Two plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit against Sirius XM Radio in the Southern District of California. The married couple, Michelle and Steve Meza, allege Sirius XM Radio targeted them with an illegal marketing campaign. They lawsuit argues the marketing calls were in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991.
Michelle and Steve Meza received a free 3-month Sirius XM subscription when they bought a new car. The subscription automatically came with the purchase and the Mezas never shared their cell phone numbers or gave their consent to receive automated marketing phone calls from the company.
The lawsuit alleges that the phone calls began in July 2016. Steve Meza received a call with a prerecorded sales pitch encouraging him to sign up for an extended subscription with Sirius XM Radio. Meza was forced to wait on the phone for 20 minutes before he had the opportunity to say he was not interested in the service.
Despite the his stated lack of interest, Steve Meza received five more phone calls over the next few days. Meza repeatedly asked to be placed on the company’s Do Not Call list. The company did not honor his request and instead continued to call him and his wife regularly until November. The Mezas allege the company placed the calls using an automated dialing system. The couple claims these calls violated their privacy as granted by a federal telephone marketing law.
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, also known as TCPA, was first passed by Congress in 1991 to prevent excessive unsolicited marketing calls. The law requires companies to follow certain telephone marketing guidelines to prevent harassing calls. This includes honoring the National Do Not Call list and maintaining a company specific Do Not Call registry. If a customer requests to be placed on the company’s Do Not Call list, they must honor the request for five years.
TCPA also restricts calls with a prerecorded or artificial voice message and calls made with a automated telephone dialing system unless the customer has given their consent. The law makes an exception for calls made by an emergency service organization, such as the police department. Receivers may file a civil lawsuit against violators for up to $1,500 per illegal call.
The suit has been filed on behalf of the Mezas and any American citizen who has received an illegal call pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act from Sirius XM Radio or an agent of the company between July 6, 2016 and November 3, 2017. They are represented by Abbas Kazerounian and Jason A. Ibey of Kazerouni Law Group APC and by Joshua B. Swigart of Hyde & Swigart. The case is Michelle Meza and Steve Meza v. Sirius XM Radio Inc., Case No. 3:17-cv-02252, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.