Time Warner Hit With TCPA Class Action Over Unwanted Phone Calls

A California resident recently filed a lawsuit against Time Warner Cable on behalf of himself and others in his situation, alleging that the company negligently or willfully violated Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rules by making unwanted phone calls.

The plaintiff, Damon Byrd, claims in the TCPA class action lawsuit that Time Warner negligently or willfully committed TCPA violations by contacting him on his cell phone.

These phone messages began in or around April 2014, when Byrd began receiving calls regarding an alleged outstanding debt by somebody named “Anna.” The plaintiff was contacted multiple times a day, and Time Warner used an automatic telephone dialing system to make these calls.

When the plaintiff did not answer calls, the company left voicemail messages instead, using an artificial or prerecorded voice.

The TCPA lawsuit alleges that the calls from Time Warner to the plaintiff have been TCPA violations. The plaintiff is not “Anna,” does not have outstanding debt with Time Warner, and is not a current or former customer of Time Warner.

According to the unwanted phone calls class action lawsuit lawsuit, these phone calls and voicemail messages are made without the plaintiff’s “prior express consent,” which is required in order to make these kinds of robocalls or prerecorded messages.

On top of this, Byrd is charged for incoming calls to his phone, so the calls from Time Warner actually cost the plaintiff money. This is in addition the alleged illegality of the calls and the plaintiff’s lack of connection to Time Warner and its services.

Byrd’s TCPA lawsuit is a class action lawsuit, and he believes that those who fall under a similar set of circumstances number in the thousands, if not more. Members of the class are defined as follows:

“All persons within the United States who received any collection telephone calls from Defendant to said person’s cellular telephone made through the use of any automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice and such person had not previously consented to receiving such calls within the four years prior to the filing of this Complaint.”

The plaintiff’s situation is representative of the circumstances of the rest of the class members.

The TCPA class action lawsuit is filed on two counts: negligent and knowing and/or willful violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

The plaintiff and the other class members are entitled to $500 in statutory damages for each negligent violation, and up to $1,500 for each knowing and/or willful violation.

TCPA Violations

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) was enacted with the intent to protect consumers from unwanted solicitation.

This includes the placement of robocalls – the use of an automated dialing machine and/or a pre-recorded message, including SMS text messages, to reach consumers. Nevertheless, many companies choose to place these kinds of calls anyway.

Simply knowing what TCPA violations are may allow consumers to collect a substantial amount of money per violation.

Actions by a company that are prohibited under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act generally include:

• Calls placed to residences before 8 am or after 9 pm, local time
• Calling consumers who specifically asked the company not to call them (i.e. consumers on the company’s do-not-call list)
• Calling consumers on the National Do Not Call Registry
• Failing to identify the person or entity on whose behalf the call is being made
• Using an artificial voice or a recorded message
• Using an automated dialing machine to place the call
• Sending unsolicited advertising faxes

If you have received these kinds of calls or texts, and you believe them to be in violation of the TCPA, you may be eligible to receive compensation.

In order to be involved in a class action lawsuit against a company for TCPA violations, you will need to keep a good record of your experience with these messages and calls. Do not delete messages or phone records, and keep a written record of violations.

The TCPA Class Action Lawsuit is Byrd v. Time Warner Cable, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:15-cv-06831-MMM-FFM, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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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