Marriott Robocall Case Cited in Privacy Class Action Against Dynasty

Dynasty Marketing Group, a defendant in a robocalling trademark infringement lawsuit brought by Marriott International (see 2210070013), was sued by an individual in a class action in U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia in Gainesville Thursday for violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Georgia’s No-Call List statute.

Plaintiff Richard Alexander of Flowery Branch, Georgia, had his phone number listed on the national do not call (DNC) registry “for years,” making his number “off-limits” for telemarketing sales calls under state and federal law, said the complaint. Despite listing his number on the registry, Alexander still receives unwanted calls, including from Dynasty agents, who placed numerous calls to sell him a vacation package, the complaint (docket 2:22-cv-254) said.

Alexander repeatedly told Dynasty agents to stop calling, but the calls continued for several months because the defendant “failed to maintain adequate policies” to ensure its agents followed such requests, the complaint asserted.

The complaint cited the Marriott TCPA lawsuit (docket 1:21-cv-610) filed in U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia in Alexandria in May 2021 around the time Alexander was receiving unwanted calls. Marriott alleged that Dynasty had reached millions of consumers through robocalling, “claiming to be selling vacation packages on behalf of Marriott, when in fact, they were engaging in a bait-and-switch by routing these customers to non-Marriott hotels,” said Alexander’s complaint.

Alexander’s action, under the TCPA and Georgia’s state law counterpart, is brought on behalf of others who have also received Dynasty’s telemarketing calls placed (1) using artificial or prerecorded voice messages, (2) to numbers on the DNC registry, (3) to numbers on a company’s internal do not call list, and (4) despite specifically telling the company to stop calling, said the complaint.

The TCPA’s DNC rules require that sellers and their telemarketers honor consumer requests not to receive telemarketing calls, noted the complaint. Requests not to be called must be shared among the seller and “any entities that generate business for the seller through outbound calls,” it said: “A request to one vendor must be ‘coordinated’ to prevent all telemarketing calls on behalf of that seller,” it said.

Alexander and other members of the class are seeking an injunction and up to $500 in damages for each violation. Dynasty didn’t comment Friday.