Target $7M Robocall Settlement Receives Judge’s Approval

Target Corp. will pay $7.05 million in an approved robocall settlement, resolving allegations the company violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act over the course of several years.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a set of rules that restricts businesses from sending text messages, phone calls or voice mails to consumers through the use of an automated dialing system unless consumers have provided prior written express permission to receive such notifications.

Lead plaintiff Israel Garcia filed the TCPA class action lawsuit in 2016, alleging he received automated debt collection calls from Target or on behalf of Target, despite Garcia not holding a Target credit card account at the time. He accused the Minneapolis-based retail giant of causing aggravation, invasion of privacy, and in some cases, increased cell phone bills, due to the illegally placed calls.

Garcia’s complaint said he received about 60 calls without ever providing consent between March and July 2015.

Target tried arguing its telephone system did not match the TCPA’s definition of an automatic dialing system. The company said it had reasonable expectations that the customers reached had provided consent to receive the calls.

Target admitted no wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement terms.

Robocall Settlement Approved by Minnesota Federal Judge

U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis gave the settlement final approval in late January. Garcia will receive a $10,000 incentive award, and attorneys will obtain $1.9 million. Nearly 240,000 wrong number call recipients will receive about $70 each.

Class members include U.S. citizens who were not the debtor and never consented to receive calls from Target, but did receive debt collection calls to their cell phones between March 27, 2012 and May 15, 2018.

The TCPA prohibits businesses from not only using an automatic dialing system, but also from using an artificial voice or pre-recorded voice, to contact customers without prior consent. Unsolicited text messages and faxes are also no-no’s under the TCPA.

Even customers who have given prior consent to be contacted must have an opt-out opportunity to stop the calls or messages at any time, according to TCPA rules.

A total of 24 individuals opted out of the robocall settlement.

This is the second multi-million-dollar settlement Target has reached in the last two months. In a different case, a $8.2 million settlement agreed upon between Target and a class of store-branded debit card holders received preliminary approval from a California judge in December. That lawsuit alleged Target was amiss in charging “returned payment fees” to Target Debit Card holders when insufficient funds were available to complete a purchase. That settlement will require Target to distribute about $5 million in cash payments and to waive more than $3.2 million in returned payment fees.

Target reported a 1.4 percent increase in sales for the last two months of 2019, compared with 5.7 percent growth during the same months in 2018. The company said it experienced “softer-than-expected performance in key holiday categories” in 2019.

The Target TCPA Lawsuit is Israel Garcia v. Target Corporation, Case No. 16-cv-02574, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Join a ‘Wrong Number’ Robocall TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you received cellphone calls meant for someone else, you may qualify to participate in a wrong number class action lawsuit investigation, and you may be entitled to compensation under a federal law called the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”).

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