CVS, customers agree to dismiss illegal robocall class action

Update: 

• CVS Pharmacy reached an undisclosed settlement to end a class action lawsuit alleging it made repeat robocalls to people all over the country, including calling one California man 19 times because it had the wrong number. 
• In a stipulation filed Sept. 29, plaintiff Robert Dorfman and CVS asked the Illinois federal court to dismiss the case, having earlier stated they had reached an agreement through private mediation.
• Dorfman alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, claiming he started receiving robocalls from CVS regarding a prescription refill for someone named “John” that did not stop.
• The move comes after U.S. District Judge Franklin U. Valderrama denied a motion to dismiss claims against CVS in November 2021.

CVS robocall TCPA class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: A California resident is suing CVS Pharmacy.
• Why: Robert Dorfman says CVS has breached the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by placing repeat robocalls to people nationwide.
• Where: The lawsuit is pending in Illinois.

(Dec. 03, 2021)

CVS Pharmacy can’t shake a class action lawsuit alleging it made repeat robocalls to people all over the country, including calling one California man 19 times because it had the wrong number. 

In an order filed Nov. 30 in an Illinois federal court, U.S. District Judge Franklin U. Valderrama denied a motion to dismiss claims against CVS. 

Plaintiff Robert Dorfman filed the class action lawsuit against the pharmacy chain alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). He says he started receiving robocalls from CVS regarding a prescription refill for someone named “John” in Nov. 2015.  

Dorfman continued to receive these calls even after he contacted a CVS pharmacy in December 2015 to inform the company it was calling the wrong person and request that the calls stop. 

The pharmacy agent allegedly told Dorfman that there was nothing he could do and the robocalls persisted with Dorfman getting 19 robocalls in total over the next 6 months. 

CVS Asked to Dismiss Class Action, Saying Automated Call Ban Is Unconstitutional 

CVS had filed to have the case dismissed, arguing that the automated call ban was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court during the period Dorfman is suing for and insisting that it could not have violated an unconstitutional statute as that statute was “void ab initio” or having no legal effect. 

However, Judge Valderrama disagreed, saying the law applies retroactively and that the general robocall prohibition survived the unconstitutional amendment. 

Meanwhile, in July, CVS agreed to pay out a $10.4 million class action settlement resolving about 24,700 CVS Pharmacy employees’ claims that the company failed to pay them the overtime wages they were due.

Have you received a robocall from a pharmacy? Let us know your experience in the comments. 

Dorfman is represented by Todd Carpenter, Scott Braden, Katrina Carroll and Kyle Shamberg of Carlson Lynch LLP. 

The CVS Robocall TCPA Class Action Lawsuit is Dorfman v. CVS Pharmacy Inc, et al., Case No. 1:17-cv-00156, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division.

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