WDAY News 6 – In light of a telemarketing lawsuit brought filed against them, seven (7) telemarketing agencies in California, Kansas, Ohio, and Florida have settled with the state of North Dakota. Like the companies discussed in previous posts, these telemarketers used prerecorded messages to make telemarketing calls. The settlements ranged from $1,000 to $5,000.

That’s all? The TCPA two (2) separate portions for Private Right of Action. One portion pertains to subsection b) “Restrictions on use of automated telephone equipment”, and the other to subsection c) “Protection of subscriber privacy rights”. Each subsection allows for the collection of $500 per violation of that subsection (b or c). Furthermore, if you can prove that the telemarketer “willfully or knowingly” violated the subsection, the recovery amount could be increased to up to $1,500 dollars per violation!

So if you get a prerecorded phone call to your cell phone, and you are on the Federal Do Not Call List, then the telemarketer has violated both subsections of the TCPA and you are eligible to sue for $1,000. Then, if you can prove that the defendant “willfully or knowingly” violated the TCPA, you are eligible for up to $3,000. If they called you ten (10) times and they always violated both sections, you are eligible for up to $30,000!!!

How do you prove that they “willfully or knowingly” violated the subsection? Well…It could be possible that you recently were put on the Do Not Call List. In this case, the telemarketers may not have updated their database, which is required every month or so, and therefore they did not willfully or knowingly violate this subsection (Subsection c). However, if you ask them to put you on their “do not call list” the first time they call you, and they call you again, no matter what period of time has passed, then you could potentially prove that they “willfully or knowingly” violated this subsection of the TCPA.

As far as Subsection b goes, there is really no excuse that could prove the defendant did not “know” they were violating the law. If you get pulled over by a police officer for speeding, and your excuse is “I didn’t know the speed limit”, are you likely to not receive a ticket? No…you will most likely become a subject of laughter. Ignorance is not an excuse to break the law. As such, it is not difficult to collect an increased amount (up to $1500 per violation) from lawsuits against telemarketers using automated equipment.

If you have questions or comments regarding the collection of evidence or a telemarketing lawsuit, in general, feel free to contact me via the Evidence Entry Form.