Subway, T-Mobile Face Text Message Class Action Lawsuit

Subway and T-Mobile have been hit with a text message class action lawsuit that says the companies violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act when they sent out a mass text message to T-Mobile users.

The text message offered a free 6-inch Oven Roasted Chicken sub, exclusively for T-Mobile customers. The text message class action lawsuit says that the messages were sent using an autodialer and constituted spam that T-Mobile users never signed up to receive.

Text Message Class Action Lawsuit Allegations

Named plaintiffs David Moshe Rahmany and Yehuda Rahmany of California filed the text message class action lawsuit after allegedly receiving a commercial text message advertisement on their respective cellular telephones without providing prior express written consent to receive such text messages.

The message stated: “This T-Mobile Tuesday, Score a free 6” Oven Roasted Chicken sub at SUBWAY, just for being w/ T-Mobile.  Ltd supply. Get app for details: http://t-mo.co/.”

The plaintiffs allege that they did not provide consent to either T-Mobile or Subway to send such text messages.

The texts “were sent by T-Mobile with the consent and encouragement of Subway for purposes of financial gain in a mutually beneficial relationship between those two companies,” the plaintiffs said.

“The free sandwich offer was a pretext to sell other items at Subway restaurants, such as chips, drinks and cookies,” they said.

They are seeking to certify a class of all persons within the United States who received a similar text message on their respective cellular telephones.

The TCPA & Text Messages

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is the main federal law that seeks to curb unsolicited phone calls using an automatic telephone dialing system.

In 2013, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was amended to require businesses to obtain prior express written consent before placing telemarketing calls to mobile phones using an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) or an artificial or prerecorded voice.

This new restriction applies to text messages as well. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) notes that “text messaging is a form of communication used primarily between telephones and is therefore consistent with the definition of a ‘call.'” Thus, the FCC has concluded that text messages are subject to the TCPA.

Under the TCPA, the FCC also requires “an interactive opt-out mechanism to be announced at the outset of the message.

Penalties for TCPA violations range from $500 to $1,500 per unsolicited call or message.

If you received an unsolicited phone call or text message spam you may be entitled to $500 up to $1,500 per call or text.

The Subway T-Mobile Text Message Class Action Lawsuit is Rahmany et al. v. T-Mobile USA Inc. et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-01416, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

UPDATE: On Sept. 8, 2016, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed T-Mobile from the action. The plaintiffs, however, have maintained their claims against Subway.

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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