Hoover’s Faces Class Action Lawsuit For Unwanted Cell Phone Calls

Hoover’s Inc. is facing a class action lawsuit alleging the company placed unsolicited phone calls to consumers without their consent.

Plaintiff Ann Fox, a California resident, has filed the TCPA lawsuit against Hoover’s, which is a Dun and Bradstreet subsidiary.

Ann claims that in February, the commercial database company made seven unsolicited phone calls to her cell phone, thereby invading her privacy and violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Ac (TCPA).

The plaintiff further claims that she never provided her cell phone number to the defendant or ever entered into a business relationship with Hoover’s.

According to the Hoover’s TCPA lawsuit, Ann claims that these unwanted cell phone calls were conducted using an automatic telephone dialing systems, or robocall system, and for commercial purposes, for which she did not authorize her express consent.

Ann is asking for injunctive relief to stop the practice by Hoover’s and for damages in the amount of $1,500 for each violation as a result of Hoover’s Inc. wrongful conduct and willful TCPA violations in placing these unsolicited phone calls.

The Hoover’s Unwanted Cell Phone Calls Class Action Lawsuit is Ann Fox, individually and on behalf of all other similarly situated v. Hoover’s Inc., Case No. 2:15-cv-03031-JFW-AJW in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Background on the TCPA

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was enacted in 1991 and, with some notable exceptions, the law allows individuals to file lawsuits (including class action lawsuits) to collect damages for having received unsolicited telemarketing calls, faxes, pre-recorded telephone calls or calls placed using an automatic telephone dialing system, also known as a robocall system.

The TCPA has been interpreted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and most courts include unsolicited text messages and short message service (SMS) texts within its definition of “calls.”

The TCPA allows for actual damages, or statutory damages ranging from $500 to $1,500, per unsolicited call or text message. Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), individuals must provide express consent to receive certain types of calls and have the right to tell these companies, including debt collectors, to stop calling. For each unsolicited phone call, a consumer may be able to collect between $500 and $1,500.

What is Express Consent?

Prior to placing robocalls and using automatic telephone dialing systems, telemarketers must receive consumers’ written or electronic signatures, known as express written consent.

The FCC’s definition of express written consent under the TCPA matches that of the E-SIGN Act, which defines an electronic signature as “an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached or logically associated with a contract or other record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.”

This means that consent can be given in various ways including checking a consent box on an online form. Companies, however, must clearly state that customers consent to receiving robocalls when submitting their phone numbers.

In addition, companies are not allowed to require consent as a prerequisite to purchasing goods or services and are prohibited from collecting cell phone numbers through unrelated transactions, incoming phone calls or third-party contracts.

Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were contacted on your cell phone by a company via an unsolicited text message (text spam) or prerecorded voice message (robocall), you may be eligible for compensation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

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