FCC Urged to Hold Buccaneers Responsible for Junk Faxes

Two Florida companies who have accused the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of sending them junk faxes have asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to refuse to grant the team’s request to have a “break” on the rules.

Medical group Cortez Foot and Ankle Specialists of Bradenton and a solo law Practitioner Phyllis J. Towzey PA filed their request to the FCC in response to a petition filed by Buccaneers Limited Partnership, owner of the National Football League club.

The Bucs’ petition to the FCC asked for a retroactive waiver for their alleged violations of the Junk Fax Protection Act, nothing that the agency has granted similar waivers to 130 other companies.

The Bucs told the FCC that it had asked the faxing firm to include a notice for recipients to op-out of the advertisements that it had faxed to potential ticket buyers.

Buccaneers Allegedly Sent Junk Faxes

A proposed TCPA class action lawsuit was filed against the Buccaneers in 2013 alleging that the team violated TCPA law when it sent ticket advertisements in the form of junk faxes without securing permissions from the companies that received the advertisements.

The companies that filed the lawsuit alleged that the unsolicited junk faxes tied up the use of their equipment, causing annoyance and hindering communication with clients and patients. They also claimed they were forced to pay expenses for paper and toner to print the junk faxes as they were transmitted.

Cin-Q Automobiles is the lead plaintiff in the TCPA class action lawsuit against the Buccaneers that also includes the medical office and law office. The plaintiffs have asked the court to certify three classes who have allegedly received more than 300,000 faxes.

Towzey told the FCC that she strongly objected to the Bucs receiving a waiver for a law that they are required to follow, especially since the team continued to bombard other businesses after she notified the team of its TCPA law violations in two letters.

Towzey claimed she sent a letter to the general counsel for the Buccaneers and cited the specifics of TCPA law violations specific to junk faxes, demanding $3000 in statutory damages.

Towzey stopped receiving the unwanted junk faxes, but was outraged when she learned that other business were allegedly receiving those same junk faxes.

“Frankly, you would think that a major league football team would be able to afford to spend the costs of legal advertising, instead of taking advantages [sic] of small business offices like mine to deluge them with faxed advertising at the recipient’s expense,” Towzey told the FCC.

As part of TCPA law, the Junk Fax Prevention Act was enacted by Congress in 2005 and required businesses who send unsolicited faxes to include an opt-out for recipients who choose to not receive future faxes.

As the act was enforced, it also required opt-out information on solicited ads so recipients can revoke their prior consent to receiving the ads. This has caused some confusion in the industry.

The Buccaneers Junk Faxes Class Action Lawsuit is Cin-Q Automobiles Inc. et al. v. Buccaneers Ltd. Partnership et al., Case No. 8:13-cv-01592, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

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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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