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This settlement is closed!
Please see what other class action settlements you might qualify to claim cash from in our Open Settlements directory!
UPDATE 3:
- TCA viewers reported receiving settlement payments of $575 as of early mid-June 2021.
- Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got paid!
UPDATE 2:
- The motion to distribute remaining settlement funds to claimants was approved May 20, 2021.
- Let Top Class Actions know when your check arrives!
UPDATE:
- On May 6, 2021, a motion for approval of distribution of remaining settlement funds was filed.
- Top Class Actions will let our viewers know as soon as we learn the court has granted approval.
After four years of intense litigation, Caribbean Cruise Line has agreed to settle a TCPA class action lawsuit alleging the company and its co-defendants sent unwanted robocalls to plaintiffs and Class Members without prior express consent in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
Caribbean Cruise Line and its co-defendants,Vacation Ownership Marketing Tours Inc., the Berkley Group Inc. and Economic Strategy Group, were sued for violating the TCPA by allegedly robocalling millions of individuals with offers for free cruise trips.
Under the terms of the Caribbean Cruise robocall settlement, the companies will pay between $56 million and $76 million, to settle claims of the approximately one million person Class who received the unwanted robocalls from the defendants between 2011 and 2012.
In May 2012, plaintiffs Grant Birchmeir and Stephen Parkes filed their proposed TCPA class action lawsuit against Caribbean Cruise Line and the other named defendants alleging they were illegally contacted on their cell phones or landlines from CCL and its subsidiary marketing companies between August 2011 and August 2012.
Specifically, the class action complaint alleges that Caribbean contacted consumers through the transmission of pre-recorded messages (robocall) without prior express written consent for the purpose of soliciting the sale of a cruise – a violation of the TCPA.
The plaintiffs contend the offer of a “free” cruise package from CCL in exchange for taking a political survey was a “scam.”
“Not only is the ‘free’ cruise not free, the survey is simply a marketing tool with no legitimate political basis,” the plaintiffs wrote in their complaint.
The TCPA strictly prohibits the use of automated telephone equipment for solicitation or telemarketing purposes.
Generally, the act makes it unlawful “to initiate any telephone call to any residential telephone line using an artificial or prerecorded voice to deliver a message without the prior express consent of the called party” except in emergencies or in circumstances exempted by the Federal Communications Commission.
The law allows any “person or entity” to bring an action to enjoin violations of the statute and/or recover actual damages or statutory damages ranging from $500 to $1,500 per violation.
Class Members who wish to exclude themselves or object to the terms of the settlement must do so by Jan. 23, 2017.
Who’s Eligible
The settlement Class consists of “any person who received (1) one or more telephone calls made by, on behalf of, or for the benefit of the Defendants, (2) purportedly offering a free cruise in exchange for taking an automated public opinion and/or political survey, (3) which delivered a message using a prerecorded or artificial voice, (4) between August 2011 and August 2012, (5) and your (i) telephone number appears in Defendants’ records of those calls and/or the records of their third party telephone carriers or the third party telephone carriers of their call centers or (ii) your own records prove that you received the calls—such as your telephone records, bills, and/or recordings of the calls.”
Click here to find out if your phone number appears in the defendants’ records.
Potential Award
up to $500 per call.
“Each Class Member who submits a valid claim can get a payment of $500 per call, unless the total of payments per call (plus payment of all costs and fees) would exceed $76 million.
In that case, each settlement Class Member who submits an approved claim would be entitled, per call, to a pro rata share of the total settlement fund (after payment of all costs and fees) based on the total number of calls resulting from valid claims.”
The exact amount Class Members will receive depends on the total number of valid and timely claims that are received by the settlement administrator.
Proof of Purchase
“The Claim Form requires you to provide basic contact information and affirm that between August 2011 and August 2012 you received a call that used a prerecorded or robotic voice offering a free cruise in exchange for taking a public opinion and/or political survey.
If your telephone number is not in defendants’ records, regardless of which option you choose you will need to provide documentation, including a telephone bill showing that you received the call, a recording of the call, a caller ID record of the call, a screenshot of the call, or some other form of documentation evidencing your receipt of the call.”
Claim Form Deadline
02/01/2017
Case Name
Birchmeier, et al. v. Caribbean Cruise Line Inc., et al., Case No. 12-cv-04069, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Final Hearing
02/23/2017
UPDATE: On March 2, 2017, the court granted the Caribbean Cruise TCPA settlement final approval. Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.
UPDATE: On March 23, 2017 a notice of appeal to the Caribbean Cruise TCPA settlement was filed. Claims will not be paid until all appeals are exhausted. We appreciate your ongoing patience. Top Class Actions will continue to provide updates as we learn more.
UPDATE 3: According to the settlement website on August 7, 2019, the court has approved a motion to distribute $200 to class members with approved claims. It is not known how quickly checks will be mailed, but it is estimated in a few weeks. The case is till not resolved, and a second distribution will be taking place at a later date. Top Class Actions will continue to provide updates as we learn more.
UPDATE 4: UPDATE: On August 25, 2019, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks in the mail from the Caribbean Cruise Line Robocall TCPA Class Action Settlement worth $200.00! Congratulations to everyone who filed a valid claim and got PAID!
Settlement Website
Claims Administrator
Caribbean Cruise Line Class Action
c/o Kurtzman Carson Consultants
PO Box 43435
Providence, RI 02940-3435
1-844-343-1477
Class Counsel
Jay Edelson
Rafey S. Balabanian
Eve-Lynn J. Rapp
EDELSON PC
Scott R. Rauscher
Michael I. Kanovitz
Jonathan I. Loevy
Arthur R. Loevy
LOEVY & LOEVY
Defense Counsel
Brian Patrick O’Meara
FORDE LAW OFFICES LLP
Counsel for The Berkeley Group Inc.
M. Peebles Harrison
ROSE HARRISON & GILREATH PC
Counsel for The Berkeley Group Inc.
Richard W. Epstein
Jeffrey A. Backman
GREENSPOON MARDER PA
Counsel for Caribbean Cruise Line Inc. and Vacation Ownership Marketing Tours Inc.
Timothy A. Hudson
TABET DIVITO ROTHSTEIN LLC
Counsel for Caribbean Cruise Line Inc. and Vacation Ownership Marketing Tours Inc.
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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96 thoughts onCaribbean Cruise Line Robocall TCPA Class Action Settlement
STILL NO CHECK…. FILED RIGHT AWAY, NUMBER IS ON THE LIST
I recently moved, who do I contact to change my address for the check to be sent to my new address?
I filed a claim with my old number i used to have in 2012 Do I need to provide proof for a number I had at the time but no longer have
Any update?
Still under appeal.
Have the appeals been resolved?
Birchmeier, et al. v. Caribbean Cruise Line Inc., et al., Case No. 12-cv-04069, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Objector must pay bond for $15M Fee Appeal in TCPA Action
May 26th 2017 in Illinois federal judge will require well-known objector Council Christopher Bandas to post a bond to appeal the award of nearly 15 million and attorney's fees for plaintiffs firms in a class action accusing Cruise marketing companies of Robo calling more than a million people.
Bandas and his client objector Freedom Home Care Incorporated must post a $5,000 bond to appeal US District Judge Matthew Kennelly's Award of at least 14.76 million and attorney's fees to co-lead counsel Edelson PC & Levy & Levy who represented plaintiffs in a telephone consumer protection act class action that settled last year.
Judge Kennelly ordered the bond on Tuesday at Edelson's request saying in a minute order it was necessary to ensure the payment of court costs should Freedom Home Care lose its appeal. Freedom Homecare is directed to post the bond in the form of a cashier's check by May 30th.
Edelson principal Jay Edelson and bandhas have a history of contentious Court disputes. Edelson's firm is currently suing bandhas in Illinois federal court over bandages objections which the suit claims are part of a racketeering scheme predicated on the class action process.
Neither bandhas nor representatives for the class responded to requests for comment Friday.
Freedom Homecare objected to class counsel's fee request in January a few months after the class announced it had settled its suit against Caribbean Cruise Line Incorporated and several other vacation marketing companies in an agreement that could pay out as much as 76 million. Ettleson had requested fees equal to a third of what was paid out to class members while Freedom Home Care said calculating the fees on a sliding scale was more appropriate.
Judge Kennelly did use the sliding scale method to determine the fees which are based on what the class receives in could range from 14.76 million to 18.48 million.
Following the judge's decision in early April Freedom Home Care in Bandits ask for a $1,000 incentive award and nearly 60,000 and attorney's fees citing the judges use of the scale approach and the Six Million it's saved class members then, Freedom Home care filed an appeal of Edelson's fee award in the 7th circuit.
On the classes behalf Edelson asked Judge Kennelly to impose the bond saying freedom Home Care is or should be well aware that its appeal is unlikely to succeed in part due to what Edelson said is its counsel's reputation.
Quoting a case in the southern district of New York Edelson and Bandas is "a known vexatious appellant" and has a reputation for frivolous appeals of objections.
In a filing for Freedom Home Care Bendis had argued that a bond is unnecessary saying it obviously disagrees that its appeal was likely to fail "Nor does it believe class counsels' improper ad hominem attacks, their go to argument in defending excessive fees, should be given any weight", Bandas wrote.
But if the court determines a bond is necessary Bandas said Freedom Home Care did not object to the $5000 amount Edelson requested.
Judge Kennelly required the other objector in the case who complained about the side Press award in the settlement to post a $5,000 bond in his appeal of the settlements approval each of the defendants in the case of also filed notices of appeal regarding the attorneys fees according to court records.
Is there a status? Or a website where we can read what’s happening in the case? Is it stalled??????
Any word on this yet?
Hi any update on the appeals? Status when payments expected to go out?
I found some appeal status info online at http://www.law360.com and posted it here
Just checking to see when payments are gonna be mailed out yet to recieve my payment does anyone have any updates????
Unfortunately on 3/23/17 an appeal was filed. Claims will not be paid until all appeals are resolved. Appeals can take several months, even years to work their way through the court. Please keep checking Top Class Actions for updates. We will let our viewers know if any appeals are filed, and when we learn that checks are in the mail!
How many appeals can they have?