Text Spam Lawsuit Against DraftKings Ends in Settlement

Parties to a TCPA text spam lawsuit against DraftKings Inc. say they have reached a class action settlement, postponing further court action until they complete the required settlement paperwork.

A joint court filing by DraftKings and lead plaintiff David Issak says the parties wish to postpone a scheduled status hearing while they finalize terms of the text spam class action settlement.

The parties say the hearing may not be necessary if they can get all remaining matters wrapped up beforehand, including the paperwork for a voluntary dismissal.

The court filing does not reveal the amount of any payout associated with the class action settlement. The original TCPA lawsuit also did not offer any estimate of the total damage amount.

The text spam class action lawsuit originated in October 2014. David alleged that DraftKings, which runs a daily fantasy sports platform, had sent him and the proposed Class Members unwanted text messages in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA.

Text Spam and the TCPA

The TCPA is a federal law that creates civil liability for certain types of unsolicited automated electronic communications.

Generally, and among other prohibitions, the TCPA prohibits text messages and prerecorded voice messages to a mobile phone number without the recipient’s prior express consent to be contacted in that particular way.

When these unsolicited contacts are of a commercial nature, the sender must get the recipient’s consent in writing.

Each text message that violates the TCPA has the potential to put the sender on the hook for $500 to $1,500 in statutory damages.

Izsak says the alleged text spam solicited the recipient to sign up to play DraftKings. In his TCPA class action lawsuit, he reports receiving a text message reading: “from [email address]: Come play DraftKings with me. Use my link and we’ll both get a bonus.”

Izsak says when he called the phone number associated with the text message, he got an automated voice message referring him back to the original message.

The text spam lawsuit alleged that by sending unwanted text messages using an autodialer, DraftKings had violated the TCPA. Izsak claimed statutory damages of $500 for each instance of text spam.

Izsak had proposed to represent a plaintiff Class consisting of everyone in the U.S. who, within the four years prior to the claim’s filing, received unwanted text messages from DraftKings that were sent using an autodialer. He speculated in his original text spam lawsuit that the number of Class Members would reach into the thousands.

His text spam lawsuit had already survived an attempt at dismissal by DraftKings. The defendant attacked Izsak’s TCPA claim, but U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood determined that Izsak had adequately alleged that the unwanted text messaged had been sent using automated means.

Judge Wood did dismiss some of Izsak’s other claims, however. She determined Izsak could not also pursue a claim for conversion under state law, since DraftKings’ potential liability under the TCPA would grossly overshadow any actual damages derived from the costs of the text messages themselves.

Izsak had not moved for class certification before the parties reached the purported class action settlement.

The DraftKings Text Spam Class Action Lawsuit is Izsak v. DraftKings, Inc., Case No. 1:14-cv-07952, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

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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