PharMerica settled a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action initiated by a group of nursing homes over allegations that the pharmacy inundated the nursing homes with unsolicited fax advertisements in violation of the TCPA. The class action was filed back in October 2013 after PharMerica sent out over 100 fax-blasts to advertise the “PharMerica Education Symposium & Exhibition Series” in Orlando, Florida. The fax advertisements went to at least 11,000 nursing home facilities. Now, PharMerica has agreed to pay $15 million to settle these allegations and will also implement a new training program to educate staff members about TCPA compliance. To date, 409 valid claims have been submitted for a piece of the settlement, and in the end, none of the settlement will revert back to PharmMerica. This shows us that businesses not only need to comply with TCPA regulations when it comes to telephone calls and text messages, but consumers are still seeking damages for unwanted fax advertisements as well.
