iWell, you can’t say we didn’t warn you.
As readers of TCPAWorld know well, the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA) was one of the most dreaded and hotly litigated statutes in the nation. But the Florida legislature just acted to cut down on the frivolous litigation the state created by cutting it down to size by recent amendment.
However, a copycat version of the Florida bill is alive and well in Oklahoma and just today we picked up the first ever class action filing the in the state under the Oklahoma Telephone Solicitation Act (OTSA).
As TCPAWorld reported, OTSA went into effect on November 1, 2022.
In the new OTSA filing, a guy named Tyler Streater–a very Oklahoma name if you ask me–has sued a company called Whaleco, Inc. for violations of various portions of OTSA, that we will get to shortly.
The texts at issue appear to be part of a text club of some kind and offered Streater discounts on products and services. These are the very same types of messages that animated a Moby Dick-sized avalanche of FTSA cases and–no surprise–the lawyer behind the new suit is Manny Hiraldo himself!
Plaintiff hopes to harpoon Whaleco using a large number of OTSA’s provisions and not just its autodialer restrictions–which is something to keep in mind.
Specifically, the Complaint alleges violations of OTSA’s autodialer restrictions AND its restrictions: i) on the use of numbers to make solicitation calls that cannot receive call back (here the allegation is that short code usage automatically violates OTSA–this is a VERY big deal folks); ii) banning calls after 8 p.m. daylight time; and iii) sending more than 3 calls per 24 hours.
So this is a real quadruple whammy for Whaleco and a huge case for TCPAWorld denizens to pay attention to.
Whaleco has not yet repsonded to the complaint.
Let’s hope the Plaintiff’s bar doesn’t make Ahab(it) of filing these cases– but that’s probably wIsh(mael) thinking.
Too far?
Bottom line– with FTSA having been sent to Davey Jones’ locker we can expect a boatload of new OTSA cases like this one against Whaleco.
For now you can read the entire complaint here: Straeater v. Whaleco, Inc.
