ST. LOUIS — A class-action lawsuit has been filed against a telemarketing company, The Pisa Group Inc.; a newspaper company, Plain Dealer Publishing Co.; and other as-yet unknown newspaper companies for alleged violation of telephone harassment statutes.
Ohio resident Mikio VanDrunen, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a complaint on April 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against the defendants, alleging that they violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that, he and other consumers received auto-dialed telemarketing calls promoting products and subscription sales. The plaintiff and others claim that these calls were unauthorized and unwanted because they have not expressed nor given any written consent to receive them.
As a result, VanDrunen and other consumers claim they have suffered invasions of their privacy.
The plaintiff holds the defendants responsible for allegedly failing to address the drawback of cold calling campaigns, for failing to acknowledge the rights of consumers to give consent first before receiving the calls and for failing to give consumers options to eliminate all future calls.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment for actual and statutory damages, attorney fees, with costs to be paid from a common fund, and such further relief that the court deems reasonable. He is represented by Benjamin Richman and Rafey Balabanian of Edelson P.C. in Chicago and San Francisco.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri case number 4:17-cv-01238