State Farm Wants Robocall Class Certification Denied

Facing a slew of robocall class action lawsuits, State Farm recently asked that an Illinois federal judge deny the class certification.

The robocall class action lawsuits claim that State Farm violated Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rules by contacting consumers through a third-party robocalling service, but State Farm disagrees, saying that it cannot be held accountable for the third party’s actions.

State Farm contested that the TCPA claims from one robocall class action lawsuit could sufficiently decide the claims for all members of its class.

The lead plaintiffs in the robocall class action lawsuit, Jennifer S. and Shawn M., allege that they received robocalls from Variable Marketing LLC that connected them with State Farm agents. However, State Farm claims that whether or not the State Farm agents involved in each call knew that Variable used a robocalling system would have to be determined on a case by case basis rather than in one fell swoop through a class action.

Jennifer S. filed her robocall lawsuit in March 2013 against State Farm and a number of other insurers, though all the groups but State Farm were freed from the action by August 2014. However, the Illinois judge found that the consumers involved in the robocall lawsuit had provided sufficient evidence to indicate a relationship between State Farm agents and Variable.

The robocall lawsuit alleges that the State Farm agents who used Variable’s services as a robocaller were actually informed of and in control of Variable’s telemarketing calls on their behalf. Because of the amount of evidence brought forth by consumers, State Farm’s multiple request that the robocall be dismissed have been denied.

The lead plaintiffs in this case each allege that they were contacted with a prerecorded message by Variable in 2013, and were then rerouted to a State Farm agent.

The plaintiffs asked the judge for a class action certification for their robocall lawsuit. Class members would include people who had received calls from Variable that then connected them to State Farm between January 1, 2012, and September 29, 2013.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was instituted in 1991, but has morphed by necessity over the years to include more modern technology. The TCPA was designed to protect consumers from unwanted automated solicitation by outside parties such as retail and other businesses.

Unwanted solicitation includes robocalls, or the use of an auto dialer machine or pre-recorded message to reach consumers, which includes text and fax spam.

Despite the fact that the TCPA has been around for a long time now, many companies still choose to send these kinds of calls and texts.

TCPA restrictions do not apply if a consumer has provided prior express consent to be contacted, which negates do-not-call status and considers texts or calls solicited. However, consumers should always be able to opt out of messages they have previously given consent to receive.

If you have received robocalls or text spam from a company, and you believe them to be in violation of the TCPA, you may be eligible to join a robocall lawsuit.

In order to be involved in a class action lawsuit against a company for TCPA violations, you will need to keep a good record of your experience with these messages and calls. Do not delete messages or phone records, and keep written record of violations.

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