Bulkregister.com has settled two lawsuits resulting from a telemarketing campaign the company conducted earlier this year, according to one of the plaintiffs.
Consumer privacy activists Robert Braver and Robert Biggerstaff filed lawsuits against the Chevy Chase, MD, company, alleging that it contacted them at their residences using prerecorded telemarketing calls. The federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act restricts such calls.
Officials at Bulkregister, which markets a service that allows companies to register multiple Internet domain names at a discount, could not be reached for comment at press time.
Bulkregister President/CEO Tony Keyes admitted in February that his company had made the calls, but he said he had mistakenly assumed they were all being placed to businesses after hours rather than to residences.
Biggerstaff, a Norman, OK, resident who has pursued lawsuits in order to penalize companies that send junk faxes and spam e-mails, said he settled the suit for $2,500.
“This is going to be a big year for TCPA lawsuits,” he said.
He also contacted companies that purchased equipment needed to make prerecorded outbound calls without knowing that using such equipment was restricted by the TCPA.
Biggerstaff is also considering contacting the Federal Communications Commission about creating a rule requiring the makers of the technology used to make prerecorded calls to inform buyers about the TCPA rules, much as makers of fax machines are required to enclose warnings about sending unsolicited faxes.
Biggerstaff also said one of his junk fax lawsuits, against a Ramada Inn, was recently certified as a class action. Another such suit, filed against a Marriott hotel, is seeking class-action status. He expects up to 3,000 people to participate in each of the suits.
