Verizon Settles Robocall Class Action Lawsuit for $4M

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Verizon Wireless has agreed to pay $4 million to settle claims that a third-party debt collector made robocalls on Verizon’s behalf to people who were never Verizon customers.

Plaintiff John Lofton alleged in the Verizon Wireless robocall class action lawsuit that he was called twice by Collecto Inc., a debt collection company hired by Verizon. Lofton claims that Collecto made two calls to his cell phone, using a pre-recorded statement, or a “robocall.”

Lofton believes that Collecto tracked him by process called skip tracing, which typically involves paying other companies to find contact or location information on people from a variety of sources.

Lofton also alleged in the robocall class action lawsuit that the Collecto calls to his cell phone were recorded without his permission, and that Verizon Wireless’ policy was to prohibit Collecto from disclosing that calls were recorded.

Verizon Wireless had filed a motion to dismiss this robocall and call recording class action lawsuit in December 2013. Verizon’s motion was denied, and the parties have now reportedly agreed to a settlement.

On Dec. 22, Lofton asked the court for preliminary approval of the $4 million settlement. According to the Verizon class action settlement documents, the money will be paid to all legitimate claimants, based on the number of valid claims the settlement administrator receives.

The Verizon Wireless robocall class action lawsuit seeks to represent a Class of all persons in the United States who were contacted by Collecto and were not (then or any time before) customers of Verizon Wireless. The national class action lawsuit is based on potential violations of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Lofton estimates that there are almost 240,000 potential members of this Class.

Lofton also asked the court to certify a Class of California residents who were not Verizon Wireless customers and who were contacted by Collecto. Lofton claims that Collecto’s actions on behalf of Verizon Wireless constitute a violation California privacy laws. Lofton estimates that there are approximately 2,700 potential members of this state Class.

If approved by the court, the settlement administrator will provide notice to the Class, and potential Class Members will have to file claims. Instructions on how to file a claim for the Verizon TCPA class action settlement were not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

Lofton argued that the settlement should be approved by the court, because it avoids any addition risk of litigation, including potentially losing “the claims of class members who may not even know that their rights were violated and have no way to vindicate those rights.” Lofton also noted that the settlement would not apply to Collecto, which is involved in a separate lawsuit over the same conduct.

Lofton is represented by David C. Parisi and Suzanne Havens Beckman of Parisi & Havens LLP, and by Ethan Preston of Preston Law Offices.

The Verizon Wireless Robocall Class Action Lawsuit is Lofton v. Verizon Wireless (VAW) LLC, et. al., case no. 3:13-cv-05665, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On Feb. 26, 2016, the Verizon Wireless TCPA class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a Claim Form or visit http://DebtCollectionSettlement.com.

UPDATE 2: On Aug. 15, 2016, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving Verizon class action settlement checks worth as much as $508.08! Congratulations to our readers who submitted claims and got PAID!

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. Find out more at the Text Message Spam, Unwanted Cell Phone Calls TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation.