Judge Rules Early Termination Fees Are Illegal and Violate California Law

A California County Superior Court judge has just ruled that early termination fees from cellphone companies violates California state law and are illegal. What's this mean to you? Sprint Nextel has been ordered to pay $18.2 million in reimbursements to customers who already paid their ETF, and to stop trying to collect $54.7 million from customers who canceled and refused to pay. But if ETF fees are illegal, does that mean 2-year contracts-which in turn give you subsidized price on your cellphones-will be a thing of the past? Tough to say, but we're headed towards some change. [Mercury News via Yahoo]