86th TCPA Action vs. Kohl’s Since 2011 Alleges It Ignored 3 Requests to Stop Texting
Plaintiff Ruhi Reimer’s claims against Kohl’s for alleged Telephone Consumer Protection Act violations are unusual among TCPA class actions because Reimer originally gave the merchant consent to receive its promotional text messages, but then he couldn’t get the messages to stop.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Reimer’s putative class action Thursday (docket 2:23-cv-00597) in U.S. District Court for Eastern Wisconsin in Green Bay is the 86th TCPA lawsuit filed against Kohl’s since May 2011, including seven in the past year, court records show. Virginia resident Reimer additionally alleges Kohl’s violated the Virginia Telephone Privacy Protection Act (VTPPA). His complaint asserts the Eastern District of Wisconsin, where Kohl’s is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, has supplemental jurisdiction over the VTPPA claim.
Reimer gave Kohl’s his cellphone number in early 2022 so he could receive promotional text messages because he was in the market for merchandise Kohl’s “typically sold,” said the complaint. After receiving some promotional text messages from Kohl’s, he decided he no longer wanted to get them, it said. So in May 2022, he told Kohl’s in a written correspondence to discontinue all phone communications, including text messages, and asked the merchant to send him a copy of its internal do not call policy, it said. Reimer’s number was listed on the national do not call registry, said his complaint, without saying for how long.
Kohl’s disregarded Reimer’s three written notices through October to stop the text messages, and he never did receive a copy of the merchant's internal do not call policy after multiple requests, said his complaint. He estimates Kohl’s sent him at least 74 unwanted text message solicitations after his initial request to cease all phone communications with him, it said.
Reimer’s class action alleges the unlawful Kohl’s telemarketing practices caused him concrete harm by invading his privacy, wasting his time and increasing his risk of personal injury “from the distraction caused by the promotional text messages.” The Kohl’s conduct also drained his cellphone battery and forced him to pay the costs of postage to mail the cease and desist letters, said the complaint.
The proposed class members in Reimer’s complaint include all U.S. individuals who listed their numbers on the do not call registry and received unwanted text messages from Kohl’s in the four years before his litigation. The exact number of potential class members is unknown, “and can only be determined through targeted discovery,” said the complaint. It seeks treble damages of up to $1,500 per TCPA violation for the merchant’s willful and knowing misconduct. Kohl’s didn’t comment Friday.
The various affirmative defenses Kohl’s asserted in recent TCPA complaints included at least one constitutional challenge to the statute. When Carson City, Nevada, consumer Mary Graehl alleged the retailer inundated her with “harassing” debt collection calls on her Kohl's credit card account, Kohl’s answered that the damages she sought violate the 14th Amendment’s due process clause, and constitute excessive fines in violation of the Eighth Amendment (see 2301090028). Graehl and Kohl’s agreed to settle Graehl’s claims in March (see 2303090028).