Judge Awards $32M in ‘Last Ounce of Courage’ Robocall Class Action

A federal judge has issued a $32.4 million judgment against two companies who used unlawful robocalls to promote the film “Last Ounce of Courage.”

U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber granted a motion filed by defendants FreeEats.com and AIC Communications LLC, seeking a reduction in what would have been a billion-dollar damage award.

The defendants are accused of violating federal law by making millions of unsolicited telemarketing robocalls.

The judge determined that a strict application of statutory damages in this case would be “so severe and oppressive as to be wholly disproportionate to the offense and obviously unreasonable” and therefore in violation of the defendants’ right to due process.

Plaintiffs Dorit and Ron Golan brought claims against the defendants, who do business as ccAdvertising. The Golans claimed the defendant made millions of unsolicited phone calls in an effort to promote the Christian war drama film “Last Ounce of Courage.”

The Golans themselves claimed they received two such calls on their home phone line, even though they were registered on the Missouri Do Not Call list. They reported those calls delivered a recorded message saying, “Liberty. This is a survey call. We may call back later.”

This message went out to 3 million call recipients, according to the Last Ounce class action lawsuit. Around 1 million call recipients heard a recording of Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee reading a 45-second long script. The script, purporting to be a survey on “American freedom and liberty,” encouraged the listener to see “Last Ounce of Courage.”

The Last Ounce class action lawsuit went to trial in August. Judge Webber granted judgment as a matter of law based solely on the Golan’s own presentation.

The Golans argued ccAdvertising’s calls were violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Generally, the TCPA prohibits callers from using certain automated equipment to place unsolicited calls without first getting the called party’s prior express consent to be called in that particular way.

Statutory damages under the TCPA start at $500 for each call that violates the law. Strict application of that damage award to the 3.2 million robocalls attributed to ccAdvertising in this case would have resulted in a damage award exceeding $1.6 billion. The defendants sought a reduction of the damage award to just over $324,000, or ten cents per call.

Judge Webber settled on a damage award of $10 per call, or $32.4 million in total. The judge determined this award reflects the severity of the offense and serves Congress’s purposes in enacting the TCPA. It also reflects the time and expense required to notify the Class and distribute payments, the judge said.

A settlement administrator has already set up a website that will be used to notify eligible Class Members and distribute their payments.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action award as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The Golans are represented by attorneys John G. Simon and Kevin M. Carnie of The Simon Law Firm PC.

The Last Ounce TCPA Class Action Lawsuit is Golan, et al. v. Veritas Entertainment LLC, et al., Case No. 4:14-cv-00069, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

UPDATE: As of October 4, 2017, the Last Ounce TCPA class action judgement is under appeal.  Top Class Actions is following the case and will let our viewers know when all appeals are resolved.

UPDATE 2: On August 8, 2019, the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court judgment in the ‘Last Ounce of Courage’ Robocall Class Action. Top Class Actions will continue to provide updates as we learn more. 

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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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