Several Travel Companies Face TCPA Class Action Over Robocalls

Several vacation companies are facing a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) lawsuit over allegations they hounded consumers with unwanted robocalls.

Robocalls are phone calls made using automated dialing systems that look up random phone numbers and deliver automated voice messages when answered.

The TCPA class action lawsuit, filed in an Illinois federal court, says as many as one million Americans have received these calls offering free cruises for participating in a political or public survey.

Defendants Vacation Ownership Marketing Tours Inc., Caribbean Cruise Line Inc., and the Berkley Group Inc. filed a motion to dismiss the claims.

Overview of TCPA Allegations

Despite the Class Members claiming that the robocalls are a clear violation of the TCPA, the companies argue that these calls lack connection of responsibility. Berkley Group argues there was no joint venture with the other companies that were named in the lawsuit and denies the calls were placed.

Berkley went on to say that they had been unaware of these alleged robocalls until hearing about them from a Fox News report, which spurred the company to send letters to independent vendor Vacation Ownership Marketing Tours that stated it did not want leads that came from the calls.

The companies argue that the plaintiffs have not sufficiently proven the relationship between the companies the marketing operation actually making the robocalls.

Class Members in the TCPA class action lawsuit disagree that there’s an issue over the companies working together since they placed similar marketing calls that revolved around selling vacation packages and timeshares from the defendants.

Additionally, each of these calls used an automated voice that answered the recipient, and were placed without receiving prior consent from consumers. The companies argue that the research organizations made the calls, and are exempt from the TCPA.

If found not to be in violation of the TCPA, companies could be liable to pay up to $1,500 per violation.

This TCPA Class Action Lawsuit is Birchmeier et al. v. Caribbean Cruise Line Inc. et al., Case No. 1:12-cv-04069, in the U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois, Eastern Division.

UPDATE: On Sept. 8, 2016, Caribbean Cruise Line, and its marketing subsidiaries, agreed to pay up to $76 million to settle the robocall class action lawsuit.

UPDATE 2: The Caribbean Cruise Line Robocalls Class Action Settlement is now open! Click here to file a claim. 

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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