EPIC & NCLC: Cruise Company Must be Held Responsible for Illegal Robocalls Made Using Lead Generators

EPIC and the National Consumer Law Center have filed an amicus brief in a case that highlights the privacy-invading behavior of the online lead generator industry. The plaintiffs in the case, McCurley v. Royal Seas Cruises, are trying to hold a cruise company accountable for tens of thousands of illegal robocalls made on its behalf by a foreign telemarketing company using leads from two unscrupulous online lead generators. The trial court dismissed the case against Royal Seas Cruises because a provision in their contract with the telemarketer that said the telemarketer would comply with the federal anti-robocall law, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. EPIC and NCLC argue in their brief that a simple contract provision cannot absolve Royal Seas Cruises from responsibility for these illegal robocalls. The amicus brief highlights the unscrupulous practices of the lead generator industry, including recent lawsuits accounting for millions of illegal calls and FTC enforcement actions against deceptive lead generator practices. EPIC and NCLC also argue that failure to hold Royal Seas Cruises accountable would "dramatically weaken TCPA enforcement, denying consumers any remedy for their privacy injuries, and leaving consumers unprotected from future harms." EPIC routinely files amicus briefs in TCPA cases.