A California resident recently filed a lawsuit against Quality Data Management, alleging the company violated California call recording laws.

The plaintiff, Asaf A., alleges that he was contacted by Quality Data Management in October 2018 in order to conduct a survey. He claims that during the course of the survey, he was asked to give “highly personal and confidential information” before being alerted that the conversation was being recorded. Asaf alleges that this call was recorded without his consent, violating California call recording laws.

Asaf filed his lawsuit on behalf of himself and all others in a similar situation. Indeed, he believes that the company has a practice of soliciting this personal information without warning consumers about the recording taking place. He believes the proposed Class Members—those whose phone conversations with Quality Data Management were recorded without their consent within the last year—number in the tens of thousands or even more.

The California call recording lawsuit was filed under invasion of privacy laws, noting that Californians have a constitutional right to privacy under state law. Asaf filed his lawsuit on Jan. 10, 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Call Recording Practices

It is a common practice for businesses to record phone calls, often for employee review or quality assurance purposes—and indeed, the practice itself can be perfectly legal. However, the key is that businesses must first warn all parties on the call that the conversation is being recorded, thus giving them the chance to opt out by hanging up or to consent to the recording by simply staying on the line.

Businesses can give themselves a safety net by prefacing a recorded call with a warning. These warnings are meant to inform consumers that their call is being recorded. If a customer stays on the line after one of these warnings, it is generally considered that they have consented to call recording.

However, if businesses do not give any warning consumers do not have the chance to consent to any recording.

California Call Recording Laws

In California, the right to privacy is an inalienable right of the state constitution, and California privacy laws are stricter than those in other states, according to Lexology.

California is called a “two-party consent” state. This means that all parties need to consent to have a call recorded in order for the recording to be legal. These stipulations are enforced by the California Invasion of Privacy Act, a law that protects California consumers from a variety of privacy invasions.

“Advances in science and technology have led to the development of new devices and techniques for the purpose of eavesdropping upon private communications and that the invasion of privacy resulting from the continual and increasing use of such devices and techniques has created a serious threat to the free exercise of personal liberties and cannot be tolerated in a free and civilized society,” the California Invasion of Privacy Act states.

If individuals or businesses are found to have violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act, they may be forced to pay a $2,500 fine and serve up to one year in prison. Repeat offenders may be faced with up to $10,000 in fines in addition to up to a year in prison.

California Call Recording Investigation

A number of companies are currently under investigation for potentially violating California call recording laws under the California Invasion of Privacy Act, including Romano’s Macaroni Grill.

Companies being investigated for potential violations of California call recording laws include:

• Dermalogica
• Swarovski
• Foster & Smith
• Mears Transportation Group
• Romano’s Macaroni Grill
• Southwest Rapid Rewards (800-445-5764 only)
• United Airlines Pet Safe (800-575-3335 only)
• Cannondale Bicycle Corporation
• Czech Airlines

Attorneys are looking into these companies to see if they may have recorded consumer calls without first getting consent.

Filing a California Call Recording Lawsuit

Violations of this California law may result in an award of $5,000 in damages per violation. Some major companies have been hit with lawsuits filed over illegal call recording practices, often for customer service calls that record consumers without their knowledge or consent. Some of these lawsuits have resulted in settlements amounting to millions of dollars.

If you have been the subject of illegal California call recording, either by Romano’s Macaroni Grill or another party, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation.

The California Call Recording Lawsuit is Case No. 2:19-cv-00216, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.