Cellphone Termination Fee Cases

Appellants Sprint Spectrum, L.P., and Wirelessco, L.P. (hereafter Sprint), are defendants in the present class action relating to Sprint’s practice of locking its cell phone handsets, which prevents the use of the phones on other service providers’ networks. Sprint appeals from the trial court’s judgment dismissing the action pursuant to the parties’ settlement and awarding attorney fees to counsel for cross-appellants, named class plaintiffs Katherine Zill, William MacKenzie, and Linda MacKenzie (hereafter plaintiffs). Sprint contends the trial court erred in refusing to enforce a provision in the settlement whereby the parties agreed the amount of the attorney fee award would be determined by an arbitrator, who would select an amount within a specified range. This case presents an issue of first impression: Did the trial court abuse its discretion in refusing to approve the fee arbitration provision, where it had already determined that the range of possible fee awards was reasonable and that there was no evidence of collusion by the parties to the settlement? We conclude the court did abuse its discretion, because its ruling accorded too large a role to objecting class…