in Newswire Published on October 26, 2022

Hallmark Sent Unauthorized Promotional Text Messages, Class Action Claims

Williams v. Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Filed: October 25, 2022 ◆§ 3:22-cv-01340

A class action alleges Hallmark Cards has illegally sent text messages to phone numbers listed on the Do-Not-Call Registry, even after being asked to stop.

Defendant(s)

Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Law(s)

Telephone Consumer Protection Act

State(s)

Connecticut

Categories

Retail

A proposed class action alleges Hallmark Cards has illegally sent telemarketing text messages to phone numbers listed on the National Do-Not-Call Registry, even after being explicitly asked to stop.

The 14-page suit alleges the greeting card retailer has persistently sent unwanted text messages to a Connecticut consumer’s cell phone throughout the past year and as recently as October 24, even though the man’s number had been registered on the National Do-Not-Call Registry. According to the case, the text messages advertised various Hallmark promotions and contained a link to its website

Although Hallmark’s text included instructions to “Txt STOP=opt out,” the lawsuit contends that the company ignored the plaintiff’s two requests to “[s]top” and continued to send him telemarketing messages for another month.

“In addition to using Plaintiff’s telephone data, phone storage, and battery life, Plaintiff’s privacy was wrongfully invaded,” the complaint reads. “Plaintiff has become understandably aggravated with having to deal with the frustration of repeated, unwanted text messages, forcing Plaintiff to divert attention away from other activities.”

The filing alleges that Hallmark intentionally programmed its telephone dialing system to continue sending spam message for more than 30 days after a consumer texts “stop.”

Per the complaint, Hallmark has violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by sending telephone solicitations to phone numbers listed on the Do-Not-Call Registry. The TCPA also prohibits any telemarketing initiation in which the caller fails to “honor a residential subscriber’s do-not-call request within a reasonable time from the date such request is made,” the case explains.

According to the suit, the plaintiff has no prior business relationship with Hallmark and never provided the retailer with his phone number.

The lawsuit looks to represent the following class:

“All persons in the United States who from four years prior to the filing of this action (1) were sent text messages by or on behalf of Defendant; (2) more than one time within any 12-month period; (3) where the person’s telephone number had been listed on the National Do Not Call Registry for at least thirty days; (4) for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of Defendant’s products and/or services; and (5) where either (a) Defendant did not obtain prior express written consent to message the person or (b) the called person previously advised Defendant to ‘STOP’ messaging them.”

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