Celebrity Cruises Sued over Cell Phone Text Spam

A proposed class action complaint has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida concerning cell phone text spam.

Plaintiff Robert Johnson alleges Celebrity Cruises texted advertising  spam touting a cruise giveaway to two members of the cruise line’s VIP membership class.

The plaintiff is seeking to certify himself as the class representative of two separate groups alleged to have received the cell phone text spam in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Both groups of plaintiffs purportedly did not give their express consent to receive text messages. The first group is called ‘No Consent to Text.’ The second group consists of people whose phone number was placed on the National Do Not Call registry at least one month prior to receiving the Celebrity Cruises communication.

Allegations

The lead plaintiff says he is a member of both groups and that the spam texts invaded the recipients’ privacy, intruded on their state of seclusion, and caused annoyance, aggravation, and anger. In Johnson’s case, he was contacted while on the job, he claims, costing valuable time away from duties while he checked his phone.

What is the TCPA?

According to Twilio.com, the TCPA was an amendment to the Communications Act of 1934, signed into law in 1991. It was created in response to a rising tide of invasive telemarketing efforts spurred by new technology as the turn of the millennium was imminent. In particular, the TCPA severely curtails the use of Automated Telephone Dialing Systems (ATDS). It uses rules which limit the ability to engage prerecorded messages, SMS texts, and faxes as well.

What is ATDS?

An ATDS is software or a mechanical device capable of automatically dialing a series of phone numbers. Sometimes this equipment can store numbers entered manually into its system and, in other cases, it is capable of predictive dialing based upon number sequencing. It most cases, once a call or text message generated by an ATDS is answered or responded to, a prerecorded message or autogenerated response kicks in.

The Desired Outcome

The proposed class representative is hoping to gain statutory relief from the invasion of privacy that the text message spam represents and an injunction against further violation of the TCPA by Celebrity Cruises. According to the law, each violation is worth damages of $500 or, if proven to be willful, $1,500 per instance.

The Celebrity Cruises Lawsuit is Johnson v. Celebrity Cruises Inc., Case No. 0:19-cv-62003 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Join a Free Florida Travel Company TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you live in Florida and received a robocall, pre-recorded message, or unwanted text message to your cell phone from a travel company without first giving your consent to the company, you may qualify to file a TCPA class action lawsuit.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented 
for informational purposes only.