Sprint Loses in 4th Circuit in Phone Trafficking Lawsuit
The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals overruled a decision last year by a federal judge in Maryland who awarded Sprint $26.9 million based on one of the company's cellphone trafficking lawsuits. The court reversed a judgment against Wireless Buybacks,…
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which took advantage of Sprint’s practice of offering subscribers upgraded phones as part of their plans. Wireless Buybacks worked with business customers that didn’t want the use of the new cellphones. The company would buy the phones from the businesses, then resell them. “The district court found that the contract unambiguously barred resale and granted partial summary judgment for Sprint,” the 4th Circuit ruled in docket 18-1729: “We disagree. We therefore vacate the relevant portion of the district court’s summary-judgment order and remand.” Sprint didn’t comment. Judge Julius Richardson wrote the decision, joined by Judges Albert Diaz and Henry Floyd.