Sarah Mirando  |  April 11, 2013

Category: Legal News

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LA LakersThe Telephone Consumers Protection Act (TCPA) was passed by Congress in 1991, and now extends to text messages as well as phone calls. Basically, it restricts telemarketing or “phone spam” to limit the amount of automated messages and SMS messages meant as debt collection or telemarketing approaches. Recently, the LA Lakers were drawn into a TCPA class action lawsuit — and the team claims that they were framed.

A regular Lakers ticket holder, David Emanuel, filed the text spam class action lawsuit alleging he received unsolicited text messages from the team. In March 2013, attorneys for the Lakers claimed they were framed and that Emanuel only filed TCPA charges after consulting with attorneys. While Emanuel had used the services of the firm before, he denied actually “working for” them at all, including during the filing of this TCPA lawsuit.

Lakers vs. Johnson: A TCPA Lawsuit Showdown

Emanuel claims that the text messages are a blatant violation of the TCPA, but the Lakers say that this particular TCPA lawsuit is a “classic example of a lawyer-stricken suit.” The Lakers allege that Emanuel’s legal representation goaded him into initiating a text to the Lakers, but Emanuel vehemently disagrees. In fact, he says that he only reached out for legal representation after the Lakers texted him.

Emanuel had responded to an advertisement at a Lakers game in October 2012, which encouraged fans to text for a personal message to appear on the big screen. Once Emanuel sent a text, he immediately got one back from the Lakers thanking him and encouraging more texts. Emanuel didn’t want any texts from the Lakers at all, so he replied with a “STOP” text, but got another text from the team right away, which was another confirmation SMS.

Dismissal Motion is Rejected

The Lakers tried to have the text spam class action lawsuit dismissed in February, but that motion didn’t carry through. The team claims to have been legally responding to Emanuel’s text, but Emanuel disagrees. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the only legal text the Lakers should have sent was a confirmatory text stating that Emanuel had opted out of receiving texts. Instead, he had received another welcome text after sending his “STOP” request.

When this dismissal bid didn’t work, the Lakers then claimed that Emanuel hadn’t adequately stated that the Lakers had used an automatic system — illegal under TCPA law — to respond to his texts. Emanuel’s reply? That detail shouldn’t automatically dismiss his case, but should be fodder for the discovery aspect of the TCPA lawsuit.

Are You Struggling with a TCPA Breach?

You might not be facing such a high profile company like the Lakers, but if you’ve received unsolicited texts or automated messages from a company or business, you might have a TCPA legal claim. The nuances of the TCPA law are great, and it’s important to have a legal expert in your corner.

Simply visit the Text Message Spam TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation to learn more about your rights and get connected with a qualified expert. You can obtain a complimentary TCPA claim review and never pay any out of pocket fees. Find out if you deserve compensation for unwanted SMS messages or telemarketing calls today.

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3 thoughts onLA Lakers Caught Up in Text Spam Class Action Lawsuit

  1. Dorothy says:

    Send info and claim form.

  2. Rango LeGrande says:

    One of those peculiar articles with strange phraseology and internal inconsistencies…

    For example, it talks about Emanuel and the Lakers throughout, but the first bold sub-heading reads “Lakers v. Johnson.”

    As for the tortured English:

    … the Lakers say that this particular TCPA lawsuit is a “classic example of a lawyer-stricken suit.”

    What, did the lawyers strike their own complaint? Or are the courts “stricken with a plague of lawyers”?

    Maybe “the Lakers” meant to say “lawyer-driven”?

    ” The nuances of the TCPA law are great.” It may be a law of “great” complexity, but the nuances are “numerous” or “many.” It’s also a “highly-nuanced” law.

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