Paul Tassin  |  October 17, 2017

Category: Consumer News

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ANAHEIM, CA/USA - OCTOBER 10, 2015: Haagen-Dazs ice cream store exterior. Haagen-Dazs is an ice cream brand with franchises throughout the world.A federal judge has denied a request by Haagen-Dazs to dismiss class action lawsuit that the company allegedly sent unauthorized “thank you” text messages to customers.

On Oct. 11, U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila denied the motion for dismissal filed by defendants Haagen-Dazs Shoppe Co., Nestle USA Inc. and Nestle Dreyer’s Ice Cream Co. over the defendants’ arguments to the contrary.

The judge concluded that plaintiff Melanie San Pedro-Salcedo had successfully pled claims against defendant Haagen-Dazs under federal anti-telemarketing laws.

In her June 2017 Haagen-Dazs class action lawsuit, San Pedro-Salcedo alleges Haagen-Dazs failed to get her permission before sending her automated text messages as part of a customer rewards program.

She claims that during a visit to a California Haagen-Dazs location this past April, her cashier offered to enroll her in a rewards program to get discounts on future purchases. She accepted the offer and gave the cashier her phone number.

Later that day, San Pedro-Salcedo says she received a text message reading: “Thank you for joining Haagen-Dazs Rewards! Download our app here:.” She now argues this text message is an advertising message sent using automated dialing equipment and without her prior express written consent to receive such messages.

Businesses that send automated text messages without the recipients’ consent may be violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The TCPA allows affected persons to seek damages through a civil TCPA lawsuit. Plaintiffs can seek statutory damages of $500 to $1,500 for each contact made in knowing or willful violation of the TCPA.

Originally passed to curb autodialed phone calls and faxes, the TCPA now prohibits similar contacts directed at individuals’ mobile phones, including SMS text messages. Texts that introduce an advertisement or that constitute telemarketing may only be sent with prior express written consent.

In Haagen-Dazs’s motion for dismissal, the company argued that its text messages weren’t used for advertising or telemarketing, and therefore did not require prior express written consent. Judge Davila disagreed.

“If the registration for Häagen-Dazs Rewards was completed before the receipt of the text and without the need to download Defendants’ app, then Defendants’ message to ‘Download our app here,’ arguably constitutes an advertisement for the commercial availability of Defendants’ app,” the judge explained.

Judge Davila also shut down Haagen-Dazs’s other arguments for dismissal. San Pedro-Salcedo adequately claimed that Haagen-Dazs used an automated telephone dialing system to send the text messages at issue, according to the judge’s order.

The judge also denied the defendants’ request to stay this action until a federal appeals court issues an opinion that could be relevant to this TCPA class action lawsuit. The D.C. Circuit Court is hearing an appeal from another TCPA lawsuit in which the definition of “automatic telephone dialing system” is at issue.

San Pedro-Salcedo is represented by Michael J. Jaurigue, Abigail A. Zelenski, David Zelenski, Ryan Stubbe, and Sehreen Ladak of Jaurigue Law Group.

The Haagen-Dazs Text Spam Class Action Lawsuit is San Pedro-Salcedo v. The Haagen-Dazs Shoppe Company Inc., et al., Case No. 5:17-cv-03504, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On Feb. 8, 2019, a California federal court was asked to certify a Class of consumers who allegedly received unsolicited “thank you” texts from Häagen-­Dazs.

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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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6 thoughts onHaagen-Dazs Must Face ‘Thank You’ Text Class Action Lawsuit

  1. Hulentenaye says:

    Hello there I would like to open my country. How can I reach you to get further information ?

  2. Julie says:

    Please sign me up

    1. Walter Montgomery says:

      Walter Montgomery
      Sign me up
      walterdmontgomery@yahoo.com

  3. Jill says:

    All you have to do is reply stop and they will stop. Problem solved.

  4. F. Lew says:

    I signed up for a awards program and started receiving text messages. sign me up

  5. Darrin Hargrove says:

    I have received emails regarding promotions on Haggen-Daz products. I have never given any Haggen-Daz any permission to contact me. I did however put that I wanted my receipt sent to my email.

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