Primary plaintiffs Dakota Medical Inc and R. Fellen Inc filed the RehabCare and Polaris Group junk fax lawsuit in December of 2014. Dakota Medical Inc operates Glenoaks Convalescent Hospital and R. Fellen Inc conducts business as Sunnyside Convalescent Hospitals. Both hospitals allege in the class action lawsuit that RehabCare and Polaris Group sent unsolicited faxes advertising products and services. The primary plaintiffs claim the two companies sent more than 2.4 million advertisements nationwide for Medicaid and Medicare compliance services and human resources management programs.
The class action lawsuit asserts RehabCare and Polaris Group purchased lists of fax numbers for about 12,000 long-term health care facilities. Plaintiffs charge there is no way either company received consent to send the advertisement faxes and thus, violated one of the major provisions written into the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Initially passed by Congress to stop annoying telemarketing calls, the TCPA has expanded its legal reach over the years to include the unsolicited sending of faxes. Each violation of a TCPA provision can cost violators between $500 and $1,500.
The class action settlement requires Polaris Group and RehabCare to create a $25 million settlement fund for disbursement to eligible class members. Both companies agreed to the class action settlement to avoid the uncertainty and high costs associated with prolonged civil litigation.
What You Need To Know
Class counsel has stated eligible class members “include all persons who subscribed to a telephone number to which the defendants successfully sent one or more faxes between July 17, 2010 and Feb. 4, 2014 through broadcasts sent by Westfax Inc.” Claimants can see if their fax numbers qualify for class member status by accessing the Fax Number Lookup located on the class action settlement website. www.RehabCareSettlement.com.
The potential award for each eligible class member varies depending on the number of faxes received from RehabCare and/or Polaris Group and/or the number of claimants who file valid and timely claims. Class members should submit claim forms by fax or mail. The deadline to file a valid claim form is September 7, 2017. The judge presiding over the class action lawsuit called R. Fellen Inc., et al. v. Rehab Care Group, et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-02081, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California has scheduled the final hearing on September 7, 2017.
The class action settlement website updates information that concerns the final hearing, as well as any changes made to the potential award sent to eligible class members. You can also view the list of attorneys who comprise the class and defense counsels. The same attorneys represent the defense counsel for RehabCare and Polaris Group. Class counsel comes from several law firms.
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