Wal-Mart TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Down, Not Dead

Retail giant Wal-Mart has found itself facing a telemarketing lawsuit, alleging the company has violated the TCPA. Though an initial attempt to create a Wal-Mart telemarketing class action lawsuit fell short, the judge overseeing the issue has created a veritable roadmap for the plaintiffs to try again.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act or TCPA was established by Congress in the early 1990s in response to concerns about new technology. At the time, automatic telephone dialing systems had just been invented. Telemarketing intensified and constituents demanded action. Congress created the TCPA, strongly limiting the ability of telemarketers to send out various types of robocalls and other forms of harassing advertising. Court cases and amendments have expanded the TCPA’s reach to include text messages and calls to cellular phones. Alleged TCPA violations are at the heart of the current legal action against Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart Accused of Illegal Robocalls

This current TCPA class action lawsuit was filed by plaintiff James P. According to his allegations, James P. used to get his prescriptions filled by his local Wal-Mart, but switched to another pharmacy. After this, his allegations continue, he began receiving robocalls from Wal-Mart with a prerecorded message asking for him to bring his business back. Allegedly, the robocall included an option to opt out, but when he pressed this button, the message repeated and the calls continued.

Bases on these alleged TCPA violations, James filed a motion to create a Wal-Mart TCPA class action lawsuit. This would create a group TCPA lawsuit, where a class of plaintiffs allege that they have suffered similar harm from the same defendant. Since most TCPA lawsuits involve large groups of people making similar allegations, TCPA class action lawsuits are common. However, this particular Wal-Mart TCPA lawsuit has hit a snag.

Judge Denies Class Certification, Leaves Door Open for New Evidence

On Jan. 29, 2015, the U.S. District Court judge overseeing this matter denied this TCPA lawsuit Class certification. This meant that James had not presented enough evidence to create a TCPA class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart at the time. However, the TCPA class action lawsuit certification was denied “without prejudice,” a legal term meaning that the plaintiffs were free to re-file with better evidence. In fact, the judge overseeing this TCPA class action lawsuit actually set a deadline to present new evidence, including expert witness testimony to clarify certain issues of the TCPA. The plaintiffs have until June 1, 2015 to present new evidence and Wal-Mart has until July 1 of the same year.

TCPA Violations

The TCPA is partially designed to be enforced through civil lawsuits like this one. It is intended that the threat of losing thousands of dollars should dissuade potential TCPA violators by making it cost too much to break the law. As such, TCPA violations come with automatic awards of hundreds, or even thousands of dollars for each violation depending on the details of how the TCPA was broken.

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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