Undisclosed
Settlement
TCPA class action against the Los Angeles Times. Final approval granted 2014.
Telephone solicitations are so unpopular that it is a wonder that American companies still use this tactic to try to generate businesses. Still, people get these unsolicited calls.
Most of the time, they are a minor annoyance, but some businesses choose to be overly aggressive. They use auto dialers to call their targets day and night, or use illegal “robo call” technology to send unwanted prerecorded messages. With the rise of cellphones, some unscrupulous companies text people without permission, possibly costing them money for a message they did not ask for.
Congress addressed these aggressive and harassing activities in 1991, when it passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA. The law gives consumers the power to take businesses to court when their telephone marketing campaigns exceed reasonable standards.
While one person may have a hard time getting a crooked telephone solicitor to change its behavior, a group of people banding together can be hard to ignore. Class action lawsuits under the TCPA can have enormous effect. Besides getting the harassment to stop, class action litigation can generate compensation from $500 to $1,500 for each class member whose rights were violated.
Many of these cases never get to trial, as the accused business realizes that it broke the law, or is not eager to have its reputation damaged in public.
Of course, the best chance victims have of getting results is to have a law firm on their side that is experienced in class action lawsuits under the TCPA. The right firm can handle settlement negotiations and argue the case in court, if necessary.
