SN gains ETF victory: California court limits preemptive lawsuits against carriers

The California Supreme Court ruled consumers cannot file preemptive lawsuits against mobile phone carriers over contract terms without first claiming injury from such provisions as mandatory arbitration and early termination fees.
The ruling is a welcome victory for Sprint Nextel Corp., which is entangled in separate state and federal class action lawsuits over ETFs .
“We’re very pleased with the outcome,” said Matthew Sullivan, a spokesman for the No. 3 wireless provider. “No allegations of damage were made in this case, so we feel it was wholly appropriate for the California Supreme Court to uphold the trial court’s dismissal of the lawsuit.”
The ruling affirmed a lower state court’s decision in favor of Sprint Nextel.
“We conclude that a plaintiff has no standing to sue under the CLRA [California Consumer Legal Remedies Act] without some allegation that he or she has been damaged by an alleged unlawful practice, an allegation plaintiffs do not sufficiently make here. Moreover, we conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion in ruling that declaratory relief was not appropriate under these circumstances.”