Harassing Phone Calls Lawsuit
In 2021 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) made a settlement with R.J. owers, an individual who repeatedly called police about harassing phone calls. In 2021, he was the plaintiff in a lawsuit that was filed against him by an individual who received harassing phone calls. The case ultimately was thrown out due to the fact that the FTC was unable to prove any damages from these first-class harassers. However, the government agency did not back down and has since then aggressively gone after people who send harassing phone calls.
One of the latest attempts at enforcing this lawsuit came in the form of a proposed rule change for a federal judge to put into place. According to this new rule, all legally binding agreements regarding synchrony harassing phone calls would be bound under the same umbrella of federal law. Additionally, all toll-free numbers set up for the express purpose of toll collection would be required to register with the Consumer Protection Agency (CPA). Any number that violated this rule would be subjected to fines and could even wind up in criminal prosecution. The new law is expected to greatly curb toll free phone number abuses and will likely face stiff opposition from telecoms who stand to benefit most from consumers calling non-cable companies for toll-free services.
Although the new lawsuit revolves around a fairly standard lawsuit tactic, it may still have some merit. For instance, if a person can show that a lawsuit was brought on account of violations of a consumer protection act violation, then it may be possible to sue a number for both violating and furthering the violation itself. Many states have also passed laws that allow their citizens to sue for violations of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TPCA). These laws, however, only apply to calls made within the state. Therefore, it is still important for victims to pursue lawsuits for abuses beyond their state’s borders.
Unfortunately, the federal law does not cover all abuses committed by telemarketers. States have passed more specific statutes to address telemarketing abuses, but unfortunately those laws are often inadequate when it comes to preventing unwelcome commercial solicitations. One such statute states, “No person may make any false or misleading statement on a telephone or otherwise communicate to any other person” about any product or service. That means that if a telemarketer calls up a potential consumer and tries to sell them something, they may be held legally liable for statements made on an unformed phone call. Unfortunately, there is no rule of thumb about what constitutes a deceptive statement under the state consumer protection act. Therefore, it is critical for victims to document all incidents of unwanted calls and share those records with an attorney as soon as possible.
Because many attorneys feel that telemarketers go too far in exploiting consumer frustrations, they generally avoid bringing suits over annoying phone calls. But that doesn’t mean that other types of nuisance lawsuits, including the kind brought against home telemarketers, are too uncommon. Many attorneys feel that there are plenty of lawsuits available to address annoying phone calls, including both federal and state laws. Moreover, it seems likely that we will see more claims of harassment brought against firms engaged in both Internet and land-line phone practices in the future.
If you want to take advantage of a lawsuit, you should be prepared to show the court that you have been the target of an unwanted commercial solicitation, including a telephone call. If the court rules in your favor, you may be entitled to a large amount of money to make the phone calls stop. It is important to note that you do not need an attorney to file a lawsuit on your behalf. There are numerous resources on the Internet that can help you obtain the information you need to file a lawsuit easily and quickly.
In 2021 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) made a settlement with R.J. owers, an individual who repeatedly called police about harassing phone calls. In 2021, he was the plaintiff in a lawsuit that was filed against him by an individual who received harassing phone calls. The case ultimately was thrown out due to the fact…