Marketing Firm Guilty of ‘Mass Broadcasting’ of Fax Ads, Alleges Class Action
Though the Telephone Consumer Protection Act “expressly prohibits” unsolicited fax advertising, a Delaware marketing services company, routinely sends them directly to recipients or through at least 10 hired John Doe agents, alleged a class action Thursday (docket 1:24-cv-04912) in U.S.…
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District Court for Northern Illinois in Chicago. William Gress, a practicing chiropractor in Homewood, Illinois, received a fax solicitation from Klip-It or its agents on June 4, advertising an “influencer marketing platform” to attract new patients through social media, said the complaint. The defendants, “either negligently or wilfully,” violated the rights of Gress and other recipients in sending the faxes, it said. Gress had no prior relationship with the defendants and hadn’t authorized the sending of fax ads, it said. On information and belief, the June 4 fax “was sent as part of a mass broadcasting of faxes,” it said. The fax didn’t contain an opt-out notice that complies with the TCPA, it said. On information and belief, the defendants have transmitted similar unsolicited fax ads to at least 40 other persons in Illinois, it said. There’s “no reasonable means” for Gress or other recipients of the defendants’ unsolicited fax ads to avoid receiving illegal faxes, said the complaint: “Fax machines must be left on and ready to receive the urgent communications authorized by their owners.”