Medical Marijuana Dispensary Alleges TCPA Ban on Robocalls Violates Constitution

A Florida medical marijuana dispensary has asked a federal judge to toss out a proposed TCPA class action lawsuit.

Defendant Trulieve Inc. said the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) bans robocalls except for those made by government debt collectors, emergency services and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The fact that certain robocalls are allowed based on their subject matter means the TCPA violates the First Amendment regarding free speech, alleges Trulieve.

As a result, Trulieve said, the TCPA is unconstitutional. According to court documents, Trulieve’s position is that if the TCPA restrictions violate the First Amendment, then the claims against Trulieve are invalid and should be dismissed.

Plaintiff Mats Jaslow filed the proposed class action lawsuit. Jaslow said he bought medical cannabis from Trulieve. After his purchase, he said he received automated messages advertising other marijuana products. Due to the impersonal nature of the messages, Jaslow alleges the unsolicited messages were transmitted to “several thousands” of cell phone users who did not provide prior written consent to receive such messages from Trulieve.

Twilio.com outlines how the TCPA is a federal law that restricts the actions of telemarketers. In July 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the TCPA Declaratory Ruling and Order, which says telemarketers cannot use an automated dialing system to call a cell phone or leave a pre-recorded telemarketing message without receiving prior written consent from the recipient.

The TCPA also says consumers have a right to revoke consent to receive calls or texts from a business if they choose to stop receiving such messages.

Even if a consumer has been a customer of a business, that business cannot use an “established business relationship” as justification to contact the consumer through the use of an automated dialing system without receiving specific written consent from that customer.

Allegations Against Florida Medical Marijuana Dispensary

According to Jaslow’s complaint, he received multiple telemarketing texts from Trulieve in October and November of 2019.

One text message advertised a “Buy 2 Get 1 Free” sale. Another text alerted Jaslow that Trulieve had restocked certain items and that the store’s doors open at 10am.

Jaslow alleges the Florida medical marijuana dispensary violated the TCPA by sending the text messages without receiving his prior written consent to do so. The medical marijuana TCPA lawsuit quotes a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which ruled, “Unsolicited telemarketing phone calls or text messages, by their nature, invade the privacy and disturb the solitude of their recipients. A plaintiff alleging a violation under the TCPA ‘need not allege any additional harm beyond the one Congress has identified.”

According to the FCC’s Report on Robocalls, the number of complaints about robocalls, robotexts and ringless voicemails is increasing. The FCC received about 185,000 complaints in 2017 and 232,000 complaints in 2018. The FCC believes many illegal robocalls are never reported, and some calls that are reported are legal, but not desired.

The Florida Medical Marijuana Dispensary Lawsuit is Mats Jaslow vs. Trulieve, Inc., Case No. 4:19-cv-00592-RH-CAS, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

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