Aug 7, 2018 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
On August 6, 2018, a class action complaint was filed in United States District Court, Central District of California, against Keller Williams Realty, Inc. and other defendants, as of yet unknown, alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) and related regulations for “negligently, knowingly, and/or willfully contacting Plaintiff on Plaintiff’s home and cellular telephones.”
According to the complaint, Keller Williams contacted Plaintiff on Plaintiff’s home and cellular phone numbers to try and get Plaintiff to purchase the services of Keller Williams. Keller Williams, allegedly, contacted the Plaintiff from telephone numbers (561) 537-1540, (954) 652-9258, (954) 609-0996, (305) 924-1119, and (305) 205-6978. The Plaintiff, according to the complaint, “expressly asked [Keller Williams] multiple times to be removed from [Keller Williams’] call list beginning [in] or about May 2017 and continuing through April 2018.” Further, according to the complaint:
Plaintiff did not give [Keller Williams] prior express written consent for [Keller Williams] to call Plaintiff’s home or cellular telephone for marketing or solicitation purposes. Indeed, during one phone call Plaintiff asked where [Keller Williams] had obtained his phone number, one of Defendant’s agents stated that the phone numbers were obtained from a third party company called “REDX,” a company Plaintiff had no knowledge of, nor had he done business with at any time. (Emphasis added)
Despite Plaintiff’s request for Keller Williams to stop calling, the company “continued to call Plaintiff in an attempt to solicit its services and in violation of the National Do-Not-Call provisions of the TCPA[,] thus repeatedly violating Plaintiff’s privacy.”
Do You Believe You Are a Victim of Illegal Robocalls, Text Messages, “Junk” Faxes or Telemarketing Sales Calls?
If you have received illegal robocalls, text messages, “junk” faxes or telemarketing sales calls, you may be able to recover at least $500 for each illegal call, text or fax you received and, possibly, as much as $1,500 for each illegal call, text message or facsimile that was made either willfully or knowingly in violation of the TCPA.
To help evaluate your potential legal claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, please complete KLF’s confidential Robocall Questionnaire or, if you prefer to speak with an attorney, please complete the form above on the right, e-mail [email protected] or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., [email protected], (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, for a free, no-obligation evaluation of your potential legal rights.
Aug 6, 2018 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
On August 2, 2018, a class action complaint was filed against Kohl’s Corporation in United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, seeking, among other relief, statutory damages under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) for allegedly “harvest[ing] the cellular phone numbers of potential customers” by “advertis[ing] single-use coupons to those who text message [Kohl’s] with a keyword (e.g. ‘SAVE’).” The TCPA class action alleged that “[w]ithout their consent, upon receipt of a coupon request, [Kohl’s] automatically opts consumers into its text messaging campaigns,” and “[b]y automatically opting consumers who are merely seeking a coupon, [Kohl’s] fails to obtain the requisite express written consent to send these consumers its marketing text message campaigns.”
According to the complaint, Kohl’s “caused thousands of unsolicited text messages to be sent to the cellular telephones of Plaintiff and Class Members, causing them injuries, including invasion of their privacy, aggravation, annoyance, intrusion on seclusion, trespass, and conversion.”
In or about May 2018, according to the complaint, the Plaintiff became aware that Kohl’s was offering a discount coupon through www.dontwasteyourmoney.com. The Plaintiff texted “SAVE” to “short code” 564-7 to receive a coupon providing a 15% discount “redeemable at kohls.com.” The day the Plaintiff texted Kohl’s to receive the discount coupon, Kohl’s, allegedly, “caused two automated text messages to be transmitted to Plaintiff’s cellular telephone number.” One message “welcomed Plaintiff to ‘Kohl’s Mobile Sales Alerts!’,” and the other text message “provided Plaintiff with the 15% off coupon she was seeking.”
According to the complaint, Kohl’s “automatically opted Plaintiff into its text messaging marketing campaign,” and the Plaintiff received a third text message marketing/promoting Kohl’s “business, goods and services,” which “was outside the scope of the limited consent provided by Plaintiff when she texted [Kohl’s] for a single-use coupon.”
Do You Believe You Are a Victim of Illegal Robocalls, Text Messages, “Junk” Faxes or Telemarketing Sales Calls?
If you have received illegal robocalls, text messages, “junk” faxes or telemarketing sales calls, you may be able to recover at least $500 for each illegal call, text or fax you received and, possibly, as much as $1,500 for each illegal call, text message or facsimile that was made either willfully or knowingly in violation of the TCPA.
To help evaluate your potential legal claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, please complete KLF’s confidential Robocall Questionnaire or, if you prefer to speak with an attorney, please complete the form above on the right, e-mail [email protected] or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., [email protected], (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, for a free, no-obligation evaluation of your potential legal rights.
Jun 19, 2018 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
On June 18, 2018, the FTC announced that the operators of a scheme that sold “secrets for making money on Amazon” have been banned from marketing and selling business opportunities and business coaching services under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, and they will surrender millions of dollars for return to consumers.
According to the FTC, the defendants, who have no affiliation with Amazon.com, falsely claimed their “Amazing Wealth System” would enable consumers to create a profitable online business selling products on Amazon. Buyers, however, did not earn the advertised income. Most buyers lost significant amounts of money, and many frequently experienced problems with their Amazon stores, including suspension and the loss of their ability to sell on Amazon.com.
The settlement order also bans the defendants from making false earnings claims. It imposes a judgment of more than $102 million, which will be partially suspended when they have surrendered approximately $10.8 million to the FTC. The order also prohibits the defendants from profiting from consumers’ personal information collected as part of the scheme, and failing to dispose of it properly.
Specifically, the order states
A. Judgment in the amount of . . . $102,481,596.00 . . . is entered in favor of the Commission against Settling Defendants, jointly and severally, as equitable monetary relief.
B. Settling Individual Defendants are ordered to make the following payments to the Commission, which, as Settling Individual Defendants stipulate, their undersigned counsel holds in escrow for no purpose other than payment to the Commission:
1. Individual Defendant Christopher F. Bowser is ordered to pay to the Commission . . . $325,000.00[];
2. Individual Defendant Adam S. Bowser is ordered to pay to the Commission . . . $325,000[]; and
3. Individual Defendant Jody Marshall is ordered to pay to the Commission . . . $75,000.00[].
The defendants, according to the FTC, are Adam Bowser, Christopher Bowser, Jody Marshall, AWS LLC, FBA Distributors LLC, FBA Stores LLC, Info Pros LLC, Info Solutions LLC, Online Auction Learning Center Inc. (Massachusetts), and Online Auction Learning Center Inc. (Nevada).
For more information, please see AWS, LLC, et al. (FBA Stores).
Source: FTC.gov
Jun 4, 2018 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that on May 29, 2018, a class action complaint was filed against Transworld Systems, Inc. for “. . . negligently, knowingly, and/or willfully placed calls using an artificial and/or prerecorded voice to Plaintiff’s cellular phone in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227, et seq. (the “TCPA”).”
According to the class action complaint, Transworld, “one of the country’s largest debt collectors,” which “touts that it services a portfolio of more than $25 billion and that 2.3 million accounts are placed with it annually,” allegedly, “operates an aggressive contact schedule which bombards unsuspecting consumers, with whom it has no relationship, with calls using a prerecorded and/or artificial voice.” Further, the complaint alleges that Transworld, was not attempting to collect a debt from the Plaintiff, but rather “bombarded his cellular telephone with prerecorded and artificial voice calls made without his consent and over his explicit objection.” Allegedly, Transworld repeatedly called Plaintiff’s cell phone from (779) 970-2672, (779) 970-2620, and (779) 970-2724 utilizing a prerecorded and/or artificial voice regarding a woman unknown to the Plaintiff. In April 2018, the Plaintiff contacted Transworld, furnished his cell phone number, and requested Transworld to stop calling his cell phone. Transworld, according to the complaint, told the Plaintiff that it could not locate the phone calls made to the Plaintiff’s and, subsequently, continued to place calls to the Plaintiff’s cell phone.
The TCPA class action seeks, among other relief, statutory damages and was filed in United States District Court, Central District of California (2:18-cv-04698).
Do You Believe You Are a Victim of Illegal Robocalls, Text Messages, “Junk” Faxes or Telemarketing Sales Calls?
If you have received illegal robocalls, text messages, “junk” faxes or telemarketing sales calls, you may be able to recover at least $500 for each illegal call, text or fax you received and, possibly, as much as $1,500 for each illegal call, text message or facsimile that was made either willfully or knowingly in violation of the TCPA.
To help evaluate your potential legal claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, please complete KLF’s confidential Robocall Questionnaire or, if you prefer to speak with an attorney, please complete the form above on the right, e-mail [email protected] or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., [email protected], (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, for a free, no-obligation evaluation of your potential legal rights.
May 29, 2018 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that on May 24, 2018, a class action complaint was filed against Citibank, N.A. “. . . seeking damages and any other available legal or equitable remedies resulting from the illegal actions of CITIBANK, N.A. . . . in negligently, knowingly, and/or willfully contacting Plaintiff on Plaintiff’s cellular telephone in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47. U.S.C. § 227 et seq. (“TCPA”), thereby invading Plaintiff’s privacy and causing him to incur unwanted and unnecessary charges.”
According to the class action complaint, in or around September 2017, Citibank placed multiple calls to Plaintiff’s cellular telephone from, among other numbers, (800) 950-5114, in connection with the collection of a debt not owed by the Plaintiff. When the Plaintiff answered his cell phone, he heard a robotic voice which told him to push a button to be connected. At least once, when the Plaintiff answered Citibank’s debt collection call, he, allegedly, told a Citibank agent that Citibank was calling the wrong number, in addition to requesting that Citibank stop calling the Plaintiff. Further, the Plaintiff, allegedly, does not know the individual who Citibank says is responsible for the debt.
The TCPA class action lawsuit seeks, among other relief, statutory damages and was filed in United States District Court, Central District of California (5:18-cv-01105).
Do You Believe You Are a Victim of Illegal Robocalls, Text Messages, “Junk” Faxes or Telemarketing Sales Calls?
If you have received illegal robocalls, text messages, “junk” faxes or telemarketing sales calls, you may be able to recover at least $500 for each illegal call, text or fax you received and, possibly, as much as $1,500 for each illegal call, text message or facsimile that was made either willfully or knowingly in violation of the TCPA.
To help evaluate your potential legal claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, please complete KLF’s confidential Robocall Questionnaire or, if you prefer to speak with an attorney, please complete the form above on the right, e-mail [email protected] or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., [email protected], (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, for a free, no-obligation evaluation of your potential legal rights.
May 18, 2018 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Recently, a class action lawsuit was filed in United States District Court for the Western District of New York against the University of Rochester seeking to protect the retirement savings of more than 36,000 employees who are participants in the University of Rochester’s Retirement Program.
The University of Rochester, according to the class action complaint, has a fiduciary duty to ensure that the school’s federally-regulated retirement plan does not charge excessive fees. Allegedly, over the past six years, University of Rochester plan participants have paid approximately $72 million in “grossly excessive” recordkeeping, distribution, and mortality risk fees – fees which, allegedly, are “close to ten times what they should be.”
The complaint against the University of Rochester was brought by a Plaintiff who has been paying more than $500 in service fees a year to TIAA, when “a reasonable fee for administrative services is no more than $50 per year.” There is, according to the complaint, “absolutely no legitimate basis why Plaintiff should be paying TIAA more than $500 per year for its services.”
According to the class action complaint:
All retirement plans require administrative services. The University [of Rochester] contracted with TIAA to provide administrative services for its Plan. TIAA pockets the bulk of the excessive fees. The reason why TIAA has been able to extract such grossly excessive fees is because TIAA’s fees are tethered not to any actual services it provides to the Plan, but rather, to a percentage of assets in the Plan. As the assets in the Plan increase, so too increase the fees that TIAA pockets from the Plan and its participants. One commentator likened this fee arrangement to hiring a plumber to fix a leaky gasket, but paying the plumber not on actual work provided but based on the amount of water that flows through the pipe. (Emphasis added)
The class action complaint states that the action against the University of Rochester
. . . is similar (but narrower in scope) to 18 separate lawsuits pending in federal district courts around the country.[] In each of [the] other lawsuits . . . plaintiffs allege a university defendant breached ERISA fiduciary duties by allowing TIAA to collect excessive fees from the university’s retirement plan. It appears TIAA exploited its rich heritage of being a non-profit low-cost financial service provider and duped universities into excessive fee arrangements. But now university plan participants are fighting back and demanding TIAA reduce its fees. It appears TIAA is willing to meaningfully reduce its fees if universities will just ask. By way of example, shortly after the University of Chicago was sued, it announced to its plan participants that it renegotiated TIAA’s fees, and successfully reduced fees on an annual basis by several million dollars. (Emphasis added)
Further, rather than “leveraging the Plan’s tremendous bargaining power to benefit Plan participants,” the University of Rochester, allegedly, “failed to adequately take proper measures to understand the real cost to Plan participants for TIAA’s services, to properly inform participants of the fees they were paying to TIAA as required by law, and most importantly, to act prudently with such information. As a result, Plan participants pay excessive fees for TIAA’s services.” (Emphasis added)
401(k), 403(b), Employee Stock Ownership & Other Retirement Plan Participants
If you believe your retirement plan investments have suffered losses due to imprudent investments, breaches of fiduciary duty, misrepresentations, excessive, unreasonable or undisclosed retirement plan fees or other corporate wrongdoing by retirement plan administrators and managers, please contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. by completing the form above on the right or sending an e-mail to [email protected].
