Checkers Drive-In Settles Unwanted Texts Class Action

Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc. has agreed to resolve Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) claims against them in a settlement that would provide vouchers to consumers.

A total settlement fund amount was not listed in the proposed settlement motion, but the deal notes that Checkers would give two $5 vouchers to the owners of around 1.9 million telephone numbers.

In addition to these vouchers, the settlement proposes $354,000 in attorneys’ fees and $7,000 in a service award for plaintiff Madeline Yates.

If the settlement is approved, it will benefit consumers who were sent a Checkers or Rally’s promotional text message between Dec. 21, 2013 and March 8, 2019.

Yates filed her Checkers TCPA class action lawsuit in December 2017, claiming that she and other consumers were sent unsolicited text messages.

According to Yates, she texted keyword “BURGER” to short code 88001 in order to receive a free “Big Buford” cheeseburger as a part of Checkers’ promotion. After sending this text, she was reportedly sent a follow-up text message asking whether or not she wanted to receive further coupons via text message.

Yates does not say how she responded to this additional prompt, but argues that she received more than 10 automatically-sent text message advertisements after. Of these numerous texts, Yates claims that only one message told her how to opt-out of these offers.

The Checkers class action lawsuit claims the text messages were in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a federal law that protects consumers against harassing communications – including spam texts.

Under the TCPA, businesses may be required to pay up to $1,500 in statutory damages for each unlawful text message sent. Although the recently proposed settlement does not equate to these significant damages, Yates argues the settlement is reasonable and should be approved by the court.

In her motion for settlement approval, Yates says the deal is the best outcome for the Checkers class action lawsuit. Both sides have defended themselves vigorously, with Checkers claiming their text messages included consent language that is required by the TCPA.

This is not the only challenge that would make continuing litigation uncertain. Yates notes that courts have not ruled that technology used by Checkers violates the TCPA. The lack of supporting rulings could make a victory difficult, she says.

“Additionally, plaintiff’s theory of the case rests on an untested theory, i.e. that the materials advertising defendants’ allegedly unlawful text campaign included the required consent language, but that the font displaying the consent language was too small,” Yates said in the settlement motion.

“With no precedent for this legal theory, plaintiff’s chances of prevailing were, at best, uncertain.”

Did you receive unsolicited text messages from Checkers? Share your thoughts on this settlement in the comment section below.

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Yates is represented by Roberto Costales and William Beaumont of Beaumont Costales LLC.

The Checkers TCPA Class Action Lawsuit is Yates v. Checkers Drive-in Restaurants Inc., et al., Case No. 1:17-cv09219, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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If you were contacted on your cell phone by a company via an unsolicited text message (text spam) or prerecorded voice message (robocall), you may be eligible for compensation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

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