TCPA violation’s $1.6 billion verdict?
TCPA Violations Golan Case
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, TCPA, aims to maintain all phone users’ privacy. It applies to all forms of marketing over the phone, including telemarketing and SMS marketing.
In a recent court case, Ron and Dorit Golan sued multiple parties for making over 3 million calls promoting a movie without the consent of the recipients. The court charged the defendants $1.6 billion in damages based on the TCPA’s $500-per-message statutory damages provision.
Could this happen to you?
Well, shortly following the decision, the court reduced the charges to $32 million on the grounds that the TCPA’s damages were so outrageous as to be unconstitutional. This action follows a larger trend of the courts reducing all damages outlined by the TCPA due to the dollar amounts being unconstitutionally ridiculous (and ridiculously unconstitutional).
Violation of the TCPA can cost you millions and even if the marketer wins the legal cost may rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars. The best practice is to follow and adhere to TCPA rules. You can implement a strong arbitration language in your terms and conditions so that the case may not classified as “class action claim”.
