Florida Man Sues La Rosa Realty Over Possible TCPA Violations

According to a Florida man, Orlando real estate broker La Rosa Realty has contacted him and possibly thousands of other Florida residents without their consent, in an attempt to solicit business. These unwanted advertisements and solicitations may violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Florida Man Sues La Rosa Realty Over Possible TCPA Violations

Plaintiff Alexander D. filed his lawsuit against La Rosa Realty on Nov. 27, claiming that the Florida real estate agency has violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by contacting him without his prior express consent.

According to Alexander, he received a text message from La Rosa Realty on the morning of June 1. The message was intended to solicit his business and referrals, and contained a deal stating that he would receive 33 percent of any referral commissions. Alexander claims that receiving the unwanted message from La Rosa Realty was annoying, intrusive, caused him actual harm, and is a TCPA violation.

Alexander says he was working at the time he received the message, so he had to stop working to check his phone. After receiving the message, he spent several seconds reading the advertisement, and then wondering why he had received it. In addition to distracting him during the course of his work, the text message also took up space on his phone and depleted his battery.

According to Alexander, he never gave his express consent to La Rosa Realty to be contacted with advertising or solicitation messages. Due to this lack of consent, he claims that the real estate agency violated the terms of the TCPA by sending the pre-written advertising text message.

Alexander is seeking injunctive relief to halt the solicitation from La Rosa Realty, as well as statutory damages for himself and other members of the class action lawsuit. Although he does not know how many other Florida residents may be covered under his class action lawsuit, he estimates that they may number in the thousands.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Advertising Text Messages

Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, businesses are subject to many rules and regulations regarding how and when they may contact consumers. Unless consumers have given their prior express consent to be contacted by the company, businesses are not allowed to send them text messages, make phone calls, or leave voicemails.  Additionally, businesses are prohibited from using autodialing systems (or robocalls) to send hundreds of texts or phone calls at once.

As the message that came from La Rosa Realty was made from a shortcode, or a five digit number that allows companies to send mass text messages to consumers, Alexander believes that these messages constitute TCPA violations.

While the FCC is currently looking into potential TCPA spam text rule changes, consumers who have been subject to TCPA violations may be eligible to receive between $500 and $1,500 for each violation. Hiring a qualified attorney and filing a class action lawsuit against the violating company may make it more likely for consumers to receive compensation.

Alexander’s La Rosa Realty TCPA Violations Lawsuit is Case No: 1:19-cv-24929-FAM, filed in the Circuit Court for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida.

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If you live in Florida and you received a text mesaage, robocall, and/or voicemail from a realtor without your consent, legal help is available.

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