/>iWhile the idea of suing over unwanted phone calls is nothing new for litigious Americans its quite novel elsewhere in the world–and a man in Russia might be the first to have invented the claim across the pond.
Apparently a Russian appellate court has recognized a constitutional right to privacy that can be invaded when a bank sends unwanted marketing messages after being asked to stop.
In the case a Russian guy asked the bank to stop calling but it ignored him. He sued for “moral damage” of 5,000 rubles– about $61.00. The lower court through out the case but the appellate court found the claim to have merit and ordered a trial on the issue of the calls.
Here in America, of course, consumers can–and often do– sue for unwanted phone calls under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). And unlike the limited damages recognized in Russia, the TCPA allows consumers to collect $500-$1,500.00 per unwanted call or text.
But there are limits in America as there are in Russia.
As one Russian authority stated in response to the ruling:
“Unfortunately, people themselves often forget that they gave consent to the processing of their data and to receive advertising information. In such cases, advertising is distributed legally. And consent has no statute of limitations if the contract did not specify its term, even if you signed it 20 years ago.”
True in Russia as it is in America.
Many websites collect consent for advertising and contact and then sell those consents far and wide as permitted in the fine print. As a result many companies will buy these “leads” and make totally legal phone calls that the consumer had forgotten–or perhaps never really understood– they requested.
While this is fascinating we will have to wait and see whether the idea of suing over unwanted calls catches on anywhere else.
