Hyundai Class Action Alleges TCPA Auto-Dial Violations

A class action lawsuit filed on Aug. 9 alleges that Hyundai Capital America, doing business as Hyundai Motor Finance (Hyundai), has violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by frequently making automated calls to consumers without their permission.

Plaintiff Jeremy Klein asserts that even though he does not own a Hyundai vehicle, and has never inquired about purchasing one, he has received numerous automated calls from Hyundai over the last four years.

Klein claims that “he heard an extended period of silence before the calls would be routed to a live agent,” which indicates the calls were made using an auto-dial system.

The plaintiff states that the calls reference someone named “Christine,” who Klein does not know.

According to the complaint, Klein has contacted Hyundai several times to explain the situation and request that they stop calling him, to no avail.

The Hyundai TCPA class action lawsuit contends that because Hyundai did not have Klein’s permission to call him, using an auto-dial system, and for non-emergency calls, those calls violated the TCPA.

In addition, the complaint asserts that Hyundai’s violations of the TCPA were willful.

Klein seeks to represent a Class of all persons in the United States who within the past four years received on their cell phone a non-emergency call from Hyundai, using an auto-dialer or prerecorded message, and “where Hyundai did not have express consent to call said cellular telephone number.”

The class action states that under the TCPA, Class Members are entitled to damages of up to $500 for each call made that violated the TCPA, or up to $1,500 per violation if Hyundai’s actions were “willful.”

In addition, the lawsuit seeks an injunction stopping Hyundai from making such calls.

Klein is represented by Trinette G. Kent of Lemberg Law, LLC.

The Hyundai TCPA Class Action Lawsuit is Jeremy Klein v. Hyundai Capital America d/b/a Hyundai Motor Finance, Case No. 8:16-cv-01469, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Southern Division.

What is The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)?

The U.S. Congress passed the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act to limit the time and manner in which solicitors and companies could contact potential customers. The TCPA paid especially close attention to limiting the use of automated telephone equipment, prerecorded messages, or robocalls for telephone soliciting and telemarketing.

With the advancement of technology, the TCPA also has laws limited how companies can contact customers via text messages and email, and is not simply limited to aural home phone and cell phone call.

Additionally, the TCPA requires that companies honor the National Do Not Call Registry, which all consumers are free to enroll in at any time online.

In this TCPA class action lawsuits, Hyundai faces allegations of :

“Making and/or initiating telephone calls using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to any telephone number assigned to a cellular telephone service, in violation of 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii) and 47 CFR § 64.1200(a)(1)(iii).”

Hyundai is not the only company or entity facing TCPA class action lawsuits for allegedly violating various telephone consumers’ rights guaranteed under the TCPA. Hundreds of TCPA civil and class action lawsuits have been filed in the United States in recent years by various consumers and the number likely to grow as more consumers are informed of their TCPA rights.

Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

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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