ORLANDO – A Miami business is accused of sending junk faxes.
Lawrence E. Schwanke, doing business as Back To Basics Family Chiropractic, filed a complaint individually and on behalf of a class of similarly-situated persons on Sept. 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against Earlyshares.com Inc. and John Does 1-12 alleging violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that he received faxed advertisements of defendant's crowdfunding services on separate times and varied dates and that the said facsimile messages did not contain the required opt-out notice or consent from recipients as required by law. As a result of defendant's actions, he alleges he was caused harm from tied-up telephone lines, loss of fax paper and toner, prevented outgoing faxes, undue wear and tear, and additional labor.
The plaintiffs hold Earlyshares.com Inc. and John Does 1-12 responsible because the defendant allegedly misappropriated plaintiff's supplies for its own use, failed to include a compliant opt-out notice, wasted plaintiff's valuable time/services, and failed to acquire permission from recipient before sending fax messages.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment in his favor, maintain this suit as a class action, appoint his representative and counsel for the class, damages, attorney's fees, costs and further relief as the court may deem just. He is represented by Phillip A. Bock of Bock, Hatch, Lewis & Oppenheim LLC in Chicago.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida Case number 5:16-cv-00593