Don’t Call Me, Maybe – Missouri AG Alleges Charter Communications Violated TCPA, TSR, and State Laws under Third-Party Liability Theory
On Monday, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster filed a lawsuit against Charter Communications, Inc., alleging that the cable, internet, and telephone service provider’s third party telemarketers made thousands of telemarketing calls to consumers who had placed their numbers on the federal and Missouri do-not-call lists, or requested not to receive telemarketing calls from Charter. According to the Attorney General’s press release, the Office received 350 complaints from Charter subscribers and non-subscribers about telemarketing calls – which some had been receiving up to three times per day.
According to the complaint, Charter had entered into contracts with third-party telemarketers to place telemarketing calls on its behalf to numbers on Charter-provided lists. These third parties allegedly used autodialers, identified themselves as Charter, and received a commission based on sales to phone numbers on the lists provided by Charter. The complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleges that these third-party telemarketers made calls to thousands of consumers whose phone numbers were on applicable Do Not Call lists and did not lawfully honor consumers’ requests to be added to DNC lists, and that such calls were made without an applicable Established Business Relationship exemption or consent to be called. The complaint states that Charter is liable for these third parties’ calls, which allegedly violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Telemarketing Sales Rule, and Missouri Merchandising Practices Act’s “No-Call Law” and “Telemarketing Law.”
While we have seen an influx of consumer class action lawsuits alleging TCPA violations in recent years, state Attorneys General have the authority to investigate and seek civil penalties for violations of both federal and state telemarketing laws. Attorney General Koster is seeking, in addition to permanent injunctive relief, civil penalties of at least $500 for each violation of the TCPA, up to $16,000 for each violation of the TSR, and up to $5,000 for each violation of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.