Saks.com sued over promotional texts sent before 8am, plaintiff says
The plaintiff says his number has sat on the National Do-Not-Call Registry since July 2014.
Saks.com is facing a proposed class action lawsuit over unsolicited telemarketing text messages, including some sent before work hours. Plaintiff Benjamin Rushin filed the suit last month in the Western District of California. He alleges the retailer violated the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Federal Communications Commission regulations.
Saks Fifth Avenue is a premier luxury department store chain in the United States, specialising in high-end fashion, accessories and beauty products, and Saks Fifth Avenue runs Saks.com as its online arm. The retailer emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy last June, and its parent, Saks Global, which also houses Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, now operates under the name Exemplar Luxury Group.
The filing says the messages were promotional, meant to advertise and encourage purchases on Saks.com rather than to inform customers about their own orders.
Rushin says his number has been listed on the National Do-Not-Call Registry since July 2014. He says he never gave permission for the messages. The complaint says the conduct invaded his privacy and disturbed his peace in what it calls a private, personal realm.
The rules the lawsuit cites
The lawsuit argues a text message counts as a call under the TCPA. It also cites FCC rules that bar telephone solicitation before 8am or after 9pm, and that prohibit contacting any number that has sat on the registry for at least 30 days.
The filing further argues Saks.com cannot claim safe harbor, the legal standard for acting in good faith. It says the company failed to establish and implement, with due care, reasonable practices to prevent solicitations to registered numbers.
A judge has not yet certified the case as a class action. Federal law requires the case to meet standards on the scale and commonality of the alleged harm before that step can happen.
The lawsuit lands as Saks Global works through the aftermath of its bankruptcy exit. Simon Property Group has reported that Saks Off 5th store closures have freed up prime space for landlords, a shift we covered in our reporting on Simon Property's Q2 leasing gains and on the rent Simon now collects after Saks Global's store exits.
Those pieces looked at how the retreat from physical stores has reshaped Saks Global's landlord relationships. This lawsuit turns the scrutiny toward how the company markets to customers online, under a specific federal statute rather than a real estate ledger.
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