NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile have resolved lawsuits accusing each other of misleading consumers through advertising campaigns that promised major savings from switching cellphone carriers.
A stipulation dismissing Verizon's lawsuit and T-Mobile's countersuit was filed on Friday in Manhattan federal court.
The dismissal came more than five months after U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan issued a preliminary injunction blocking T-Mobile's “Save Over $1,000” advertising campaign at Verizon's request.
Verizon sued T-Mobile in February and later expanded its claims, alleging that T-Mobile advertisements misled customers by promising savings of more than $3,700 over five years compared with Verizon and AT&T, as well as claiming customers could “save up to 20%” against other major carriers.
T-Mobile responded with a countersuit alleging that Verizon's own advertising campaign was misleading. The campaign featured exaggerated images of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin and promoted Verizon as offering customers a “better deal.”
Verizon, T-Mobile and their lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Settlement discussions had included a possible framework for resolving similar advertising disputes between the companies in the future.