On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court refused to review two earlier findings, which killed T-Mobile's final chance at blocking a lawsuit against its early-termination fees and practice of locking phones. This is the third time T-Mobile has tried to stop the case from proceeding, and both a state trial judge and a state appeals court have already rejected T-Mobile's claims that its customers were required by the terms of their contracts to submit to binding arbitration.

In June, the state appeals court said T-Mobile's contractual prohibition of class-action lawsuits was "unconscionable," which "rendered the arbitration provision unenforceable."

If the plaintiffs win, "the outcome could require cell phone carriers, at least in California, to unlock cell phones upon a customer's request." It could also have an impact on two class-action lawsuits that were filed last week in California against Apple and AT&T over their practice of locking the iPhone to a single network, and of possibly bricking rogue phones deliberately.

"Court Clears Way for Mobile-Phone-Unlocking Lawsuit Against T-Mobile" [Wired]
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