T-Mobile Can’t Dodge Dropped Calls Class Action, Plaintiffs Say

Local telephone carriers are fighting back against T-Mobile’s efforts to dismiss a class action lawsuit over claims that T-Mobile blames dropped calls on the carriers.

According to the local carriers, their choice to file a class action lawsuit is not an attempt to gain profits, as T-Mobile has alleged.

The carriers argue that in reality, they suffered financial injury at the hand of T-Mobile and its partner, Inteliquent.

According to the plaintiffs, they have provided enough evidence in their dropped call class action lawsuit to allow the claims to stand.

Craigville Telephone Co. and Consolidated Telephone Company say they are locally owned and operated telephone communications companies that provide telephone service to local, rural communities.

The plaintiffs accuse T-Mobile and Inteliquent of suppressing call volumes and dropping calls in rural areas in an effort to save money.

Allegedly, T-Mobile attempted to conceal this from consumers by tricking them into believing that the problem was caused by Craigville, Consolidated Telephone Company, and other local carriers, and not by T-Mobile. The carriers say that T-Mobile used fake ring tones to mask the fact that they dropped the calls.

According to the carriers, they should be able to pursue their fake ring tone class action lawsuit despite T-Mobile and Inteliquent’s attempt at dismissal because the carriers have “explained in considerable detail” how they were injured by the conduct.

The companies claim that T-Mobile and Inteliquent’s actions resulted in higher costs and lost revenue. The carriers also allege that their reputations were damaged by the fake ringtones and implications that it was the carriers’ fault that calls were dropped.

T-Mobile argued that the carriers had not provided evidence that T-Mobile had dropped calls. However, the carriers said that T-Mobile itself does not have a network in some local areas, instead relying on third parties like Inteliquent to reach certain rural communities.

Allegedly, T-Mobile and Inteliquent worked together to carry out what the carriers call the “largest fraud in communications history, impacting more than a billion calls.”

According to the T-Mobile class action, the companies used fake ringtones to mask their failure to provide good service in rural areas, in violation of regulations set forth by the Federal Communications Commission.

The carriers noted that the FCC has already fined T-Mobile over the same issue and argued that T-Mobile even admitted to violating the FCC’s regulations by not addressing service problems in rural areas. Though the fine was $40 million, the local carriers say that this was not enough and T-Mobile walked away relatively unscathed.

Are your calls frequently dropped? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.

The local carriers are represented by David T.B. Audley and Mia D. D’Andrea of Chapman and Cutler LLP; and Cathy A. Hinger, G. David Carter, and Kurt D. Weaver of Womble Bond Dickinson.

The T-Mobile Dropped Calls Class Action Lawsuit is Craigsville Telephone Co., et al. v. T-Mobile USA Inc., et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-07190, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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