Yahoo will face a class action lawsuit related to unwanted text messages it allegedly sent to Sprint customers. According to reports, the company was ordered by a federal judge on Monday to face the suit, which claims it sent unsolicited messages to over 500,000 customers, who could potentially be part of the class.

The messages in question were “welcome” messages received when other users sent customers separate messages using Yahoo Messenger. The lawsuit maintains that Yahoo’s welcome messages are unauthorized advertising for Yahoo and violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

If Yahoo loses the case, it’s looking at damages of up to $1,500 per message.

Back in October, a federal judge ruled that Yahoo would not have to face a class-action suit for violating the TCPA when Rafael David Sherman and Susan Pathman sought it, but the company’s luck changed this week with the suit brought by Rachel Johnson.

According to Reuters, which first reported on the news, the judge declined to certify a separate class of T-Mobile customers for similar messages, claiming that these messages were consented to.

Yahoo has yet to publicly comment on the suit.

Last month, Yahoo relaunched Yahoo Messenger with a new design and added functionality.

Image via Yahoo