Robinhood Class Action Lawsuit Certified Over Refer a Friend Texts

A Washington federal judge has certified a proposed class action lawsuit against popular millennial investing app Robinhood over its “Refer a Friend” text messages.

Lead plaintiff Isaac Gordon alleged that he and other consumers had been peppered with unsolicited text messages from the RobinHood app. According to court documents, the investment app encourages users to sign on to a referral program called “Refer a Friend” to earn free stock.

Gordon claimed that when Robinhood users input his and other consumers’ information into the app to participate in the referral program, RobinHood sent unsolicited text messages advertising its investment service. In addition to failing to ask the permission of the recipient, RobinHood allegedly failed to include any opt-out information to stop the marketing messages.

The complaint accused RobinHood of violating Washington consumer protection laws, with Gordon seeking to represent a number of Washington residents who received unsolicited texts from RobinHood’s Refer a Friend program.

U.S. District Court Judge Thomas O. Rice agreed with Gordon’s reasoning, certifying the Class in a Jan. 25, 2021 order.

“Class action will promote efficiency and economy in this matter,” pointed out the order, which continued, “class adjudication would serve the interest of individual class members for whom the potential recovery may be small in comparison to the costs of litigation.”

Judge Thomas rejected arguments by RobinHood contesting the ability of a class action lawsuit to properly adjudicate the interests of each individual in the newly certified Class. Noting that damages under Washington consumer protection statutes can run between $500 and $1,500 per Refer a Friend text, the judge called the proposed damages “straightforward.”

Robinhood’s arguments that the proposed class counsel would not fairly represent the Class were also roundly rejected by Judge Thomas.

“While in some respects similar to the TCPA [Telephone Consumer Protection Act], this is an action brought pursuant to Washington’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA),” freshly certified class counsel told Law360 in an emailed statement. “Certification of this class reflects the Judge’s understanding of the nuances between the state and federal statutes, and makes clear that the use of ‘refer-a-friend’ messaging systems may lead to liability under Washington law.”

Did you receive “refer a friend” texts from RobinHood? We want to hear from you! Tell us what happened in the comment section below!

The lead plaintiff and newly certified Class Members are represented by Kirk D. Miller of Kirk D. Miller, P.S., and Brian G. Cameron and Shayne J. Sutherland of Cameron Sutherland, PLLC.

The Robinhood Refer A Friend Class Action Lawsuit is Gordon v. RobinHood Financial LLC, Case No. 2:19-CV-0390-TOR in the U.S> District Court Eastern District of Washington.

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