LA LAKERS ACCUSED IN TCPA CLASS ACTION

April 12th, 2013

A number of our posts have focused on Telephone Consumer Protection Act violations, as banks, clothing retailers and have used text messages and emails to gain better access to customers. Essentially, texting advertisements to consumers has been an easy (and inexpensive) way to pass messages about special offers.

While this may be a good thing for retailers, it is certainly not for consumers. They often have to foot the bill for data overages in addition to the headache of having to deal with unsolicited texts and emails.

As the number of retailers facing lawsuits grows, one entity we never expected to be part of a TCPA class action lawsuit has been summoned…the Los Angeles Lakers.

One of the National Basketball Association’s marquee franchises, the Lakers are accused of sending unsolicited text messages to season ticket holders.

Emmanuel Johnson claims that he responded to an advertisement at an October 2012 game encouraging fans to send text messages if they wanted to appear on the Staples Center big screen. Johnson claims that he did so, only to receive more advertisements. He claims that he sent a “STOP” message to inform the team that he did not want to receive additional texts, but he claims to have received them.

The Lakers deny that Johnson received additional texts, and that they legally sent a confirmation message to him. In fact, the team claims that his lawsuit is only a product of his lawyers insisting that he bring a claim. They brought a motion to dismiss Johnson’s lawsuit, but it was denied.

Johnson seeks class action status on behalf of fans who have been unduly solicited by the Lakers.

Source: TopCLassActions.com, LA Lakers caught up in text span class action lawsuit, April 10, 2013