Real estate company Colony Ridge Development routinely sends ad or marketing text messages to residential phone numbers listed with the national do not call registry without “the prior express invitation or permission required” by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, alleged a class action Wednesday (docket 4:24-cv-02418) in U.S. District Court for Southern Texas in Houston. Plaintiff Eric Geaslin listed his cellphone number with the national DNC registry in December 2019, yet he received multiple text messages from Colony beginning in late 2022 and continuing through to the present, said the complaint. The Spanish-language text messages advertised properties for sale, but the Plantersville, Texas, resident didn’t recognize the sender, nor does he speak or read Spanish, it said. In light of allegations made by government regulators such as the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, Colony engages in a predatory business model through which it seeks to solicit Hispanic consumers to purchase land or property under unfavorable financial conditions, said the complaint. Geaslin estimates he received at least 20 ad or telemarketing text messages from Colony on his cellphone between 2022 and the present, it said. Geaslin suffered actual harm as a result of the text messages “in that he suffered an invasion of privacy, an intrusion into his life, and a private nuisance,” it said.
Cactus Home Offer, a real estate company, violates the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by sending unsolicited text messages to consumers without their consent, including to consumers whose numbers are listed on the national do not call registry, alleged a class action Wednesday (docket 2:24-cv-01552) in U.S. District Court for Arizona. Darren MacDonald, a Scottsdale resident, filed his class action seeking injunctive relief, requiring Cactus to cease sending unsolicited text messages to consumers’ cellphone numbers, and otherwise texting consumers listed with the DNC registry, it said. He also seeks an award of statutory damages for himself and members of the class, it said.
The Southern District of New York is home to the latest in a string of fraud class actions filed throughout the U.S. in which plaintiffs have alleged that SiriusXM falsely advertises its monthly music plans at lower prices than it actually charges. SiriusXM’s 21.4% “U.S. music royalty fee scheme” has been the source of all of SiriusXM’s profits for the past several years, alleged Bonnie Wilson’s class action Wednesday (docket 1:24-cv-04843) in Manhattan. Once consumers “have been lured to sign up,” SiriusXM prevents them from learning about its scheme “by never thereafter sending them monthly or ongoing billing notices or invoices,” said the Bath, New York, resident’s complaint. All the while, SiriusXM “silently and automatically renews their subscriptions month after month and year after year,” it said.
The parties in a Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) lawsuit against MLB Advanced Media (MLBAV) over ad tracking technology are seeking an extension to further extend the deadline for MLBAM’s response to plaintiff Bryan Henry’s complaint, said their proposed joint stipulation and order Wednesday (docket 1:24-cv-01446) in U.S. District Court for Southern New York in Manhattan. Henry’s Feb. 26 class action suit alleges MLB.tv collects and shares website and app users’ personal information with its third-party business partners via cookies, software development kits and tracking pixels without obtaining their consent. The parties filed a joint motion April 29 to stay all deadlines and extend MLBAV’s deadline to answer Henry’s complaint for 60 days pending mediation; the court granted the motion to stay and extended the deadline for a response to Tuesday. The parties scheduled a mediation conference for July 23, said the stipulation, and they agreed to further extend the deadline for a response to Aug. 22 to facilitate the mediation, prevent unnecessary expenses and serve the interest of judicial economy in the event they reach a settlement, said the filing.
Paul Veksler personally listed his cellphone number on the national do not call registry in August 2005, yet he began receiving “invasive solicitation calls” in June from TaxReliefCenter.org pitching him on its financial services, alleged Veksler’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action Tuesday (docket 2:24-cv-05370) in U.S. District Court for Central California. Despite the Westlake Village, California, resident’s request that the solicitation calls cease, TaxReliefCenter.org continued placing solicitation calls to his cellphone, including multiple times a day, said the complaint. On June 17 alone, the defendant placed five solicitation calls to Veksler’s cellphone within a few hours, it said. In total, the plaintiff estimates that the defendant placed no fewer than 10 solicitation calls to his cellphone, it said.
Adult toys and products website owner Barnaby allows Microsoft to “intercept, read, and utilize for commercial gain consumers’ private information about their sexual practices and preferences" gleaned from their activity on its websites, alleged a privacy class action (docket 3:24-cv-03789) vs. the two companies Tuesday in U.S. District Court for Northern California.
Real estate marketplace company Zillow Group disclosed the personally identifiable information (PII) and viewing history of visitors to its website, without their valid consent, alleged a Video Privacy Protection Act class action Tuesday (docket 3:24-cv-01095) in U.S. District Court for Southern California in San Diego.
Plaintiff Joann Davis’ claims against Walmart, her former employer, for alleged violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act would fail if adjudicated in court, but her case doesn’t belong in court, said Walmart’s memorandum Monday (docket 1:24-cv-03373) in U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois in Chicago in support of its motion to compel arbitration. Walmart also seeks a stay, pending the outcome of that arbitration. Davis’ April 25 class action alleges that Walmart’s “unlawful collection,” storage and use of its employees’ biometric data “exposes them to serious and irreversible privacy risks” (see 2404260002). But Davis “expressly agreed to arbitrate her claims against Walmart on an individual basis” when she signed Walmart’s human resources documents in September 2022 “at the outset of her employment,” said Walmart’s memorandum.
Consider Solar is a company that generates leads on behalf of various solar companies, and it relies on illegal telemarketing to do so, alleged a Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action Monday (docket 1:24-cv-01100) in U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia. Consider Solar violates the TCPA by making telemarketing calls to numbers on the national do not call registry and by using artificial or prerecorded voice messages to call residential phone numbers without consent, said the complaint. David Tom has a residential copper landline and a residential cellphone number that he personally listed on the national DNC registry in 2003, it said. The Florida resident nevertheless received at least three illegal prerecorded calls from Consider Solar, it said. All the calls came from the same caller ID, 571-496-7202, a number that’s associated with Consider Solar, it said: “This number has been flagged as a solar scam by multiple call reporting services, and reflect at least 3,404 calls to those services’ subscribers.” As a result of the calls, Tom was able to affirmatively identify the caller as Alfonso Torres, a Consider Solar employee, said the complaint. Torres emailed the plaintiff a Q&A video and attempted to sell him solar panels, it said. After Tom’s counsel contacted Consider Solar, the company “deleted and therefore spoliated this video evidence,” it said. Tom and members of the classes have been harmed by the company’s acts “because their privacy has been violated, they were annoyed and harassed, and, in some instances, they were charged for incoming calls,” said the complaint.
Dmitry Zinger received at least four automated telemarketing calls from Prince Laboratories, doing business as J&J Medical, to solicit him about its genetic testing services, alleged Zinger’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action Monday (docket 0:24-cv-61100) in U.S. District Court for Southern Florida. As part of his investigation into the illegal calls, the Wisconsin resident contacted his carrier, Verizon, “which was able to trace the source of these illegal calls to the ingress carriers” delivering them to his cellphone, said the complaint. It’s believed that a subpoena to these ingress carriers will further prove that Prince “is directly responsible for the illegal calls,” it said. Zinger and members of the class have been harmed by the defendant’s acts “because their privacy has been violated and they were annoyed and harassed,” it said. The calls occupied their phone lines, “rendering them unavailable for legitimate communication, including while driving, working, and performing other critical tasks,” it said.