Liberty Capital Group Hit with Class Action Over Unsolicited Faxes

Liberty Capital Group Inc., a small business loan provider, had a class action lawsuit filed against it July 10 alleging that the company sent unsolicited faxes to businesses around the country in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

The class action lawsuit was filed in a California federal court by Bedard Controls Inc., a heating and cooling system contractor. It is seeking $1,500 for each illegal fax sent by Liberty Capital — which could add up to $5 million once the tens of thousands of Class Members are included.

“The TCPA was enacted by Congress to address problems of abusive telemarketing, including preventing the transmission of junk faxes,” the Liberty Capital class action lawsuit says. “As Congress recognized unsolicited faxes often impose unwanted burdens on the called party, including costs of paper and ink and making fax machines unavailable for legitimate business messages.”

The plaintiff in the class action lawsuit, Bedard Controls, alleges that Liberty Capital faxed unsolicited advertisements in February 2012.

According to the TCPA lawsuit, “plaintiff never provided prior express permission to send advertisements to plaintiff’s telephone facsimile machine. Plaintiff had no established business relationship with defendant at the time the unsolicited advertisement was sent.”

This is in direct violation of the TCPA that was enacted by Congress, which states that it is against the law to use a fax machine, computer or other device to send unsolicited sales advertisements except for very limited purposes — unless there is an established relationship between the businesses.

“Defendant engaged in an organized program and entities throughout the nation with whom defendant had no established business relationship,” the TCPA lawsuit reads.

The proposed class includes “all persons or entities in the United States who received an unsolicited advertisement that was sent by or on behalf of defendant in which defendant’s goods or services were promoted, and who had no established business relationship with defendant at the time, within the four years prior to the filing of this complaint.”

Bedard Controls argues that the class action lawsuit is the only way to get Liberty Capital to stop their TCPA violations or they would most likely keep on sending the unwanted faxes. The heating and cooling contractor says that Bedard Controls could not be persuaded without the class wide damages.

“Most members of the class would find the cost of litigating their claims prohibitive in the absence of a class action, and therefore few class members could seek individual legal redress for the wrongs perpetrated by defendant,” according the Liberty Capital TCPA lawsuit.

The case is Bedard Controls Inc. v. Liberty Capital Group Inc., Case No. 3:13-cv-01595 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

If you or someone you know receives unsolicited faxes, phone calls, or text messages, legal options are available. Learn more and get a free legal consultation regarding a claim’s eligibility at the Text Message Spam, Cell Phone Call TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation. Experienced legal professionals are available to determine if you have case, so act now.