or before. March 18, 2007 and (3) you submit a claim on or before April 25, 2017, then you may be eligible to recover $125 for each ETF you paid.”
Class Members who were charged an ETF by Sprint but did not pay the ETF will not be entitled to receive any money under the settlement.
Proof of Purchase
N/A. Eligible Class Members must provide the phone number, address, and account number associated with the Sprint or Nextel account.
Claim Form
Claim Form Deadline
04/25/2017
Case Name
Ayyad v. Sprint Spectrum L.P., Case No. RG03-121510, in the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda
Final Hearing
12/09/2016
Settlement Website
Claims Administrator
Sprint California ETF Settlement
c/o KCC Class Action Services
PO Box 30238
College Station, TX 77842-3238
1-855-730-8651
Email: info@SprintCaliforniaETFSettlement.com
Class Counsel
Alan R. Plutzik
BRAMSON PLUTZIK MAHLER & BIRKHAEUSER LLP
Scott A. Bursor
BURSOR & FISHER PA
Defense Counsel
Joseph A. Boyle
KELLEY DRYE & WARREN LLP
A. Brooks Gresham
MCGUIREWOODS LLP
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20 thoughts onCalifornia Sprint Early Termination Fee Class Action Settlement
i had walkie talkie phone from them crap never worked when nextel merged wit sprint i had to pay 250 or 300 was 500 to get a phone with them how i find out the number this one is unfair i culd use that money
problem is it is hard to remember all my sprint numbers as I switched. They pissed me off so much and this is years ago
Do the guy that said bravo Sprint drag it out longer enough well I’ve been with them 17 years and I was terminated but I always did not understand why they made you pay $125 up front and if you used it in your minutes which they charged an arm and a leg you mad that I am back but you still got charged that early termination fee and yes I got terminated three times and I had to pay so they have to pay back and I’m still with them but I’m thinking about going
sucks! my husbands company,because the walkie talkie feature never worked, quit and it cost $1,000!!! To get out of the contract!!!! I can’t understand when they sue they can’t sue on behalf of all Americans!!!
I am in Michigan and I was charged $300 for early terminations fees on 2 phones. $600 IS A LOT OF MONEY
Same here. As soon as I seen this, I thought, Wow….same exact thing here in Michigan!
i had nextel first n then nextel mergerd wit sprint both crappy ass service i dnt remember if i payed 250 or not n i shur hell dnt member the number ? but i had both
I had cell phone accounts that I was charged 250 each for early termination. Problem is, it was back in ,2002-2003, and I can’t tell you the phone numbers that I had. I know the area code and the first three numbers but not the last four and I don’t have any account information from then. I was a CA resident fyi
You’ll need to contact the settlement administrator with any questions about submitting a claim. The article includes settlement administrator contact information, including an email address. Good Luck!
Congratulations Sprint. You managed to drag this out so long, 13 years, that you undoubtedly reduced the potential of your payout dramatically. How many otherwise eligible claimants will now get nothing simply because they don’t have the records to pull up an account number or phone number from 1999? Certainly few, if any, people have independent recollection of their account numbers and phone numbers from 17 years ago. Bravo Sprint! Bravo!
I had Sprint also and was charge 150 termination fee in camden nj.
Unfortunately, this particular settlement applies to the state of California only.
I live in Illinois and had Sprint cell phone service approx. in 2003, 2004 and I was charged an early termination fee of $250 when I was trying to pay my cell phone bill in full and continue my service with Sprint. Am I entitled to a settlement?
Charlotte,
Did you actually read the requirements?? If you didn’t live in California, or have a claifornia area code and addresss, you are NOT a class memeber