California Energy Company Faces Class Action Over Unwanted Calls

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A California home energy company was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the business violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by pestering consumers with unwanted calls.

Three California residents, Lucas Ambrezewicz, Edward Timmons and Mark Haigler, allege in their class action lawsuit that GDFriend Inc. used an automatic dialer to make marketing calls to consumers all over California without permission, violating the TCPA.

The company has gone under several names including Direct Home Energy Solutions, Green Home Investment Program and PowerStar Home Energy Solutions.

“GDFriend provides consumers with energy efficient home improvement products. Such products include doors and windows, vinyl siding, air conditioning units and bathtubs,” alleges the class action lawsuit.

Enacted in 1991, the TCPA prohibits companies from using auto dialers to make calls to consumers using either recorded messages or other types of messaging without the permission of the consumer to contact them. Fines for TCPA violations can range from $500 to $1,500 per communication attempt.

The plaintiffs allege that GDFriend Inc. failed to obtain permission from them and other California consumers before peppering the region with marketing calls. Further, alleges the class action lawsuit, the company contacted consumers on the federal Do Not Call Registry, another violation of the TCPA.

“Defendant casts its marketing net too wide,” allege the plaintiffs. “That is, in an attempt to promote its business and services in the energy efficiency and home-improvement industry, Defendant conducted (and continues to conduct) a wide-scale telemarketing campaign that features the making of repeated unsolicited autodialed telephone calls to consumers’ cellular telephones, including those that appear on the National Do Not Call Registry, without consent — all in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.”

According to the class action lawsuit, in addition to violating the TCPA, GDFriend caused actual harm to the plaintiffs and the proposed Class by making the calls, including “the aggravation, annoyance, and nuisance and invasions of privacy that result from the receipt of such calls in addition to a loss of value realized for the monies consumers paid to their wireless carriers for the receipt of such calls.”

“Furthermore, the calls interfered with Plaintiffs’ and the other Class members’ use and enjoyment of their cellular telephones, including the related data, software, and hardware components,” the class action states. “Defendant also caused substantial injury to their phones by causing wear and tear on their property, consuming battery life, and appropriating cellular data and minutes.”

The plaintiffs seek to represent a California Class of consumers who received unwanted calls from GDFriend. The plaintiffs are seeking damages under the TCPA as well as an injunction against the company to stop them from making further unwanted calls.

The plaintiffs are represented by Bryan K. Theis of Theis Law Group and by Blake J. Dugger of Law Offices of Stefan Coleman PLLC.

The GDFriend TCPA Violations Class Action Lawsuit is Lucas Amrezewicz, et al. v. GDFriend Inc., Case No. 3:17-cv-02234-L-JMA, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

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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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