Minnesota Woman Sues AMC for TCPA Violations

Minnesota plaintiff Andria Addison is bringing a class action lawsuit against the movie giant AMC Entertainment for allegedly violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Addison claims that after signing up for the movie company’s customer rewards program, she was subjected to many unwanted text messages, which were allegedly sent using an artificial dialing machine.

According to Addison’s TCPA lawsuit, she signed up for the AMC Stubs reward program in 2012 at one of the defendant’s movie theaters. Addison paid a fee to become a rewards club member for one year, but when her membership expired in 2013, she chose not to renew it. In April of 2015, well after the expiration of her membership, AMC began sending Andria unsolicited text messages, allegedly from an automated dialer.

The sender of the text message was identified as 242-424, which is an abbreviated telephone number known as an SMS short code, often used by automated dialing systems. The text message itself stated that the plaintiff was a member of the defendant’s rewards program, even though her membership had been expired for at least one year.

Several months later in October 2013, Addison received another unsolicited text message from AMC. When she tired to respond to the message, she could not reach a live representative. Addison claims that she never gave AMC permission to contact her, and she never wanted to receive the telemarketing texts.

This TCPA lawsuit alleges that AMC violated the TCPA by using an automated dialing system and sending the plaintiff unsolicited text messages. She is bringing the TCPA lawsuit on behalf of herself and as a class action on behalf of those who received one or more text message advertisements from or on behalf of AMC since Oct. 16, 2013.

Overview of TCPA Allegations

Congress passed the TCPA in 1991 in order to protect consumers against the aggressive and persistent advertising of telemarketers or telemarketing companies. The TCPA prohibits companies from using an automated dialing machine or SMS machine, and requires companies to use live representatives to contact consumers.

Under the TCPA, telemarketers must be able to identify themselves, state the company they work for, and give the recipient the option of being registered on the company’s do-not-call list. Furthermore, the companies must receive written consent from consumers to contact them for marketing reasons.

An unintentional TCPA violation can results in a fine of up to $500. If the company is found to have willfully violated the TCPA, fines can escalate up to $1500 per charge. While these charges may seem minuscule to big companies, they can quickly pile up to a substantial amount when multiplied by each instance.

This TCPA Lawsuit is Addison v. AMC Entertainment & America Multi-Cinema Inc., Case No. 0:15-cv-02420-SRN-JJK, in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

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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