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Redbox Text Message Class Action Lawsuit Dismissed
By Robert J. Boumis
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A federal judge in California yesterday dismissed a class action lawsuit accusing the vending machine DVD rental company Redbox of sending unsolicited text messages to consumers.
In a June 20 Order, U.S. District Court Judge Dana M. Sabraw ended the case, brought against Redbox Automated Retail LLC by plaintiff Kathleen Holt. The proposed class action lawsuit alleged that a one-time only opt-out confirmation text sent to Holt constituted a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, better known as the TCPA.
The TCPA was passed by the United States Congress to protect consumers from harassment by telemarketing by imposing fines on companies that send unsolicited communications to consumers. The Act was subsequently reinforced by a number of additional laws, regulations, and court cases. This includes rulings that the TCPA does apply to text messages, a form of communication that most people had not even heard of when the TCPA was originally passed.
Holt alleged in the Redbox class action lawsuit that the company’s practice of sending a text message confirming that a consumer had opted out of further text messages constituted a violation of the TCPA. However, in November of 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled that companies are allowed to send a final, non-commercial text confirming they received an opt-out request to consumers who granted their prior express consent to receive such messages. Based on the November 2012 ruling, Judge Sabraw dismissed the Redbox TCPA class action lawsuit.
Even the United States Department of Justice weighed in on the case. In April, the DOJ said that Redbox’s argument that their First Amendment rights were at stake should be rejected on the grounds of common sense.
The class action lawsuit had pointed out that the opt-out message included a click-through that linked to the company’s website, and alleged that this made the texts a commercial message. At the same time, Redbox argued that enforcing the ruling in this manner would stifle their First Amendment rights. The court decided not to sort through the intricacies of the First Amendment issues, since the FCC ruling effectively sunk the case from the beginning.
The substance of the FCC ruling holds that a company like Redbox may send one final, confirmation text to confirm that a consumer does not want to receive further communication – as long as they granted prior express consent in the beginning to receive test messages. The FCC’s ruling held that not only was the practice widespread, but it was a good business practice to confirm a consumer’s wishes.
While the Redbox class action lawsuit has been dismissed, other large corporations have been accused and convicted of violating the TCPA. Each individual violation of the TCPA a $500 fine. Additionally, if you can prove the violation was intentional, and a cellular phone is involved, you can sue for up to $1500 each time the company makes an unsolicited communication.
For example, companies like Jiffy Lube, Sallie Mae, and Citibank have all found themselves on the defendant end of a TCPA class action lawsuit recently. Consumers have won millions in settlements and awards in these lawsuits.
If you’ve received an unwanted text message or cell phone call from a company, you can get help by visiting the Text Message Spam, Cell Phone Call TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Settlement for a free legal review of your claims.
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Updated June 21st, 2013
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