Lyft Class Action Claims the Rideshare App Sends Unauthorized Texts

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A class action lawsuit claims that Lyft sends unauthorized texts, violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the TCPA), which was enacted to protect consumers from unsolicited text messages and phone calls.

The plaintiff claims he started to fill out an application to become a driver for Lyft, the popular app that connects drivers with people needing rides.

The plaintiff states that the application required a phone number, and that after he gave his phone number, he decided not to finish filling out the application. According to the Lyft class action lawsuit, the plaintiff then received an unsolicited text from Lyft.

The plaintiff claims that the text message read “Complete your Lyft driver application today to earn big on New Year’s Eve, our biggest night of the year. Finish now…” He argues that the text message was created and sent by an automatic machine, a practice prohibited by the TCPA.

The Lyft unauthorized text message class action lawsuit states that enacting the TCPA, congress banned robocalls and robotexts, as well as prerecorded calls and texts, “except when the receiving party consents to receiving the call or when such calls are necessary in an emergency situation…is the only effective means of protecting telephone consumers from this nuisance and privacy invasion.”

The plaintiff says that the fact that he did not give express consent for Lyft to contact him on the phone number he provided violated the TCPA. He also claims that he did not enter into a business relationship with Lyft that would require them to contact him on his cellphone.

The Lyft automated text message class action lawsuit cites a precedent that established a text message as falling under the methods of communications regulated by the TCPA. According to multiple previous cases, a text message is “a call” under the meaning of the TCPA.

Lyft is one of many companies being hit by class action lawsuits claiming that their policies of sending mass texts to consumers violates the TCPA. Consumers who submit valid claims of TCPA violations can collect between $500 and $1,000 per violation.

Common practices in violation of the TCPA include but are not limited to:

• Placing robocalls (using a pre-recorded message and/or automated dialing program)
• Sending unsolicited text messages
• Sending calls or texts to individuals who did not establish a business relationship with the caller
• Not providing an “opt out” option of calls/texts
• Calling numbers listed on company-specific “do-not-call” lists
• Calling numbers the National Do Not Call Registry
• Sending unsolicited messages or advertisements to fax machines owned by businesses or individuals

The Lyft class action lawsuit seeks damages for the plaintiff and for all similarly affected consumers. He also seeks for Lyft to cease its unlawful practice of sending automated and unsolicited text messages.

The plaintiff is represented by Joshua B. Swigart of Hyde & Swigart and Abbas Kazerounian of Kazerouni Law Group APC.

The Lyft Unsolicited Text Messages Class Action Lawsuit is P.S. v. Lyft Inc., Case No. 3:18-cv-00540-BEN-JMA, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were contacted on your cellphone 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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