Outdoor Product Retailer Pelican Sent Spam Texts Without Consent, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action out of Oklahoma alleges Beam Distributing, Inc., which does business as Pelican, has violated state law by sending unsolicited text messages to consumers’ cell phones as part of its mass marketing efforts.

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The 15-page lawsuit was filed by an Oklahoma resident who says that in January 2023, the outdoor product retailer began “bombarding” her cell phone with text messages promoting its products despite having never obtained her permission to be contacted.

According to the case, the plaintiff continued to receive Pelican’s robotexts, which contained advertisements like “FLASH SALE! 20% off 20QT Elite Coolers with promo code BONUS20,” until June 2023.

The complaint contends that Pelican has transmitted “blasts” of similar text messages to consumers throughout the United States using an automated text messaging system. Per the filing, this system allows Pelican to automatically transmit mass solicitation texts to consumers with no human involvement and at a “nominal” cost.

However, under the Oklahoma Telephone Solicitation Act (OTSA), the company is prohibited from using an automated system to place a “commercial telephonic sales call” without first obtaining the recipient’s prior written consent, the suit explains.

The case goes on to claim that in further violation of the OTSA, Pelican sent Oklahoma residents text messages using a 10-digit “long code” that, when called, does not connect the caller to the defendant.

As the complaint tells it, proposed class members are entitled to $500 for each allegedly unlawful text message they received from Pelican.

The lawsuit seeks to cover anyone in Oklahoma who was sent one or more text messages regarding Pelican’s property, goods, and/or services since November 1, 2022 using the same equipment or type of equipment utilized to call the plaintiff, or through the use of any long code.

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