Court Rules Against Best Buy In Robocall Lawsuit
In a defeat for Best Buy, a federal appeals court ruled this week that the company violated a telemarketing law by making robocalls that directed consumers to an ecommerce site.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Best Buy's argument that the calls were informational and therefore, shouldn't be considered advertising.
"These calls were aimed at
encouraging listeners to engage in future commercial transactions with Best Buy to purchase its goods," the court ruled. "They constituted unsolicited advertisements, telephone solicitations, and
telemarketing, and were prohibited."
The ruling reversed a decision in favor of Best Buy issued last year by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones in Seattle.
The case stems
from a series of robocalls made in 2008 and 2009 to Rainier, Wash., resident Michael Chesbro. He said that the calls -- which started shortly after he purchased a computer from Best Buy in 2008 --
advised him to visit the store's Web site in order to redeem his "Reward Zone" points.
Chesbro said he attempted to opt out of receiving calls and when that failed, complained to the
Washington Attorney General. When the calls continued, he filed a potential class-action lawsuit in federal court in Seattle, where he alleged that Best Buy violated the federal Telephone Consumer
Protection Act. That law bans companies from using automated dialing systems for marketing calls, without consumers' consent.
The trial judge ruled last September that Best Buy's robocalls
weren't covered by the federal statute, "because no property, good or service was advertised or even mentioned during the call."
But the appellate court disagreed. "We approach the problem
with a measure of common sense," the judges wrote. "The calls encouraged the listener to make future purchases at Best Buy. Neither the statute nor the regulations require an explicit mention of a
good, product, or service where the implication is clear from the context."
Best Buy declined to comment on the matter.
Recent Online Media Daily Articles
-
Yahoo Search Experiments With New Look May 23, 6:30 p.m.
Yahoo Search has been experimenting with colors, features and layouts, as the company tries to determine ... -
Path Seeks Dismissal Of Wireless-Spam Case May 23, 5:07 p.m.
Mobile social network Path is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the ... -
Amazon Appstore Goes Global May 23, 4:59 p.m.
Amazon may have been late to the app store game, but that hasn’t stopped it from ... -
Data Is Springboard For Product Development May 23, 4:44 p.m.
iProspect named Ben Wood to global president Thursday; he's tasked with growing the company's network and ... -
Vice, Twitter Partner For Mobile Show May 23, 2:14 p.m.
Simultaneously expanding its video and social strategy, Vice on Thursday unveiled #dailyvice -- a daily show ... -
MediaVest Database Charts Brand Experience, Social Media Impact May 23, 12:11 p.m.
After a year-long research effort, Publicis Groupe’s MediaVest has created a massive database designed to help ... -
Discovery Launches TestTube.com, Ups Digital Video Involvement May 23, 11:27 a.m.
Discovery Communications is looking to get into digital video platforms in a big way -- launching ... -
Network Advertising Initiative Proposes New Mobile Privacy Rules May 22, 9:03 p.m.
Moving forward with its plan to issue mobile privacy rules, the self-regulatory group Network Advertising Initiative ... -
Entertainment, Travel Bet On Mobile Banners May 22, 4:16 p.m.
Banner ads have long been the whipping boy of online advertising, and the same is now ... -
Marketers Should Tailor Specific Pitches To Tablet, Smartphone May 22, 2:51 p.m.
Don’t lump tablets in with mobile. That’s the takeaway of a new Forrester study looking at ...
Be the first to comment on "Court Rules Against Best Buy In Robocall Lawsuit"
Leave a Comment