T-Mobile notches win against AT&T and Verizon customers who blamed it for higher prices،
Last year, District Judge Thomas Durkin ruled that AT&T and Verizon subscribers were able to move forward with the case and refused to dismiss it. He believed the plaintiffs had met the legal thresholds necessary to bring suit by arguing that the higher prices they faced were a direct result of the $26 billion spent. TMobile-Fusion Sprint.
The proposed lawsuit represented tens, if not hundreds of millions of consumers. Its goal was to obtain a series of sanctions, including the cancellation of the 2020 merger.
Judge Durkin said Wednesday that TMobile can appeal the rule now rather than at a later stage in the case. TMobile argued that AT&T and Verizon customers have no legal capacity to claim billions in damages. The company also said that AT&T and Verizon set their own prices and Fusion cannot be held responsible for what they do.
Lawyers representing the seven AT&T companies and Verizon subscribers had insisted that a jury hear the case before any appearance. They insisted that a long delay in the appeals court would make it more difficult to overturn the merger.
TMobileDurkin's lawyers asked Durkin to let them appeal now “in the interest of efficiency” and said the plaintiffs' “broader view of antitrust law is unprecedented.” They said force TMobile Going to court before an appeal decision is made on standing could waste money and judicial resources.
Last November, TMobile's lawyers very smartly told the court that if AT&T and Verizon customers were unhappy with the prices they were paying, they should move to TMobile instead of suing the company.