RCN Telecom Services TCPA Class Action Settlement

A $6 million settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against RCN Telecom Services that alleges the telecommunications provider violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by placing unsolicited phone calls to consumers without their consent.

Plaintiff Eric Seal brought the TCPA class action lawsuit against RCN Telecom Services stating that as part of the company’s business practices, RCN Telecom places automated calls via a predictive dialer coupled with an automated telephone dialing system featuring a prerecorded or artificial voice, in an effort to collect on an alleged debt or other business reasons including scheduling installation appointments and providing service appointment reminders.

The class action lawsuit claims that many of these robocalls made by RCN Telecom were placed to the cell phones of persons who were no longer its customers but had been assigned a cell phone number which was previously assigned to an RCN customer whose service was terminated and then reassigned to them.

The plaintiff also alleges that RCN Telecom made more than one marketing call in a 12 month period after receipt of an opt-out request in violation of the TCPA.

The TCPA prohibits using an automatic telephone dialing system to make calls to cell phones without the consent of the recipient and it also prohibits making prerecorded calls or marketing calls to landlines if the recipient is listed on the National Do Not Call List. The TCPA provides for statutory damages of $500 for each call made in violation of the Act.

Under the terms of the $6 million TCPA settlement, RCN Telecom has agreed to pay up to $140 per valid claim as well as court-approved incentive awards to the Class representatives in the amount of $10,000.

The settlement also provides that a portion of the settlement fund goes toward claims administration costs not to exceed $200,000 and attorneys’ fees not to exceed $1.9 million or one-third of the settlement fund.

RCN Telecom has not admitted liability for TCPA violations and enters into this settlement solely to avoid the expense and inconvenience of litigation.

Class Members who wish to exclude themselves or object to the terms of the settlement must do so by Feb. 1, 2017.

Who’s Eligible

You are a member of the settlement Class if during the period:

• 4/1/11 to 10/15/13 you received an automated call on your cell phone without your consent
• 10/16/13 to 11/01/16 you received an automated marketing call on your cell phone for which you did not provide express written consent
• 10/16/13 to 11/01/16 you received an automated non-marketing call on your cell phone for which you did not provide express consent
• 4/1/11 to 11/01/16 you received more than one marketing call in a one-year period that was made by or on behalf of RCN without your consent when registered on the National Do Not Call List
• 4/1/11 to 11/01/16 you received a pre-recorded marketing call on your landline from RCN which you did not consent to receive

Potential Award

up to $140.

Each Class Member who submits a valid claim can get a payment of up to $140. In the event that the distributable settlement fund is not sufficient to allow each claimant to receive $140, the amount paid to each claimant will be adjusted downward pro rata, so as to pay all valid claims.

Proof of Purchase

N/A

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

Claim Form Deadline

3/15/2017

Note: According to the terms of the settlement “any Settlement Class Member that submits a claim agrees and consents to RCN subpoenaing their incoming call detail records for the Class Period from their telephone or cellular carrier(s) and shall upon request sign an authorization form to allow RCN to obtain such records on an expedited basis. The claim of any Settlement Class Member who refuses to execute such an authorization form will be denied.”

Case Name

Seal, et al. v. RCN Telecom Services LLC, Case No. 2016-CH-07073, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, County Department, Chancery Division

Final Hearing

2/22/2017

UPDATE:  The RCN Telecom Services TCPA settlement received final approval from the court on February 24, 2017.  Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our  Facebook page.

UPDATE 2: On Dec. 21, 2017, Top Class Actions viewers who filed a valid claim for the RCN TCPA class action settlement started receiving checks in the mail worth $140. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!

Settlement Website

www.RCNTCPASettlement.com

Claims Administrator

RCN TCPA Settlement Administrator
c/o Epiq Systems Inc.
PO Box 4153
Portland, OR 97208-4153
1-844-418-6625

Email: info@RCNTCPASettlement.com

Class Counsel

Michael J. McMorrow
MCMORROW LAW PC

Alexander H. Burke
BURKE LAW OFFICE LLC

Evan M. Meyers
Myles McGuire
MCGUIRE LAW PC

Class Counsel is available by calling 1-888-317-3843.

Defense Counsel

Bart T. Murphy
Isaac Colunga
Martha O’Connor
ICE MILLER LLP

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.

GET A FREE CASE EVALUATION NOW