Marriott Class Action Says Telemarketing Calls Violate Federal Law

Marriott was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the hotel chain used an autodialer to contact individuals’ cell phones to advertise their Vacation Club in violation of federal law.

Lead plaintiff Cheri Astrahan alleges in her class action lawsuit that she received several unsolicited calls on her mobile phone for the Marriott Vacation Club in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Astrahan says she received the calls despite being on the National Do Not Call Registry and without giving prior consent to Marriott to contact her via phone with the advertisements.

The plaintiff alleges that the unsolicited calls lasted for a year. She says that when she answered the calls, she heard a pre-recorded or artificial voice attempting to sell her a timeshare service.

Astrahan claims that she asked the company to stop calling her; however, she continued to receive calls about the Marriott Vacation Club.

“Plaintiff requested for defendant to stop calling plaintiff, thus revoking any prior express consent that had existed and terminating any established business relationship that had existed,” alleges the Marriott class action lawsuit. “Despite this, defendant continued to call plaintiff in an attempt to solicit its services and in violation of the National Do­-Not-­Call provisions of the TCPA.”

According to the complaint, Marriott violated the TCPA by accessing and using the plaintiff’s cell phone number without consent. Astrahan also alleges that Marriott used an autodialer and robocalls – a further violation of the TCPA.

The TCPA was enacted by Congress in 1991 to curtail use of telephone solicitors used by companies that do not have permission to contact the individuals they dial. It also regulates the use of automatic dialers and pre-recorded messages, fax advertisements, unwanted text messages, and enforces the National Do Not Call Registry and other do-not-call lists.

The plaintiff seeks to represent a nationwide Class of people who received solicitation or telemarketing calls from Marriott using an autodialer or prerecorded voice over the past four years. The plaintiff also seeks to represent a nationwide Class of people who received such calls and expressly revoked consent, but still continued to receive unsolicited calls from Marriott. Further, the plaintiff seeks to represent another nationwide Class of those who were on the Do Not Call Registry, but still received unsolicited calls for the Marriott Vacation Club.

The plaintiff is seeking damages, including up to $1,500 for each violation of the TCPA by Marriott for herself and all putative Class Members. The plaintiff also wants a court order stopping Marriott from contacting individuals in violation of the TCPA.

Astrahan is represented by Todd M. Friedman, Adrian R. Bacon and Meghan E. George of the Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman PC.

The Marriott Vacation Club TCPA Class Action Lawsuit is Cheri Astrahan v. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. d/b/a Marriott Vacation Club, Case No. 8:17-cv-02139, 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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