Sprint Class Action Says Company Sent Unwanted Fax Advertisements

Sprint Communications Company LP, Sprint Cellular Holdings Inc., and Sprint Communications LLC, face a class action lawsuit accusing the companies of sending unsolicited faxes.

Plaintiff Gorss Motels Inc., a Connecticut corporation, alleges that on or about April 8, 2013 and Aug. 13, 2015, defendants violated conditions set forth under the Junk Fax Prevention Act by sending two unsolicited fax advertisements. 

The Junk Fax Prevention Act (JFPA), passed by the United States Congress in 2005, is an amendment of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Moreover, the plaintiff points to Connecticut General Statue, Title 52, which states that, “no person shall use a machine that electronically transmits facsimiles through connection with a telephone network or a device that automatically transmits a recorded telephone message to transmit unsolicited advertising material or an unsolicited telephone message which offers to sell goods or services.”

Gorss Motels asserts that Sprint faxed these unsolicited facsimiles without first establishing any business relationship and/or receiving a prior expressed invitation or permission to do so.

They claim that 40 other recipients have also received the same unsolicited faxes, and as such, any putative Class Member receiving such facsimiles had no way of avoiding their retrieval as, “fax machines are left on and ready to receive the urgent communications their owners desire to receive.”

Accordingly, the plaintiff files this Sprint class action individually and on behalf of all those similarly situated. Injunctive relief and statutory damages of $500 can be awarded per violation, under the JFPA.

The plaintiff makes the argument that the receipt of such unsolicited advertisements cause damage in that the recipient looses the use of their fax machine, ink toner, and paper. Furthermore, “an unsolicited fax wastes the recipient’s valuable time that would have been spent on something else,” the Sprint class action lawsuit alleges.

In as much as each unsolicited facsimile was received, the plaintiff contends that each violation should be awarded, as each retrieval prevented their fax machines from receiving faxes they did authorize.

Also, such facsimile retrievals prevented outgoing faxes from being sent and ultimately required, “additional labor to attempt to discern the source and purpose of the unsolicited message,” the complaint states.

Since the plaintiff did not authorize Sprint to send the facsimile, a business relationship was not established and faxes sent did not contain an opt-out notice, therefore such advertisements were sent in violation of the JFPA, the class action lawsuit alleges.

Gorss Motels Inc. is represented by Aytan Y. Bellin of Bellin & Associates LLC; and Brian J. Wanca of Anderson + Wanca.

The Sprint Junk Fax Class Actions Lawsuit is Gorss Motels Inc. v. Sprint Communications Company LP, et al., Case 3:17-CV-00546, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

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If you were sent an unsolicited fax advertisements to either your business or residence or if you were contacted on your cell phone by a company via a prerecorded voice message (robocall), you may be eligible for compensation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

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