Kohl’s TCPA Lawsuit Makes a Play for Class Certification

The plaintiff in a Kohl’s TCPA lawsuit has asked the federal judge hearing the case to certify a Class of thousands of similar plaintiffs.

Plaintiff Mark Ankcorn says he’s not the only one who’s received unsolicited autodialed calls on his mobile phone from Kohl’s.

He is asking the court to certify an entire plaintiff Class consisting of other people who received similar calls, so that they can seek damages from Kohl’s under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA.

Ankcorn filed his Kohl’s TCPA lawsuit back in February 2015. He alleges he received dozens of unconsented calls from defendant Kohl’s — calls he alleges violate the TCPA.

He says that between July and October 2014, Kohl’s called his mobile phone at least 105 different times.

Ankcorn believes Kohl’s used an automatic telephone dialing system to place these calls. He also alleges these calls featured an announcement from an artificial voice that was apparently part of an attempt to collect a consumer loan.

When Ankcorn tried to get through to a live operator to tell them he did not want to receive any more calls like this, he says the call was disconnected. On occasions when he was able to get through to a live person, he says those persons refused to identify themselves.

Ankcorn says he never consented to being contacted by Kohl’s in this manner. In fact, he says, he never listed his mobile phone number on any documents used in any transaction between him and Kohl’s.

Kohl’s TCPA Lawsuit Seeks to Leverage Statutory Damage Provisions

The TCPA is a federal law originally passed in 1991 to curb the practice – highly unpopular to those on its receiving end – of using automated equipment to place unsolicited telemarketing calls to telephone land lines.

Since it was originally passed, the TCPA has been amended to apply to calls placed to mobile phone lines. It now generally prohibits the use of an automatic telephone dialing system to call numbers assigned to a cellular telephone service, unless the caller has gotten prior express consent from the called person.

Recent administrative decrees from the FCC give callers a “one free call” pass on liability, excusing calls to cell phone numbers that have been reassigned to someone other than the person the caller is actually trying to reach.

The TCPA sets the value of civil penalties for such calls. Plaintiffs who bring a successful TCPA lawsuit can claim between $500 and $1,500 in statutory damages for each call that violates the law.

With statutory damages available for a successful plaintiff, a class action effort like the Kohl’s TCPA lawsuit Ankcorn is bringing can lead to sizeable damage awards – if the plaintiff manages to win class certification.

In his motion for class certification, Ankcorn is asking to represent all persons who received a similar call from Kohl’s on their mobile phone over the last four years. The proposed Class is expected to number in the tens of thousands.

The Kohl’s TCPA Lawsuit is Ankcorn v. Kohl’s Corp., Case No. 1:15-cv-01303, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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