NHL’s Panthers Class Action Says Unwanted Texts Sent To Fans

A class action lawsuit says the Florida Panthers hockey team sends fans marketing text messages without their consent.

The Florida Panthers spam texts class action lawsuit was filed by Anita Jairam and Kevin Hillow who claim that they began receiving marketing text messages from the Florida Panthers after giving the company their cell phone numbers for a different purpose.

In Hillow’s case, he says that on Oct. 22, 2019, he texted the word “student” to the Florida Panthers for the purpose of gaining free access to a rooftop lounge at a Panthers’ lounge.

Allegedly, the company gave Hillow the promised access, but then also began to use the phone number for a purpose that Hillow did not permit. The plaintiff says the NHL team began “aggressively spamming him with repeated marketing text messages.” 

Hillow says that he was given no option or instructions on how to opt out of the spam messages. He claims that he received more than 30 text messages from the company in a two-month period, advertising tickets, deals, and events.

Like Hillow, Jairam says she began receiving unwanted messages from the Florida Panthers after giving the company her number for a different, limited purpose. She says that the company sent her multiple text messages advertising ticket offers afterwards without her consent. Jairam claims that like Hillow, she was not given the option to opt out of the messages.

According to the Panthers marketing messages class action lawsuit, Hillow and Jairam are not the only individuals who received messages without their consent. Hillow and Jairam aim to represent all similarly affected individuals, seeking damages for themselves and others.

The Florida Panthers telemarketing class action lawsuit says that these messages violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits businesses from sending marketing text messages, phone calls, and voicemails to recipients without their consent.

The Panthers TCPA class action goes on to explain that the TCPA prohibits the use of autodialers in sending marketing text messages to unwilling recipients. Allegedly, the Panthers sent the same marketing text messages to many people using an autodialer.

Jairam and Hillow say they know that the messages were sent en masse using an autodialer because the messages were generic in nature and not intended just for them.

The Panthers text message class action lawsuit says that Jairam, Hillow, and other customers face concrete harm from the Panthers’ actions because they were inconvenienced by the message, spent time looking at them, and part of their phone plan and use of their phone itself was spent receiving the unwanted messages.

Have you received unwanted texts from a sports team? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Jairam and Hillow are represented by Manuel S. Hiraldo of Hiraldo PA, and by Scott Edelsberg of Edelsberg Law PA.

The Florida Panthers Spam Text Messages Class Action Lawsuit is Anita Jairam, et al. v. Florida Panthers Hockey Club LTD, Case No. 0:20-cv-6012-RKA, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

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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