If you owned land next to or under a railroad right of way where Telecommunications Facilities have been installed by Sprint you could be a part of the Amunrud v. Sprint Communications class action lawsuit. The settlement includes only those who owned land in the following Montana counties: Broadwater, Custer, Dawson, Gallatin, Granite, Jefferson, Lake, Lewis & Clark, Missoula, Park, Powell, Prairie, Rosebud, Sanders, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Treasure, Wibaux, or Yellowstone. The Landowners claim that Sprint not only had to obtain permission to install the fiber-optic, copper, or coaxial cables from the railroads but from the landowners as well.. which they did not.
Sprint denies all wrong doing and claims that the railroads had the right to allow Sprint to install Telecommunications Facilities without the need for further permission from landowners. But Sprint has agreed to a settlement in order to avoid a costly court trial. The settlement amount has yet to be determined but will be in the form of cash payments to those who qualify. The amount of money any given class member will receive under the settlement terms will depend on:
• How many feet of property you own next to the railroad right of way,
• How long you owned the property,
• How the railroad got its property rights, and
• How many people co-own the property with you.
A settlement fairness hearing will be held at United States District Court for the District of Montana, located at 316 North 26th Street, Billings, MT 59101, in Courtroom No. III on February 3, 2012 at 10am to determine if the settlement is fair and reasonable. Claim forms will be mailed to identified class members. If you do not get a claim form but believe you’re a class member you will have to register With the Claims Administrator page at the class website shown below.
