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Berger Montague is currently investigating whether a class action lawsuit can be filed on behalf of Washington residents who received an unsolicited text message from a friend or family member about joining fintech company services.
Our attorneys suspect that fintech companies may have violated Washington’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act, a state-specific law that makes it illegal for a company to send promotional texts to residents without their permission, with its refer-a-friend text message program. This program incentivizes current users to upload their contact lists and send text messages promoting services in exchange for an account bonus.
Attorneys believe that these companies may not have had consent from these referral text recipients, who could now have legal recourse under state law.
The CEMA specifies that Washington residents who receive illegal, unsolicited texts can seek up to $500 per violation.
The Commercial Electronic Mail Act is a state-specific consumer protection law originally passed in 1998 to cut down on unwanted, misleading or otherwise “spammy” emails. In 2003, the law was amended to include provisions to limit the transmission of unsolicited promotional text messages to Washington residents’ cell phones.
The CEMA specifically states that companies are prohibited from initiating or assisting in the transmission of promotional text messages unless the recipient has “clearly and affirmatively consented in advance to receive these text messages.” Attorneys are now investigating whether companies violated the CEMA by helping users send promotional texts to their contacts.
Yes. In February 2024, Robinhood Financial agreed to pay $9 million to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged the company violated the CEMA by helping transmit unsolicited text messages to prospective customers as part of its refer-a-friend text message program.
A similar spam text lawsuit was filed against Cash App and alleged that “refer-a-friend” marketing is simply “a way for companies to mass their services via text message without directly spamming consumers—instead they pay and enable their users to spam consumers for them.”
If filed and successful, a class action lawsuit could help consumers recover money for any unsolicited texts they were sent. Under the CEMA, recipients of illegal, unsolicited text messages can seek up to $500 per violation.
A successful case could also force these companies to change how it operates its text message referral program.
Berger Montague is one of the nation’s preeminent law firms focusing on complex civil litigation, class actions, and mass torts in federal and state courts throughout the United States. The firm is active in the fields of antitrust, commercial litigation, consumer protection, defective products, environmental law, employment law, securities, and whistleblower cases, among many other practice areas. For more than 50 years, Berger Montague has played lead roles in precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago, Malvern, Minneapolis, San Diego, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, DE.
