RehabCare, Polaris Group Junk Fax Class Action Settlement

Recipients of unsolicited advertising faxes from RehabCare and Polaris Group may qualify for benefits under a recent telemarketing class action settlement.

Plaintiffs Dakota Medical Inc., doing business as Glenoaks Convalescent Hospital, and R. Fellen Inc., doing business as Sunnyside Convalescent Hospital, initiated this federal telemarketing lawsuit in December 2014. The two hospitals allegedly received unsolicited advertisement faxes from defendants RehabCare Group Inc. and Cannon and Associates LLC. Cannon does business under the name Polaris Group.

The plaintiffs alleged RehabCare and Polaris Group sent out more than 2.4 million unsolicited fax advertisements for their Medicare and Medicaid compliance services, training workshops and materials, and human resources management programs. Glenoaks alleged it received 240 of these spam fax advertisements, and Sunnyside claimed it received 13.

The defendants allegedly acquired fax numbers of the recipients by purchasing lists of fax numbers for more than 12,000 long-term care facilities. Plaintiffs say the defendants had no basis for believing the facilities on these lists had given prior express consent to receive fax advertisements from the defendants.

Without such consent, the plaintiffs argued, each fax from the defendant was a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA. This federal law restricts the use of fax and other electronic communications for mass advertisement without the consent of the party receiving the communication. It allows recipients of such communications to sue for statutory damages of $500 to $1,500 per violation.

RehabCare and Polaris Group continue to deny the plaintiffs’ allegations, but they have agreed to this TCPA class action settlement in the interest of avoiding the expense and risk of further litigation.

The settlement requires RehabCare and Polaris Group to provide $25 million in payments to Class Members. The defendants will also cover the incentive award for the named plaintiffs, the costs of settlement administration, and the Class’s attorney fees and court costs.

Class Members will receive a payment calculated based on the number of faxes they received during the class period.

The parties and settlement administrator have sent settlement notices to known Class Members based on the information in the defendants’ records. These Class Members will be sent payments without taking any further action. Other persons who believe they qualify as Class Members may submit a signed and completed Class Member Information Form plus any supporting documentation to the settlement administrator.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members eligible for settlement benefits include all persons who subscribed to a telephone number to which the defendants successfully sent one or more faxes between July 17, 2010 and Feb. 4, 2014 through broadcasts sent by Westfax Inc.

Potential claimants can look up their fax number using the Fax Number Look Up on the settlement administrator’s website to see if a qualifying fax was sent to that number.

Potential Award

Varies.

Each Class Member’s payment will be determined in part by the number of faxes they received and the total number of faxes sent to all Class Members.

Proof of Purchase

Class Members who received a settlement notice do not need to submit a Class Member Information Form or any other documentation to receive a settlement payment. The settlement will be administered based on the information in the defendants’ records, which contains information about which Class Members received faxes and the number they received.

Class Members who did not receive notice of the settlement or who want to update their information may submit proof that they were the subscriber to a telephone number to which the faxes at issue were sent, together with a signed and completed Class Member Information Form.

Class Members who receive payments of $600 or more will be asked to complete and submit IRS Form W-9.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

Class Members can submit their information form by mail or by fax.

Claim Form Deadline

9/7/2017

Case Name

R. Fellen Inc., et al. v. Rehab Care Group, et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-02081, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California

Final Hearing

9/7/2017

Settlement Website

www.RehabCareSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

RehabCare Settlement Administrator
KCC LLC
P.O. Box 43034
Providence, RI 02940-3034
Phone: 866-683-9606
Fax: 415-798-3977

Class Counsel

Darryl Cordero
Scott O. Luskin
Matthew K. Brown
PAYNE & FEARS LLP

Donald R. Fischbach
Mark D. Kruthers
DOWLING AARON INCORPORATED

Joel S. Magolnick
MARKO & MAGOLNICK PA

Defense Counsel

Erin K. Kolmansberger
BROAD AND CASSEL LLP

Oliver W. Wanger
WANGER JONES HELSLEY PC

David L. Jordan
GORDON & REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI

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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