T-Mobile class action claims Sprint merger costs Verizon, AT&T customers due to declining competition

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

T-Mobile, Sprint merger class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: A group of Verizon and AT&T subscribers filed a class action lawsuit against T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom AG and SoftBank Group Corp. 
• Why: Verizon and AT&T subscribers claim the April 2020 merger between T-Mobile and Sprint was anticompetitive and injured them financially. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court. 

The April 2020 merger between T-Mobile and Sprint was an anticompetitive acquisition and collectively cost U.S. small businesses and AT&T and Verizon subscribers billions of dollars, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

A group of AT&T and Verizon subscribers claim the merger “combined two fierce competitors into a single behemoth with no incentive to compete meaningfully” against the “equally large” Verizon and AT&T. 

Subscribers claim it was always T-Mobile’s long-term plan to merge with another wireless carrier to create “the best path to extracting every possible cent from American consumers and small businesses.” 

T-Mobile class action claims number of states attempted to prevent merger

Fourteen states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against the companies in an attempt to prevent the merger after it was announced in April 2018, according to the T-Mobile class action. 

At the time, the states argued the merger would reduce competition and result in at least $9 billion worth of harm to consumers each year.

After the lawsuit from the states failed to stop the merger, subscribers claim, T-Mobile and Sprint would merge to become “a single large competitor that is more than happy to observe a competitive détente in return for stable market shares and prices.” 

Since the merger, subscribers argue competition has “declined precipitously” and that quality-adjusted prices have inflated since T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon have “no reason to compete as vigorously for subscribers.” 

Subscribers claim T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom AG and SoftBank Group Corp violate the Clayton Act and Sherman Act. 

The subscribers want to represent a nationwide class of all persons or entities who paid for a Verizon or AT&T mobile wireless plan on or after April 1, 2020. 

They demand a jury trial and request declaratory relief along with treble damages for themselves and all Class Members. 

In related news, earlier this month, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon deployed vertical location technology to help 911 responders pinpoint the location of a call coming from a multistory building. 

Have your wireless rates increased since the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint? Let us know in the comments. 

The plaintiffs are represented by the Law Offices Of Kenneth N. Flaxman PC, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP, Berger Montague and Hausfeld LLP. 

The T-Mobile and Sprint merger class action lawsuit is Dale, et al. v. Deutsche Telekom AG, et al., Case No. 1:22-cv-03189, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• T-Mobile class action alleges 5G network launch leaves some customers without service
• Verizon report says human error leading factor in data breaches
• Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile deploy 911 technology to ID callers’ floor location
• Parker Hannifin Class Action Alleges March Data Breach Caused by Lapsed Security