Papa John's Lawsuit; Pizza Franchise Faces $250 Million for Spam Texts
Papa John's is being sued for spam.
The nationwide pizza distributor is facing a $250 million class-action lawsuit for sending a massive amount of illegal unsolicited text messages to customers.
The action against Papa John's says that in 2010 the pizza chain sent around 500,000 unsolicited messages. The texts offered meal deals with some customers receiving more than a dozen texts in a row at all hours of the day and night.
Erin Chutich, a plaintiff in the case, is quoted in a statement: "After I ordered from Papa John's, my telephone started beeping with text messages advertising pizza specials. Papa John's never asked permission to send me text message advertisements."
The Papa John's franchise used a service called OnTime4U to send mass messages, but has since stopped any involvement with the program. The messaging service is also a defendant alongside the pizza chain in the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs in the case are using the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 against Papa John's. The act states that companies can't send text message advertisements without the consumer agreeing firsthand.
"We have noticed text message spam is increasing in part because advertisers see it as a great way to get their material directly into the hands of customers," said Donald Heyrich, an attorney representing the class. "We hope this case keeps text message spam out of cellphones."
Heyrich is seeking $500 per text for the plaintiffs, but they could receive up to $1,500 for each text as per the judge's ruling.
The head of Papa John's legal staff, Caroline Oyler, said the company is not responsible because the messages were sent "by third-party vendors and a small number of franchisees."
The lawsuit has impacted the company's stock as shares of Papa John's (PZZA) have started to drop around one and two percent.
