Top > Business > 2006 > January > 2006-01-30

Sprint Joins the Suing Brigade

1st Source has been causing quite a few problems for itself as of late. The company is being sued by almost every major cell phone provider in the states already. And recently Sprint Nextel has joined the ranks to try to get 1st Source out of business and into prison. Sprint Nextel Corp. has sued the parent company of four Internet services over the sale of Sprint Nextel customer records. Sprint said the company, 1st Source Information Specialists Inc., had its employees pose as customers seeking information about their own accounts, to get access to cell phone logs and phone numbers.

Sprint is seeking temporary and permanent injunctions against the Tamarac, Florida-based company, which runs Web sites such as locatecell.com and celltolls.com. Sprint filed the lawsuit in a state court in Broward County, Florida, a spokeswoman for the company said.The lawsuit marked the latest in a series of legal actions against 1st Source. Wireless phone company T-Mobile on Monday sued 1st Source in a Washington state court. The company also faces a lawsuit brought by the Illinois attorney general.

Cingular Wireless, the largest U.S. wireless carrier, has said it obtained a temporary restraining order against 1st Source and another company, Data Find Solutions. The Federal Communications Commission this month issued a citation against 1st Source for failing to comply fully with a subpoena and threatened to fine the company. U.S. lawmakers, state attorneys general and the FCC are looking into whether any laws were broken by companies that obtain and sell cell phone records.