Continue reading“inherently individualized issues of fact cause bulk sms ireland court to deny dismissal and certification in case targeting health care calls”emaillinkedintwitterfacebookshareoctober , written by: michael p. Daly and krista n. Hartrumcategory: healthcare, telemarketingtexas federal court finds prerecorded calls to schedule pest inspections were informational, not telemarketinga texas federal court recently granted summary judgment for the defendant in a tcpa putative class action, finding that prerecorded calls to schedule a pest inspection were informational rather than telemarketing. Bradford v. Sovereign pest control of tx, inc., no. :-cv-, wl s.D. Tex. Aug. , .

This ruling provides a helpful reminder for defendants to carefully assess the nature of prerecorded or autodialed calls in every case, given that informational calls require only “prior express consent” as compared to the detailed, written consent needed for telemarketing calls.In bradford, the plaintiff had entered into a two-year pest control service agreement, which the parties renewed for multiple one-year terms. The agreement provided for free annual inspections, with no renewal obligation, during both the initial term and each renewal term. If a customer could not schedule an annual inspection to take place until after the expiration of the initial or renewal term, the defendant offered a -day grace period to schedule the inspection.