June 29, 2012

U.S. Court Of Appeals Vacates Sprint Termination Fee Settlement, Sustains Bursor & Fisher's Objection

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Today the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated a class action settlement for Sprint customers challenging early termination fees in their cellphone contracts. The settlement, which had been approved by a federal court in New Jersey, would have required Sprint to pay only $14.5 million to settle the claims of millions of Sprint customers nationwide challenging Sprint's early termination fees of $150 to $200. Scott A. Bursor of Bursor & Fisher, P.A. argued the appeal on behalf of Sprint customers objecting to the settlement.

"We objected to this settlement because it was a bad deal for Sprint customers," Bursor said. "We took these same claims to trial in California, and won a $299 million award for class members in one state. This deal would have settled all of the claims nationwide for less than 5% of the amount we had already won."

The Court of Appeals held that Sprint failed to give appropriate notice to customers affected by the settlement, and strongly questioned the adequacy of the class representatives who had agreed to this deal. "It's unfortunate that this flawed settlement has delayed our efforts to move these cases forward," Bursor said, "but we are hopeful this ruling will get us back on the path to getting a fair deal for Sprint customers who were charged these illegal fees."

The Court of Appeals decision is available here.

The audio recording of the argument is available here (part 1) and here (part 2).

About Bursor & Fisher, P.A.

Bursor & Fisher, P.A. lawyers have represented plaintiffs in class action lawsuits since 2002. Many of these cases are discussed in detail at www.bursor.com.

Contact: Scott A. Bursor Email: scott@bursor.com 212-989-9113