Caribou Coffee Reaches $8.5M TCPA Class Action Settlement

Caribou Coffee Co. Inc. has reportedly agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit over allegations it sent unsolicited text messages in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

On Monday, plaintiff Kristie Farnham filed a motion in Wisconsin federal court seeking preliminary approval of the proposed Caribou Coffee TCPA class action settlement, which would provide eligible Class Members with a payment of approximately $200. According to Farnham, this proposed payment is “a sum that far exceeds what claimants typically receive in class settlements in the TCPA context.”

Class Members of the proposed Caribou Coffee TCPA settlement include U.S. residents who received at least one text message from or on behalf of Caribou Coffee on their cell phone since May 5, 2012.

The TCPA class action lawsuit, which Farnham filed in May 2016, alleges Caribou Coffee used an automatic telephone dialing system to transmit text message advertisements to consumers without their prior express written consent, which Farnham asserts is a violation of the TCPA. She sought statutory damages on behalf of herself and the Class.

The Caribou Coffee class action settlement was reportedly reached after the parties engaged in nearly a year of “hard-fought litigation” and participated in 10 hours of extensive negotiations. Farnham says the proposed TCPA settlement agreement is the product of arm’s length negotiations and that the deal is fair, adequate and reasonable and therefore warrants preliminary approval.

In addition to providing a cash payment to eligible Class Members, Caribou Coffee has also agreed to discontinue its text message marketing practices and to implement a TCPA compliance training to prevent the possibility of future TCPA violations.

Caribou Coffee attempted to dodge the TCPA class action lawsuit in June 2016, asserting that Farnham failed to state a claim, among other defenses. Caribou Coffee also sought to put the case on pause until the D.C. Circuit issued a ruling on a potential Federal Communications Commission change to the TCPA rules. In March 2017, the court denied Caribou’s motion for the stay.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act was enacted by Congress in response to consumer complaints about telemarketers and other annoying telephone communications. The TCPA specifically prohibits the transmission of marketing text messages to cell phones using an automatic telephone dialing system unless it has first obtained the prior express written consent of the recipient.

Under the TCPA, statutory damages are set at $500 per violation or $1,500 for willful violations of the TCPA.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this Caribou Coffee TCPA class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the green “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

Farnham is represented by Frank Hedin and David Milian of Carey Rodriguez Milian Gonya LLP.

The Caribou Coffee TCPA Class Action Lawsuit is Kristie Farnham v. Caribou Coffee Co. Inc., Case No. 3:16-cv-00295, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

UPDATE: As of August 21, 2017, the Caribou Coffee TCPA settlement website and claim form are now available!  Click here for settlement details.

UPDATE 2: On March 1, 2018, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks for $68.56 from a Caribou Coffee TCPA class action settlement over allegations that they received unwanted text messages from the coffee company.

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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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