Judge Tosses J&J Junk Fax TCPA Class Action Lawsuit

By Sarah Mirando | February 5, 2013

Category: Johnson & Johnson Class Action Lawsuit and Settlement News

By Kimberly Mirando

A federal judge last week dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit alleging Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a unit of Johnson & Johnson, and its marketing company violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by sending unsolicited faxes to consumers.

Plaintiff Physicians Healthsource sued Janssen and Alert Marketing in April 2012 alleging the companies violated the TCPA by sending two unsolicited “junk” faxes without permission. The TCPA prohibits companies from sending advertisements via facsimile or text message, as well as from contacting consumers on their cell phone, without prior express consent. Consumers that are victims of TCPA violations can receive between $500 and $1,500 each time they are unlawfully contacted (learn more here).

Janssen and Alert Marketing argued that the faxes sent to Physicians Healthsource were not advertisements and were simply informational faxes providing updated insurance information relating to the antibiotic Levaquin.

“Because the TCPA does not prohibit either ‘informational’ faxes, which just provide information, or ‘transactional’ faxes, which are relevant to ongoing relationships, such as those between pharmaceutical companies and the physicians who prescribe their medications, all of Healthsource’s claims should be dismissed,” the defendants said in their motion.

U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson agreed, granting their motion to dismiss on Thursday.

The case is Physicians Healthsource Inc. v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. et al., Case No. 12-cv-02132, U.S. District Court of New Jersey.

If you received an unsolicited text message, cell phone call or fax advertisement, you may have a legal claim to seek compensation through a TCPA class action lawsuit settlement. Visit the TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation for more information.