A Mexican court has ruled Nokia Mexico S.A. de C.V must pay damages to customers who bought defective mobile phones prior to the handset maker's takeover by Microsoft Corp, a government agency said on Sunday.

A Mexico City court found in favor of federal consumer protection agency Profeco in a suit first filed in 2010 against Nokia Mexico before Finnish parent Nokia sold its mobile business to Microsoft - a sale which was completed this year.

The agency said Nokia Mexico customers that had been affected by faulty Nokia equipment would be able to seek damages even if they had not yet presented complaints.

According to Profeco, the court ruled Nokia Mexico must either replace defective devices and/or reimburse their cost, plus pay compensation equivalent to at least 20 percent of the damages resulting from malfunctioning.

Profeco, which could not immediately be reached for comment, did not provide more details on how the damages would be paid.

Neither Microsoft, which was not mentioned in the statement, nor Nokia Mexico could immediately be reached for comment.