Beto Campaign Sued For Allegedly Sending Unsolicited Text Messages.
Daily Caller:
A lawsuit was filed against Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s campaign Friday alleging the Texas senatorial hopeful sent constituents text messages despite not receiving permission to do so.
Sameer Syeed, a resident of Collins County, filed the class action lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas Court, arguing the Beto for Texas campaign violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, reported The Star-Telegram.
The lawsuit alleges that Syeed received numerous unsolicited text messages from Beto for Texas and was unable to stop the automated messages despite both replying to the messages and reaching out to the listed phone number, only to get an error message or dial tone, according to The Star-Telegram. The suit further insists the campaign pay at last $500 per text message to the lawsuit’s plaintiffs.
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act bans the use of “automated telephone equipment to send texts or calls to a person’s cellphone without their permission except for emergency purposes,” according to The Star-Telegram.
This is not the first time O’Rourke’s campaign has faced backlash for claims of inappropriate use of text messages. The campaign came under fire in September for allegedly sending a text message to voters asking for “volunteers to help transport undocumented immigrants” to the polls, according to The New York Times.
The campaign, however, denied authorizing permission for the message to be released and said it was an “imposter” who was a “first-time volunteer who had signed up for a shift on the campaign’s ‘texting team’ under a fake name,” TheNYT wrote.
“That was not an approved message by the campaign,” campaign spokesman Chris Evans told TheNYT.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, O’Rourke’s challenger, has even acknowledged the texts. The topic arose at one of Cruz’s campaign rallies in September.
“I know, I know — I’ve gotten three of them myself. My dad has gotten five,” Cruz joked with supporters. “By the third one I was thinking, ‘maybe I should vote for him.’” MORE HERE
h/t RWF.
As far as consumer class actions go, Texas is the best jurisdiction in the nation for a plaintiff class. Which always sticks me as odd given Texas, in my mind, is a conservative place. But not so for consumer class actions. Best o’ luck, O’Rourke.
Join in the fun here.
https://jafflaw.com
Syeed should ask for an immediate injunction prohibiting O’Rourke’s campaign from sending any electronic messages of any kind: text, email, robocall, human phonebank, everything until, oh, how about Nov. 7?
Beto we’ll blame this on a lowly campaign staffer acting without authorization, when he was the one who started the idea. Da Dums are always inventing new ways to cheat, then pretend they didn’t know.
He’s a compulsive texterbator
Can we stop with this guy’s manufactured, culturally appropriated name? Like right now? His name is Robert Francis O’Rourke. Stop it. An Irishman in a Sears poncho. A phony of the first order.
Call him Robert Francis O’Rourke, not his stage name.
Or call him Stormy O’Rourke. I don’t care but his name ain’t Beto. Never was.
Ah, you don’t gotta call me Johnson. You can call me Ray. Or you can call me Jay. Or you can call me Ray Jay, but ya doesn’t have to call me BETO.
Just don’t surrender that territory.
Phone calls too.
Demonrats are at their worst during elections.
I received something from a move on organizer today under the guise of a wrong number. When I said it was a wrong number they sent me a link to donate and ways to vote. I texted back that my several felonies prevent me from voting. I did not hear back.