Clear Choice Cannabis Sued in Washington Court for Alleged ‘Junk Texting’

A proposed class action lawsuit seeks to hold a Washington marijuana dispensary accountable for allegedly marketing its product by sending unwanted text messages to at least 100 cell phones throughout the state in violation of a state law prohibiting businesses from sending commercial texts without obtaining consent.

The lawsuit, filed in a Washington state court in Pierce County on Dec. 7, 2020 claims that Clear Choice Cannabis engaged in “’junk texting’ or ‘text blasting,’” sending unsolicited text messages to consumers to promote and market its products. Plaintiff Ethan Spencer commenced the action against the marijuana dispensary and three individual defendants in connection with the company, arguing that they should be held personally liable for directing the alleged actions of the dissolved company.

Spencer, a resident of King County, claims that he received at least nine text messages promoting various products since he visited the dispensary. He argues that the unwanted texts invaded his privacy, intruded upon the capacity of his cell phone, and caused him to waste time by diverting his attention toward them.

According to the complaint, the text messages were general in nature and not addressed to specific individuals. The texts contained discounts and promotions such as 20% off incentives, as alleged in the lawsuit.

Although Spencer states in the complaint that he verbally provided an employee with his cell phone number while he visited a Clear Choice Cannabis location in Tacoma in June 2020, he maintains that he was never informed that the information would be used to send commercial text messages. He also asserts that he did not consent verbally or in writing to receive text messages from the dispensary.

Spencer claims in the suit that Clear Choice Cannabis transmitted hundreds of text messages to targeted customers without first obtaining consent in violation of a state consumer protection law. In the complaint, he alleges that the company collects cell phone numbers at point of sale transactions, through its website, and from third-parties.

Lawsuit Alleges Clear Choice Cannabis Violated Washington Consumer Protection Law

The proposed class action was brought under Washington State law, rather than the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act which is a federal statute that has often been used to commence numerous class action lawsuits concerning unwanted and prohibited text messages in recent years, as well as calls made to those on the National Do Not Call Registry.

However, Washington also has its own consumer protection law that prohibits businesses from transmitting commercial text messages to cell phones assigned to state residents. While the law provides an exception for businesses that obtained consent from the text message recipients, Spencer contends in the suit that Clear Choice Cannabis sent the commercial texts to Washington residents “who did not clearly and affirmatively consent in advance to receive these text messages.”

The lawsuit also raises a cause of action under Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, which makes “unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce” unlawful.

Spencer contends in the suit that the cannabis company’s acts fall within the scope of applying the Act in that sending unwanted commercial texts to recipients who haven’t consented to receive them “is a matter vitally affecting the public interest for purposes of applying the CPA.”

The complaint also states that pursuant to the CPA, “initiating or assisting the transmission of commercial electronic text messages to recipients who have not clearly and affirmatively consented to receiving such text messages is not reasonable in relation to the development and preservation of business.”

Spencer argues that he and the other members of the proposed class are entitled to $500 for each text sent in violation of the law, in addition to actual damages, exemplary damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees.

The Clear Choice Cannabis Text Message Lawsuit is Ethan Spencer v. LLJ Management LLC, et al, Case No. 20-2-08679-2, in the Superior Court of Washington for Pierce County.

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If you received an unsolicited text message, ringless voicemail, robocall, and/or a call with a pre-recorded voice from a marijuana dispensary, you may be able to join a FREE marijuana dispensary unwanted text message class action lawsuit investigation.

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