US mobile operator Sprint has been ordered to pay back US$73 million in customer refunds after losing a class action suit brought against it by customers objecting to its early termination fees. Dow Jones Newswires reports that the decision – made by a California judge – could bode poorly for the various trials that are taking place throughout the country, as well as the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) attempts to make mobile operators exempt from these state court cases. “This ruling sounds the death knell for the industry’s petition seeking a pre-emption ruling from the FCC – a ruling the industry has never been able to win in court,” said Scott Bursor, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, reports Dow Jones.

A Sprint spokesperson noted that the judge’s ruling was tentative and that the operator had two weeks to respond, but refused to comment on the wider implications of the ruling. Earlier this month, rival US operator Verizon Wireless paid US$21 million to settle a similar class action suit early. According to Dow Jones, AT&T also faces similar lawsuits over early termination fees. The fees are charged to customers who break out of their mobile phone contracts early. Operators claim the fees are necessary in order to cover the costs of subsiding a handset, but consumer advocacy groups argue that it unfairly restricts consumers from switching services.