Plaintiffs v Texas Insurance Agency

Lawsuits Allege Firms Sent Junk Faxes

Companies that send unsolicited faxes are the target of class-action lawsuits filed in federal court in Detroit.

"A junk fax recipient loses the use of its fax machine, paper, and ink toner," alleges one of the lawsuits, filed by a Bloomfield Hills investment firm against a Texas insurance agency that allegedly sends unsolicited faxes quoting insurance rates.  "An unsolicited fax also causes the recipient to waste valuable time it would have spent on something else. 

The lawsuits, which still must be certified as class actions, were filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which Congress passed in 1991.

Brian Wanca, an Illinois attorney representing lead plaintiff Imhoff Investment LLC of Bloomfield Hills, said the law makes it illegal to fax unsolicited advertising and entitles fax recipients to damages of $500 per fax. A judge can triple those damages if it's found the violation was knowing and willful, Wanca said.

Records show similar suits have brought judgments and settlements of more than $10 million since the law was passed.

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