Sprint Class Action Lawsuit

Girard Gibbs Achieves $7.2 Million Settlement on Behalf of Sprint Customers

On September 24, 2008, final approval was granted in the settlement of a class action lawsuit filed by Girard Gibbs alleging that Sprint improperly charged thousands of Sprint subscribers the higher “non-subscriber” rate for certain calls.

The lawsuit involved allegations regarding Sprint’s “Casual Callers” rate for long-distance calls. Consumers, who do not subscribe to Sprint’s long-distance services can use Sprint’s network for long distance calls as a Casual Caller by dialing a special access code before the telephone number. In contrast, subscribers make long distance calls on the Sprint network by “direct-dialing,” simply dialing “1” followed by the area code and number. The lawsuit alleged that Sprint charged subscribers to their long distance plan the Casual Caller rate, which is substantially higher than the subscriber rate for direct-dialed calls.

The lawsuit contended that this billing practice violates the Federal Communications Act’s requirement that telecommunication carriers assess charges that are “just and reasonable” (47 U.S.C. § 201(b)). Furthermore, the lawsuit alleged that the tariff, which Sprint submitted to the Federal Communications Commission explaining their methodology for assessing long distance charges, was deliberately ambiguous. The lawsuit claimed that, by filing a tariff which lacks sufficient information to determine the company’s billing practices, the Defendants violated the Federal Communications Act.

Girard Gibbs achieved a total settlement of $7.2 million, providing reimbursement to class members in the form of prepaid phone cards.

Why Girard Gibbs LLP?

Girard Gibbs is a national litigation firm specializing in securities litigation, consumer class actions and complex business litigation. Girard Gibbs' managing partner Daniel Girard was voted one of Northern California's Super Lawyers in 2007, 2008, and 2009 by Law & Politics, recognizing him as one of the top 5-percent of attorneys practicing in Northern California.