A U.S. district judge ruled that Sprint Nextel Corp will not face a nationwide class-action lawsuit that claims the No. 3 U.S. mobile company overcharged customers for taxes and refused refunds, court documents show.

Judge Robert Bryan of the U.S. district court of Tacoma, Washington made the ruling on June 23.

The plaintiffs have not proven that the benefits of adjudication of the plaintiffs' claims at one trial would outweigh the complexity of such proceeding, Bryan wrote in his ruling.

A California based consumer-advocacy group had accused Sprint of charging additional fees for text messages sent to customers who bought network cards to access the Internet.

The plaintiffs wanted the case designated as a national class-action suit, saying this would allow the claims to be combined and reviewed efficiently.

Bryan in his ruling said the plaintiffs had failed to show adjudicating a nationwide class is superior or manageable.

Bryan took over the case after California judges recused themselves in April 2008, according to court filings.

The case is In re: Utility Consumers' Action Network v. Sprint Solutions Inc, 07-cv-02231-RJB, U.S. States District Court, Southern District of California.

(Reporting by Chakradhar Adusumilli in Bangalore; Editing by David Holmes)

Sprint California Lawsuit