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Appeals Court Rejects Sprint ETF Class Action Lawsuit Settlement
By Sarah Pierce
Bad news for those waiting to cash in the Sprint early termination fee (ETF) class action lawsuit settlement reached in 2008 – a U.S. appeals court rejected the settlement, saying the agreement didn’t adequately protect Class Members who didn’t sue.
Five Sprint customers sued Sprint Nextel Corp. in November 2007 alleging it illegally charged flat-rate early termination fees, or ETFs, of as much as $200. A class action lawsuit settlement was reached in December 2008, and a trial judge approved the settlement agreement in January 2010 after overruling objections from several Class Members. Under the Sprint ETF class action settlement, Sprint agreed to pay $14 million in cash and $3.5 million in activation-fee waiver, bonus minutes and credit forgiveness. The company also agreed not to include flat-rate ETFs in new fixed-term subscriber agreements for two years, starting January 1, 2009.
However, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled last week that the lower court erred in its decision, noting objectors’ arguments that the class action settlement terms were weak and the Plaintiff representatives were inadequate, as none of them were current subscribers subject to the illegal ETFs at the time the class action settlement agreement was executed.
“With full appreciation for the considerable efforts that have been invested in the settlement of this class action, we emphasize again the judicial duty to act as the guardian of absent class members,” the panel said in its opinion. “Although we remand to the district court to further address the notice issues, we also suggest that the court consider again whether the class representatives can adequately represent all Class Members.”
The case is Larson v. AT&T Mobility LLC, Case No. 10-1285, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Philadelphia.)
Updated July 3rd, 2012
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2 thoughts onAppeals Court Rejects Sprint ETF Class Action Lawsuit Settlement
I have been a Sprint customer for 8 years now. I have a date block on all my phones for the last several years. Yet somehow, I always get a crammed charge for data every couple months. I have to call & complain to get it fixed. They always say oh would u like me to block all the line. They’ve been blocked for over 3 years. what gives. Sprints customer service sucks & so does their service. If i could afford to change carriers I would in a heart beat. EVERY1 keep a eye on our phone bill cause every 3 months i find mistakes!
I’ve been a fairly satisfied Sprint customer for 4 yrs until now. In Jan 2012, I was told several times I could upgrade without any changes in my Rate Plan. The phone I’d been using was discontinued and no battery for it. At age 70, I didn’t want a Smart Phone; just an updated Dumb Phone (Touch) to keep in touch with my large family living out of state. Six weeks into the new year, the bill increased $20 which I was not made aware of in advance. This does NOT constitute a contract when the terms change drastically. I live on Soc Sec fixed income and try to maintain responsibility with debts. After many discussions w/Mgrs, I was told I could migrate over to a sister Co. I paid the bills up to May which was suppose to be the final bill. Now, they are claiming I owe ETFs when they suggested my Plan and settled on the final payment in May. I cannot afford it and would NOT have entered into another contract w/them had I known it would change. With my financial limitations, I’m on a gov plan. I’m done with talking when no one is listening. I have all records of calls, names and conversations etc. HELP!