Because of intense pressure from consumers and consumer advocacy groups, Congress passed the landmark 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to prevent telemarketers from harassing consumers who signed up for the National Do Not Call Registry. New York Life apparently never heard of the TCPA or willingly violated one or more provisions of the law.
Primary plaintiff Abante Rooter and Plumbing Inc. filed a class action lawsuit in May of 2016 alleging New York Life made several unauthorized telemarketing calls, as well as used recorded or artificial voices to make the phone calls. The primary plaintiff claims New York Life made illegal calls to mobile phone numbers that clearly were part of the National Do Not Call Registry. Consumers who do not want to receive phone calls from telemarketers list phone numbers in the registry to inform companies it is not acceptable to dial the phone numbers. TCPA includes a provision mandating companies must maintain records of the consumers who belong in the National Do Not Call Registry. Companies or individuals are liable between $500 and $1,500 for each violation of the TCPA.
In October of 2016, the primary plaintiff and New York Life agreed to a class action settlement, with the terms requiring the insurance company to create a settlement fund of $3.3 million. The settlement fund covers monetary damages for eligible class members, as well as court costs and attorney fees. Despite agreeing to the class action settlement, New York Life continues to deny any wrongdoing, choosing instead to settle and avoid the uncertainty of a civil case.
What You Need To Know
Class counsel issue a press release that states eligible class member “include all persons who on or after May 13, 2012 received either of the following types of phone calls from New York Life or someone acting on its behalf: A call placed to a mobile phone number using an automatic telephone dialing system or a prerecorded voice and/or two or more calls placed within a 12-month period to a phone number listed on the National Do Not Call Registry” The potential reward can reach $800, with the final amount established after the court counts all of the valid and timely claim forms. Eligible class members have until August 15, 2017 to file a valid claim form.
The judge presiding over the class action settlement case called Abante Rooter and Plumbing Inc. v. New York Life Insurance Company, Case No. 1:16-cv-03588, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has scheduled the final hearing on September 20, 2017. To learn more about the New York Life class action settlement, visit the website www.TCPAsettlementNYLife.com. The class action website also lists the attorneys who form the class and defense counsels.
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