Ever wish you could sue the company that keeps calling you over and over with recorded messages? Now you can.
In a unanimous decision, the US Supreme Court says you can indeed sue the robo-caller who hounds you -- not just in state court -- but in federal court as well. WSB legal analyst Ron Carlson says that's important because the Georgia law doesn't cover sales or collection calls.
"It only punishes threats of bodily harm over the telephone or calls made with the intention of molesting another person," Carlson explained. "So that's why it's important that the Supreme Court said this person (complaining about annoying calls) can have standing in federal court."
The high court's decision Wednesday involves a lawsuit claiming a debt collector harassed a man with repeated recorded calls.
Marcus Mims of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said he kept getting the calls from Arrow Financial Services LLC, which was trying to collect a student loan debt for Sallie Mae. He sued for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, passed by Congress to ban invasive telemarketing practices.
Mims' lawsuit was thrown out by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said that Congress did not explicitly give permission for federal lawsuits in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, although the law does say people can file in state courts. Other federal courts ruled differently and let lawsuits move forward.
The high court said in a unanimous opinion that federal lawsuits are allowed under the law.
"Nothing in the text, structure, purpose or legislative history of the TCPA purports to deprive U.S. district courts of the jurisdiction they ordinarily have," said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the court.
The case now goes back to the appeals court in Atlanta.