Farmers Insurance Company Hit with Class Action Over Alleged Text Message Ads

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

A proposed class action claims Farmers Insurance Company, Inc. has illegally sent automated telemarketing texts to consumers’ cell phones without securing their consent to do so and even after they’d asked to stop receiving the messages.

The 12-page lawsuit alleges that the insurer’s telemarketing campaign violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a federal law that prohibits the use of automatic telephone dialing equipment to send certain types of telemarketing messages without a recipient’s prior express written consent.

The suit looks to stop Farmers from continuing its allegedly unlawful text message campaign, which the case claims has resulted in “the invasion of privacy, harassment, aggravation, and disruption of the daily life of thousands of individuals.”

The plaintiff is a Potter County, Texas resident who claims to have received the following text messages from Farmers in February and May 2020 and June 2021:

Per the case, the plaintiff attempted to opt out of receiving the Farmers texts by replying “Remove me” and “Stop!” Nevertheless, Farmers sent the plaintiff an additional message in June 2021 despite the man’s “repeated use of clear opt-out language,” the lawsuit alleges.

The suit charges that Farmers does not have a written policy for maintaining an internal do-not-call list or train its employees on the use of such a list.

According to the case, the plaintiff never provided prior consent to be contacted, and to the extent that he did, his consent was expressly revoked when he attempted to opt out.  Moreover, the plaintiff asserts that his phone number has been registered with the National Do Not Call Registry since March 2005, the suit says. Per the lawsuit, it is a violation of the TCPA to place a telephone solicitation to a number listed on the National Do Not Call Registry without the individual’s permission.

The case looks to cover anyone in the U.S. who, within the past four years, was sent more than one text message by or on behalf of the defendant in a 12-month period for the purpose of selling Farmers’ products and services and whose number was listed on the National Do Not Call Registry for at least 30 days, and for whom Farmers claims it did not obtain prior express written consent or obtained such consent in the same manner as it claims to have obtained consent from the plaintiff.

The suit also proposes to cover anyone in the U.S. who, within the past four years, was sent a text message by the defendant or on its behalf to their cell phone after requesting not to receive further text messages.

Get class action lawsuit news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s newsletter here.