Always great to see our co-counsels doing well! A couple weeks ago, Manual Hiraldo, P.A. achieved a great victory in getting class certification for those affected by unsolicited spam text messages sent by Off Lease Only, Inc.. U.S. magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres denied Off Lease Only Inc’s attempt to stop class certification for violations of the TCPA. Under the TCPA, claimants can recover $500 – $1,500 per violation if they can show it was committed willfully or knowingly.
Unsolicited Spam Text Messages Present Case
In this present case, Off Lease Only sent the Plaintiff unsolicited spam text messages that were marketing texts in response to Plaintiff posting his vehicle for sale on Craigslist. These “offers” were not actually offers, but instead essentially spam blasts that had the sole intention of getting the Plaintiff to the car lot to purchase a vehicle from Defendant.
This is the second big win for Manuel Hiraldo, P.A. and the Plaintiff as earlier in this case U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke concluded that he alleged a particularized and concrete harm that was enough to stand up under the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2016 decision in Spokeo Inc. v. Robins, which held that a bare procedural violation divorced from any concrete injury isn’t enough to establish Article III standing. Spokeo continues to be a controlling case in TCPA actions.
Judge Macia G. Gooke found that the Plaintiff had standing because he “was affected [by the violation of the TCPA] in a ‘personal and individual way’” and when he allegedly received at least one unsolicited spam text messages after posting an advertisement to sell vehicles on the website Craigslist.
Judge Cooke also noted that Mohamed’s ads on Craigslist “specifically warned third parties not to contact him with unsolicited services or offers, and not to text [him] at all.”
Report Your Unsolicited Spam Text Messages | Call Shamis & Gentile, P.A.
If you have been getting unsolicited spam text messages , contact Shamis & Gentile, P.A. today for a free consultation on what kind of relief may be available to you! 305-479-2299, or email info@shamisgentile.com
