Dish Network Telemarketing Lawsuit Ends in $21 Million TCPA Verdict

A recent Dish Network telemarketing lawsuit reached a $21 million verdict by jury, but the company is planning to continue disputing the claims.

Although the jury reached its $21 million verdict in the Dish Network telemarketing lawsuit back in January, the company is prepared to fight each of the over 50,000 individual telemarketing calls alleged in the lawsuit.

The Dish Network telemarketing lawsuit alleges that the company made 51,119 calls to 18,066 phone numbers. While the penalty per phone calls isn’t too steep—around $400 per call—the penalties for these thousands of calls quickly adds up to a total of $20,447,600.

Facing this heavy penalty, it’s not too surprising that Dish is trying to fight as many of the call claims as possible.

A problem left in the Dish Network telemarketing lawsuit, according to the defendant, is that the suit was filed on behalf of thousands of numbers rather than actual consumers’ names. Dish uses this to argue that it first must be determined if each class member is actually the person associated with the number listed in the Dish Network telemarketing lawsuit.

Dish Network Telemarketing Lawsuit Basics

The lead plaintiff, Thomas K., filed this Dish Network telemarketing lawsuit in 2014. According to the lawsuit, Thomas was included on the Do Not Call registry, and yet Dish Network called him repeatedly over the course of several years, beginning in 2009.

A growing number of consumers, like Thomas, are filing lawsuits against companies over placed telemarketing calls that violate the TCPA, or Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

TCPA Background

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA, was first introduced in 1991. The TCPA was intended to protect consumers from unwanted solicitation through technology.

The TCPA restricts the use of autodialer calls, which are made using an autodialing system or a pre-recorded messaging system. Under the TCPA bans, companies cannot use autodialer calls to contact consumers who have not already given their explicit permission to receive such calls.

The TCPA has necessarily changed a little over the years as technology has advanced. New technologies (such as cell phones) have caused the TCPA to expand over the years, and it now covers text messaging on top of the autodialer calls consumers have become used to.

If you have not given your prior express permission to receive these kinds of telemarketing calls and texts, even if you are not on the National Do Not Call registry, these contacts may constitute TCPA violations, and you may be entitled to compensation.

Reporting Violations of the TCPA

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received more than 215,000 individual TCPA complaints in 2014 alone.

If you have received unwanted calls from a company like Dish Network without having given prior express permission, or after placing your name on a federal Do Not Call telemarketer list, you may be in a position to bring a TCPA lawsuit and receive compensation per violation.

In order for your TCPA claims to be most effective, you will need proof of these violations. Keep messages and phone records of the telemarketing calls and texts placed to your phone.

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