Wal-Mart Wins Text-Spam Case
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Wal-Mart violated a consumer protection law by sending unwanted text messages to a customer who filled a prescription at the retailer's pharmacy.
U.S. District Court Judge C. Lynwood Smith in the Northern District of Alabama ruled last week that Wal-Mart didn't violate the law because the customer, Stephanie Pinkard, gave the pharmacy her cell phone number. Pinkard's disclosure of that information amounted to consent to receive texts, Smith ruled.
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act prohibits companies from using automatic telephone dialing systems to make calls to cell phones without consumers' consent. The statute calls for up to $1,500 in damages per violation.
Pinkard alleged in her court papers that she provided her cell phone number because a Wal-Mart employee said the store might need to contact her if there were problems with the prescription. Instead, Wal-Mart allegedly enrolled her in a text-message program that automatically sent messages to everyone who filled a prescription at the company's pharmacy.
Pinkard contended in a potential class-action lawsuit, filed in July, that those texts were unlawful. But Smith ruled that Pinkard's decision to disclose her phone number precludes her from suing.
"Once she voluntarily provided defendant with her telephone number (i.e., generally consented), it was her responsibility to explicitly state the limited scope of her consent," Smith wrote.
Pinkard's lawyer says he is still considering whether to appeal.
Recent Online Media Daily Articles
-
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 ... -
Good TV Content Trumps On, Whether Trad TV Or Streaming May 22, 2:42 p.m.
While consumers continue to perceive TV programming as superior in quality to that of online fare, ... -
Google Releases Self-Serve Display Benchmark Tool May 22, 2:02 p.m.
Understanding how a brand's online campaign competes with competitors requires trending benchmark data like engagement rates ... -
Twitter Brings Lead Generation To Tweets May 22, 1:14 p.m.
Twitter began testing a lead generation tool Wednesday in its tweet stream that resembles a cross ... -
DigitasLBi, Razorfish Tap Execs For Global Ops May 22, 11:26 a.m.
Publicis Groupe digital agencies DigitasLBi and Razorfish have installed new executives to run their respective international ... -
More Consumers Turn To Mobile To Research, Book Travel May 22, 8:53 a.m.
More than half of consumers used a mobile device to book travel in the last 90 ... -
Showrooming Overhyped, Mobile Key To Shopping Purchases May 22, 8:53 a.m.
Given consumers' mobile in-store shopping trends, some consider the showrooming hoopla overblown. The research process still ... -
Shopping App Swirl Adds In-Store Capability May 22, 8:53 a.m.
Swirl entered the mobile shopping fray last year with an iPhone app allowing users to learn ...
Be the first to comment on "Wal-Mart Wins Text-Spam Case"
Leave a Comment