We all hate those annoying phone calls with a computer voice recording on the other end, and finally somebody is paying for the calls they were responsible for. Dish Network has been ordered to pay $280 million in fines and damages as a result of a telemarking lawsuit by U.S. District judge.
The order comes in the state of Illinois from U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough as the end of an eight-year-old lawsuit regarding the use of robocalls. Dish has been ordered to pay $168 million to the U.S. government and $112 million to the states of Illinois, North Carolina, California, and Ohio, according to a report from Reuters.
Myerscough said the award represents about one-fifth of Dish’s 2016 after-tax profits. She said the award was “not onerous” and rejected what she termed Dish’s “pleas of poverty and lack of cash.”
In March 2009, the states and FTC sued Dish after the company settled with 46 states for allegedly violating “do not call” rules and rules governing “robocalls.”
Dish was making robo calls to millions of homes and phone numbers listed on the national Do Not Call Registry, which is designed to block unwanted calls from telemarketers and puts anybody responsible for making such calls in legal jeopardy. Not surprisingly, Dish is challenging the district court ruling and will appeal the decision. The company also defends itself by saying a number of the calls connected to the lawsuit were made by independent third-parties.
The $280 million penalty is quite hefty, even for a company like Dish, but it is still a far cry from what could have been an even bigger financial hit. Reuters reports the government was at one point seeking up to $900 million in penalties, while states cumulatively could have been seeking up to $23.5 billion. Dish is still going to fight having to pay the $280 million, but imagine the damage that could have been done.
It would have either taken the company out of business or been a guaranteed rate increase to Dish subscribers.
[Reuters]
That was quite an amount! I know someone who also get harassment from a company (not Dish), since several months ago. He finally consulted this to a lawyer from Lemberg Law, and the lawyer helped him sue the company. He got compensation from the court in the end. People should know their rights. We don’t deserve to get these harassment.