Dell Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Unwanted Telemarketing Calls

A California man says Dell has been placing unwanted telemarketing calls in violation of federal law.

Plaintiff John Sloatman III says defendant Dell Inc. called his cell phone using an automated dialing system, without first getting his express consent to be called that way. Dell also called him despite the fact that his number is listed on the National Do Not Call Registry, he claims.

The Dell class action lawsuit raises four claims under a federal law known as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA, designed to give consumers control over whether and how they receive unsolicited phone contacts.

When it was first passed in 1991, the TCPA focused on unwanted calls and junk faxes made to telephone land lines. Since then, the Act’s protections have been extended to also restrict calls and SMS text messages sent to mobile phone numbers.

Under TCPA authority, the Federal Trade Commission has set up and maintains the National Do Not Call Registry. The Registry is a list of persons who have affirmatively opted out of receiving telemarketing calls. Telemarketers are expected to stop contacting registered phone numbers one month after they are registered.

The TCPA also restricts the use of automated dialing equipment to place unsolicited calls en masse. Generally, callers are prohibited from using automatic dialing equipment or an automated or prerecorded voice to make calls or send text messages, unless the individual being called has given prior written consent to be called that way.

Persons who receive such contacts in violation of the TCPA may be able to bring a civil TCPA lawsuit like Sloatman’s. The TCPA provides for statutory damages of up to $1,500 for each contact that violates the act.

Sloatman says Dell started calling him in April 2016, trying to solicit him to purchase Dell services. He alleges the company used an automatic telephone dialing system to make these calls.

The plaintiff never consented to have Dell contact him in this manner, according to his Dell class action lawsuit. What’s more, the calls began several months after Sloatman listed his number on the National Do Not Call Registry.

Nevertheless, he claims, Dell kept calling him. He says he received several such calls from Dell over a 12-month period.

Sloatman proposes to represent two plaintiff Classes. The ATDS Class would include all persons in the U.S. who within the four years leading up to this action received solicitation calls from Dell on their mobile phones placed using an automatic telephone dialing system or a prerecorded voice and who did not consent to receiving such calls.

The other proposed Class, the DNC Class, would cover all U.S. persons who received calls from Dell without consenting to being called and without having a prior established business relationship with Dell, and who had registered their phone number with the National Do Not Call Registry for at least 30 days at the time of the call.

He is asking the court to award statutory damages for each violation of the TCPA, plus any other remedy the court deems appropriate.

Sloatman’s attorneys are Todd M. Friedman, Adrian R. Bacon and Meghan E. George of Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman PC.

The Dell Unwanted Phone Calls Class Action Lawsuit is John Sloatman III v. Dell Inc., Case No. 2:17-cv-03918, in the U.S. District Court for the Central 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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