Physician Compassionate Care has been alleged to bombard consumers with spam text messages causing the plaintiffs to bring about a $736000 class-action lawsuit against this company. They have been conducting business as DocMJ which is a Florida-based medical marijuana company whose physicians offer recommendations and advice to patients on medical cannabis. The company has been alleged for violating federal laws by spamming its customers with text messages. A 2020 amended class-action lawsuit blamed DocMJ for regularly sending text message advertisements of its services to prospective customers. These text messages offered assistance with “scheduling the monthly payment plan” or “finding the best location.”
The plaintiffs pointed out that the texts received by them were generated by an automatic dialing system. Thus, DocMJ had been using equipment that could store telephone numbers and dial the same using a random or sequential generator automatically from a list without any human intervention for placing non-emergency telephone calls to the plaintiff’s and other Class members’ cellular telephones. The plaintiff successfully unsubscribed from the spam texts by texting “STOP” to the phone number. However, he added that he never permitted DocMJ for texting him. He contends that the texts sent violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
TCPA is a federal law prohibiting telemarketing phone calls or spam texts placed without customer consent by companies. These violations can lead to the enforcement of penalties ranging up to $1500. The company might have faced a larger verdict if DocMJ was found guilty of sending various telemarketing texts without the consent of customers. Despite not admitting to any wrongdoing, Physician Compassionate Care has agreed to resolve all allegations with a settlement for resolving the costs associated with further trials. Other than offering monetary benefits, Physician Compassionate Care has also agreed to alter its policies and procedures for avoiding future TCPA violations.
Eligibility For Making Claim: The settlement terms are expected to benefit individuals residing within the United States who received text messages by or on behalf of Physician Compassionate Care on their mobile telephone since 14th June 2015 through the final approval date using the text messaging platform provided by Twilio. Excluded from this settlement class are:
- Any of the Released Parties or their immediate family
- Plaintiff’s Counsel, their immediate family, or employees.
- Magistrate and trial judge presiding over this case.
- DocMJ, its parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or person in control of DocMJ, its directors, officers, members, agents, servants, managers, or employees.
Proof Of Purchase: Phone number where the spam texts were sent.
Potential Claim Amount: Under the settlement terms, class members are eligible to receive payments up to $18 after deducting attorneys’ fees and expenses, notice and administration costs, and a service award. However, the exact payment amount might be lower depending on the valid claims filed by the claim deadline.
Settlement Website: PhysicianCompassionateCareTCPA
Objection Deadline: July 13, 2022
Exclusion Deadline: July 13, 2022
Claim Form: File Here
Deadline For Submitting Claim: 08/27/2022
Final Hearing Date: 08/12/2022
Settlement Amount: $736000