Wal-Mart Text Spam Class Action Lawsuit Dropped

A class action lawsuit accusing Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of sending spam text messages has been dismissed after the lead plaintiff agreed to an individual settlement in exchange for dropping the case.

Plaintiff Elizabeth Ibey joined Wal-Mart in motioning the court to dismiss the class action lawsuit without prejudice, making it possible for other consumers to pick up her claims and sue Wal-Mart for the text messages.

According to the amended Wal-Mart text message class action lawsuit filed last July, Ibey had filled out the optional cell phone contact form while completing an order through the company’s website and then checked a box allowing the company to notify her once the item was available for pickup in a local store. Her class action lawsuit alleged that after receiving a second text message reminding her that the product was available, she replied with the word “STOP.”

Her text message reply should have indicated that the California resident had revoked “any and all consent that defendants may have had to contact plaintiff on her cellular telephone by means prohibited by the TCPA [Telephone Consumer Protection Act].” A message from the company seemed to confirm this, noting that “All Order Pickup Alerts now turned off. You will not receive any additional alerts.”

However, just as with the order notification message, she received a second text message stating the same information. This second communication allegedly constituted text message spam because it was unwanted and followed the confirmation SMS. Ibey sought to certify a class of U.S. residents who had also received more than one confirmation message from Wal-Mart and through a third-party contractor responsible for sending the SMS messages.

With Ibey’s settlement, it is unclear what the future of the putative class action lawsuit will be. It is possible that other consumers will be able to cite similar violations of the TCPA regarding the Wal-Mart system. As has been shown in other reports on this site, numerous companies have been accused of not following the tenets of the law following consumers requesting the cessation of text message spam.

The Wal-Mart TCPA class action lawsuit is Elizabeth Ibey v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., et al., Case No. 13-cv-00502, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Consumers who have received unwanted text messages or robocalls may be able to pursue a legal remedy as Ibey did. If you have been affected, you can fill out the case submission form at the Text Message Spam, Cell Phone Call TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation. Potential plaintiffs who submit detailed information may be eligible for a free consultation with a TCPA lawsuit lawyer. Start today and learn what options you have.