Hooters Text Message Spam Drums Up TCPA Class Action Lawsuit

A California man has filed a Hooters text spam lawsuit alleging that the casual restaurant chain sent him two unwanted text messages even though he never signed up to receive them and has in fact never even eaten at one of the company’s locations.

According to the Hooters class action lawsuit, this violates the Telephone Consumer Protection act which was “designed to prevent calls like the one described within this complaint and to protect the privacy of citizens[,]” mainly because there are no standardized ways of avoiding receiving text spam until after the fact.

More specifically, on June 13, 2014, Peyton Zandifaez allegedly received one message that read, “HOOTERS: Celebrate Fathers Day at Hooters. Buy 10 wings get 10 free, Sunday June 15th, dine in only, with purchase of a drink. STOP to end[.]” A second message came on July 5 and advertised an Ultimate Fighting Championship event that was playing at various locations.

In order to comply with the statutory rights of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, plaintiffs must generally attempt to prove two facts: that the use of an automatic telephone dialing system was used and that no consent to receive the cell phone contact was provided by the recipient.

Zandifaez alleges in the Hooters text message class action lawsuit that the message appeared to be a “form text” indicating that it was part of a massive campaign to various cell phone users.

Further, the Hooters text spam lawsuit alleges that “Plaintiff has never signed-up for, and has never used, Defendant’s services or products, and has never had any form of business relationship with Defendant.” Therefore, he is seeking to represent a proposed Class consisting of people who received a Hooters text message in the last four years.

Text Spam Can Mean Money for Consumers

The Hooters text spam class action lawsuit is seeking compensation for the proposed Class on two counts: negligent violations of the TCPA and knowing and/or willing violations of the TCPA. The former provides for statutory damages of $1,500 per message for each plaintiff while the latter provides for $500 per message.

As more and more people become aware of legal protections available to them against robocalls or text message spam, the number of TCPA class action lawsuits have mounted. Numerous companies, even NFL teams like the Buffalo Bills, have paid out millions of dollars in order to resolve claims based on their use of an automatic telephone dialing system to send mass messages to people without having a business relationship with them.

TCPA class action settlements can result in hundreds of dollars in compensation to consumers who were contacted on their cell phone in violation of the TCPA.

The Hooters Text Message Class Action Lawsuit is Peyton Zandifaez v. Hooters of America, Case No. 14-cv-01187 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.