UPDATE T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) lost its effort to have a class action lawsuit dismissed. AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) shareholders who brought the suit are trying to undo T-Mobile’s $26 billion acquisition of Sprint.
The class action suit on behalf of millions of consumers claims that AT&T and Verizon subscribers have had to pay billions of dollars extra for wireless service after the merger reduced competition by cutting the number of U.S. mobile carriers from four to three, Inside Towers reported. The proposed suit was filed last year and seeks a range of penalties, the most severe is unwinding the T-Mobile-Sprint transaction.
The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday denied T-Mobile’s request to appeal a decision that argues plaintiffs have legal standing to prove their claims the merger has increased prices for wireless services, reports Reuters. Illinois District Judge Thomas Durkin said in November the shareholders “plausibly” argued that higher prices stemmed directly from the deal.
But in March, he ruled that T-Mobile could appeal his order, noting that the shareholders had not sufficiently alleged antitrust standing. T-Mobile was unsuccessful.
“We look forward to developing the record and trying the case to a jury in Chicago,” said Brendan Glackin, an attorney for the shareholders, Reuters noted.
T-Mobile has called the claims “speculative,” Inside Towers reported.
The merger with Sprint was first announced in 2018, and subsequently completed in 2020. The deal faced scrutiny from regulators, including the DoJ and the FCC, but was eventually cleared.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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