Plaintiff Alpine Animal Hospital filed suit on Monday in the Northern District of Illinois against defendant American IV Products, Inc. The complaint alleges that the defendant violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) when they send the plaintiff two unsolicited advertisements via fax.
The TCPA prohibits the sending of fax advertisements without the recipient’s express invitation or permission. Violation of the TCPA is met with minimum statutory damages of $500 per violation.
On February 24, 2022, and April 27, 2022, the defendant sent the plaintiff two unsolicited fax advertisements, according to the complaint. The purported faxes speak to the “commercial availability or quality of Defendant’s property, goods, or services,” specifically the industrial PowerMATE and its IVetMATE IV Fluid Warmer. The plaintiff maintains that they never gave the defendant any form of permission to send either fax, making them both classify as violations of the TCPA.
The plaintiff explains that the unsolicited faxes are damaging since the recipient’s time is lost, in addition to the use of their fax machine, paper, and ink toner. They expand on this claim by stating that “a junk fax intrudes into the recipient’s seclusion and violates the recipient’s right to privacy.” Unsolicited faxes also occupy fax lines, which prevent important faxes from being sent out and received, the complaint said.
As a result of the alleged misconduct by the defendant, Alpine Animal Hospital is seeking class certification for themselves and all other who were sent identical faxes from the defendant without express invitation or permission. The complaint seeks relief under the TCPA and class certification. Alpine Animal Hospital is also seeking statutory liquidated damages, an injunction preventing further violations, pre-judgment interest, litigation costs, and any other relief deemed proper by the Court.
The plaintiff is represented by Anderson + Wanca.
