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Coca-Cola Text Spam Class Action Lawsuit Continues
By John Curran
Going against the tide of recent decisions regarding class action certification, Judge Irma Gonzales will allow a text spam class action lawsuit against Coca-Cola to continue in the District Court for Southern California in spite of the company’s argument that the claim was overly broad.
Two residents, one from California and the other from Maryland, said that the soft drink conglomerate had violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by sending them text message spam. Even after one of them reportedly texted “stop” to the company’s number, the messages continued. However, Coca-Cola argued that there was such a variety in terms of how many messages any plaintiff might have received, and the timeframe to be set for plaintiffs in the class action certification had not been set.
Judge Irma Gonzales demurred, and said that the defense and text spam lawsuit attorneys would be able to sort out those issues during discovery and other pre-trial actions. It is not the first time that messages for products like Coke Zero have put the company in hot water. A claim in 2012 went to arbitration regarding similar violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It is unclear what penalties the firm was assessed or what settlements any plaintiffs may have received.
Claims regarding text spam have skyrocketed both as consumers have learned what rights they have as well as a key decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2009. The judges ruled that an unwanted call for the purposes of marketing as cited in the TCPA could include text message spam because of an FCC definition of calls and texts.
In addition, the appeals court noted that companies like Simon & Schuster could not simply use lists generated by other firms where customers had consented to receive texts and then piggyback on the original agreement. This has become a major issue for many major companies because of the need for customers to “opt-in” and how firms can ensure this is done properly.
However, many people still face problems that could be resolved with the help of a text spam lawsuit attorney. If you or someone you know have received unwanted messages from Coca-Cola or any other company, you may be entitled to damages. Learn more and get a free legal consultation at the Text Message Spam, Cell Phone Call TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation today.
Updated May 29th, 2013
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