A proposed class action lawsuit against J.C. Penny Co. Inc. over spam text messages will continue after a California federal judge rejected J.C. Penny’s attempt to use an offer of judgment to moot the lawsuit. Plaintiff Tracy Maier sued J.C. Penny Co. in January 2013 for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).  Maier had received unsolicited text messages from the retailer after signing up for J.C. Penney’s online rewards program and providing her cellphone number in the process.  The... Read More

The victims of advertising robocalls have won several recent class-action victories against companies such as Steve Madden Shoes, Coca Cola and Papa John's.* Many of the class actions brought against those making robocalls are brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a federal law that makes it illegal for companies to contact customers without their prior consent. New updates to the TCPA will take effect on October 16, 2013.* One recent update that will take effect in October will be... Read More

Text messaging is the most common form of communication used by young adults (ages 18-29) and is becoming increasing popular among older age groups, according to a study conducted by Pew Internet & American Life Project.  In December 2012, CNN reported that six billion texts are sent on a daily basis just in the U.S. Businesses are exploiting this form of communication by sending commercial spam text messages and/or selling cell phone numbers to other businesses for the same purpose.  These types... Read More

As recently reported, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has previously taken steps to protect consumers from text message solicitations otherwise known as “text spam.”  Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stepped in to file charges against 29 defendants (comprised of text spam operators, “spammers,” and associated website operators involved in the scam) in various jurisdictions around the United States.  The targeted defendants allegedly sent 180 million unwanted text messages to unsuspecting consumers.  According to Charles A. Harwood, acting director... Read More

Spam Text Lawsuits   Audet & Partners, LLP has been on the forefront of the issue of not only privacy protection, but abuse by corporations of new technologies, including abusive and costly spam texting.  Spam texting is not just an annoyance, but is in many cases, illegal and in violation of federal and state law.  At Audet & Partners, LLP, we investigate claims relating to spam texting to determine whether these laws have been violated and what can be done to not... Read More