A judge recently issued preliminary approval for a $5 million class action settlement over plaintiff claims that discover Financial Services and Discover Home Loans violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The allegations include Discover violating TCPA law by making telemarketing phone calls, without the consent of consumers. Discover represents a direct banking and payment services company that engages in mortgage lending through the subsidiary, Discover Home Loans.
Passed by Congress in 1991, the TCPA prevents from telemarketers from engaging in specified telemarketing practices. The annoying practice grew in popularity by telemarketers until Congress enacted the TCPA. It is illegal for any business to make non-emergency phone calls by using an “automatic dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to consumers who did not provide prior express consent to receive such calls.” In addition, the TCPA makes it unlawful for businesses to call any number listed in the National Do Not Call Registry more than one time during a 12-month period. For some class members in the class action settlement, Discover Home Loans violated both provisions of the TCPA.
Discover has repeatedly denied the allegations, but the financial services company agreed to the settlement to avoid the high cost of litigating class action lawsuits. The class action settlement received preliminary approval on January 20, 2017.
What You Need to Know
The class action settlement website www.DavenportTCPASettlement.com states “You are a Class Member of the Discover Home Loans settlement if DHL purchased your contact information from a third-party lead generator and used the information to make at least one non-emergency call between June 1, 2012 and July 31, 2015 using an automatic telephone dialing system or artificial prerecorded voice to promote goods or services.” The website also includes information about the National Do Not Call Registry restrictions. You have until July 24, 2017 to opt out of the settlement or contest any of the language found within the agreement.
The potential award per class members runs between $25 and $50, with the amount based on the number of valid and timely claim forms filed by the deadline July 24, 2017. A valid claim contains contact and address information, as well as the date(s) when Discover Home Loans made the illegal phone calls. The class action settlement website also contains information about the final hearing set for September 14, 2017. In a courtroom, the class action lawsuit goes by the name Davenport v. Discover Financial Services, et al., Case No. 1:15-cv-06052, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Attorneys from Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC, Burke Law Office LLC, and Sultzer Law Group comprise the class counsel. Stroock & Stroock & Lavin attorneys represent the defense counsel.
