A Chicago federal judge has ruled a cruise ship line is liable in a class action, which alleged the cruise line let telemarketers make unsolicited calls on its behalf, describing as "frivolous" the cruise line's defense argument that late physicist Stephen Hawking's computer-assisted voice could have violated anti-telemarketing law.
Plaintiffs Angel Bakov and Julie Herrera filed a class action against Consolidated World Travel, which runs Holiday Cruise Line, in 2015 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Consolidated is based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Judge Harry Leinenweber recently ruled for plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs claimed the cruise line allowed India-based Virtual Voice Technologies to place unauthorized prerecorded calls in the U.S. promoting the line, with offers of "free" cruises, between Dec. 29, 2014 and March 20, 2016. The calls allegedly breached the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which requires consent from call recipients. Anyone who answered one of these calls is a class member.
Consolidated paid $3.50 to VVT for every recipient who agreed to be transferred to a Consolidated agent and stayed on the line with the agent for at least one minute, according to court papers.
Leinenweber found Consolidated’s arguments dubious.
“Defendant argues that any voice message sent from one family member to another through a smartphone app would be liable if the Court ruled for the Plaintiffs. Strangely, Defendant also suggests that a ruling for the Plaintiffs on this point would have even placed the late Stephen Hawking at risk of a TCPA violation because he spoke with the assistance of a computerized voice,” Leinenweber said.
Leinenweber added, “Defendant’s urging that the Court could inadvertently subject millions of innocent people to TCPA liability is unavailing and frivolous.”
Plaintiffs said Consolidated’s owners are Daniel Lambert and James Verrillo, who they said have also owned Caribbean Cruise Lines, which has been found liable for TCPA violations. However, Consolidated’s attorneys denied Lambert and Verrillo call the shots at Consolidated, and denied connection between Consolidated and Caribbean Cruise Lines.
Leinenweber was not persuaded.
“It is clear there is a troubling pattern. Defendant denies that Verrillo and Lambert owned or operated Defendant, but the unrebutted evidence shows that they exercised significant control over the company, including authorizing payments to employees, as well as the Agreement between Defendant and Virtual Voice Technologies,” Leinenweber said.
Leinenweber went on to say he believed Consolidated and Caribbean Cruise were linked.
“It is beyond belief that Caribbean Cruise Line and Defendant offered the same ‘free’ cruise package, using the same operators, and the same employees who worked at the same place, at the same desks, on the same computers, with the same phones, but were completely unrelated entities,” Leinenweber stated.
The judge said Consolidated’s breach of the TCPA was “willful and knowing,” which means damages can be tripled against Consolidated, when it comes time to determine damages.
“Defendant’s illegal conduct seems to be part of a pattern, and that pattern should not be ignored,” Leinenweber said.
Plaintiffs are represented by Chicago lawyer Jeffrey Grant Brown.
Defendants are represented by the firm of Greenspoon Marder, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and the Chicago firm of Tabet, Divito & Rothstein.