Two different plaintiffs filed separate TCPA nationwide class actions in federal court for the Northern District of Illinois against Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. Both plaintiffs allege that the Trump Campaign sent them a text message with the following message: “Reply YES to subscribe to Donald J. Trump for President. Your subscription will help Make America Great Again! Msg&data rates may apply.” Both plaintiffs claim that they did not provide Trump with their express written consent to be contacted.
The class in each of the lawsuits is defined slightly different, such as the length of time to be included in the class as well to whom the class members provided their phone numbers to. The second suit, Roberts v. Donald J. Trump For President, Inc., No. 16-4676 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 26, 2016), states that plaintiff was required to provide his phone number to Event Brite to attend a Trump rally and the class is limited to those that have attended Trump rallies. Both cases have been assigned to the same judge and there is a chance that the suits will be combined.
Had the Trump Campaign obtained the express written consent of individuals, it would not be faced with defending these suits which may take a lot of time and money to resolve.