Court allows iPCS WiMAX lawsuit against Sprint
updated 04:20 pm EDT, Fri May 1, 2009
Court allows iPCS lawsuit
iPCS, an affiliate of Sprint, announced on Friday that the Cook County Circuit Court has denied Sprint's motion to dismiss parts of iPCS's lawsuit against Sprint for violating its exclusivity agreement with iPCS. Back in May of 2008, Sprint and Clearwire formed a partnership that would see the joint company provide access to the next-generation 4G WiMAX network to its customers. iPCS' lawsuit aims to block Sprint from receiving benefits from its Clearwire deal unless it shares these benefits with its affiliates.
iPCS, which sells Sprint service in a large part of the Midwest region of the US, filed an amended complaint in January of 2009 that alleged Sprint has withheld 4G technology from them because of its Clearwire deal.
The judge also limited certain types of monetary relief iPCS could receive from the lawsuit but did not prevent the subsidiary from making a claim for actual or direct damages. iPCS would also retain its claims for an injunction that would require Sprint to stop offering its services.
"We are confident the Court will uphold the business deal that we reached with Sprint over ten years ago to 'be Sprint' in our exclusive territories and offer the most advanced seamless wireless nationwide network to our subscribers," said iPCS chief Tim M. Yager.
Yager added he look forward to having Sprint comply with the Circuit Court's ruling to stop owning, operating and managing the Nextel wireless network in iPCS Wireless' territory by January 25, 2010.
