A depressing case from Minneapolis.
A plaintiff-hungry lawyer has sued a small legal directory publisher after he received a fax that contravened a Telephone Consumer Protection Act regulation.
All legal directory publishers brush with litigation from time to time – an occupational hazard if you’re writing about, and maybe ranking, lawyers and law firms.
But this defendant didn’t write some disparaging remarks about a lawyer.
No, it was the heinous crime of sending him a fax advertising their services – a fax that the plaintiff allegedly agreed to receive – but at the same time, the fax failed to include an opt-out that would prevent the recipient from receiving more faxes in the future.
Yes, sending marketing materials without an opt-out isn’t ideal, and may be mildly irritating for some recipients (if the delete key and/or waste paper basket is too much effort) – but hardly the crime of the century.
I don’t know all the facts here, and not much surprises me about the plaintiffs’ bar.
But let’s put this into perspective – something’s gone seriously wrong when this man’s business and livelihood are on the line, and that of his staff.
A horror story for any small businessperson.
More in the Star Tribune.
(Pictured: Doug Walburg, owner of Mariposa Publishing in St.Paul, Minneosta. Picture from Star Tribune)
Diederik Stols says
I keep trying to get “Corporate International” off our neck, who consistently spam us with “[area] Firm of the Year” awards and “listings”. Any tips?