Mountain West Research Settles TCPA Class Action Lawsuit for $1.5M

Polling and public opinion research company Mountain West Research Center LC this week agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action lawsuit. The TCPA lawsuit alleged the company violated the law by contacting consumers without permission, using a pre-recorded voice system.

Plaintiff Paul Mankin filed the TCPA class action lawsuit in September 2013, alleging that Mountain West called consumers’ cellphones without prior consent, and had used an automatic telephone dialing system and using an artificial voice to make and answer the calls. There was allegedly also no opt-out option and the calls reportedly had no means of identification other than the call was from Mountain West, when the consumers answered their phones.

Under the terms of the TCPA class action settlement, Mountain West will create a $1.5 million fund that will provide for the following accommodations for the victims:

• Pay for a settlement administrator
• Provide a website to provide updated information
• Prepare an opt-out list
• Prepare a list of persons submitting objections to the class action settlement
• Disbursing payments to all class members who do not opt-out

According to the TCPA class action settlement agreement, members who do not opt-out will receive a check of approximately $65. Any unclaimed funds from the TCPA settlement will be paid to the National Consumer Law Center.

Mankin believes the TCPA settlement to be appropriate because he recognizes the expense the time required to continue the litigation, as well as the risk and difficulties of taking his suit to trial. While Mountain West denies violating the TCPA as well as any other wrongdoing, it agreed to the class action settlement because of the potential damage a trial would bring.

The Mountain West TCPA Class Action Lawsuit is Paul Mankin v. Mountain West Research Center LC, Case No. 2:13-cv-06447, in the U.S. District Court of Central California.

Overview of the TCPA

The TCPA was approved in 1991, amending a law created 1934. According to the act, any companies found to be in violation of the TCPA can be penalized from $500 to $1,500. In general, companies must adhere to a specific set of requirements when calling customers, which are determined under the TCPA. Some of these policies include:

• Companies cannot call before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
• Companies must maintain a “do-not-call” (DNC) list of consumers who asked not to be called; to be honored for five years.
• Prohibiting any companies from using automated telephone equipment or an artificial or prerecorded voice to call an emergency line, such as: “911”, a hospital emergency number, a physician’s office, a hospital or health care facility, a cellular telephone, or any service for which the recipient is charged for the call.
• Prohibiting autodialed calls that take up two or more lines of a multi-line business.