Thomas Neudecker <tn07+@andrew.cmu.edu> (04/08/90)
The 4/8/90 issue of the [Pittsburgh Press] (page D-20) reports on the hobby of one S. Allen Sid Schreiber of suing telemarketing firms. To date he has won four suits and has seven more in preparation. Losers include MCI, The Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team, and a local employment service and a investment firm. Schreiber who has several telephone lines into his home office receives many telephone solicitations. He refuses to listen unless the caller identifies the company, themself, their supervisor, telephone number and mailing address. Sid then mails a certified letter to the company demanding to be removed from the call list. Further he states that if they call him again that they will be considered to have entered into a contract with his listening service and you have made the those call to him and expect him to listen on a for hire basis. Listening cost the telemarketer $100 per hour /$100 minimum due in seven days or be subject to a $90 late fee. For $20 Sid can file a complaint with a local magistrate, served by certified letter. Failure to appear is a default with the right to appeal within 30 days. If appealed a panel of three volunteer attorneys hear the case and render a judgement again subject to another appeal. Most of the cases Sid wins by default and the cost of appeal versus the judgement doesnUt warrant appeal. According to the news story one case was won in arbitration because the defendant hired a major law firm and the panel thought that it was over kill (Sid got $1 plus $97.25 for costs) This then gave Sid more grounds for other actions. A member of the panel is quoted as saying "God, I created a monster." (Attorney Tom O. Schmitt). Legal professionals on both sides of the issue question the validity of the assigned contract between Sid and the telemarketing firms but acknowledge the PR and economic costs of not appealing the case. To date Sid has received more than $360 in settlements for his claims and believes that has reduced the calls by 80-90%. [Personal note -- I hate telemarketing calls -- especially when they drop my carrier -- but I also dislike frivolous litigation.] ------------------------------------------------------ Tom Neudecker Carnegie Mellon University