SiriusXM has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit that accused the satellite radio giant of making repeated and unwanted telemarketing calls to consumers, including those who were on the National Do Not Call Registry or had asked not to be contacted.
In a joint court filing this month, both sides informed the U.S. District Court in Illinois that they’ve agreed to a settlement term sheet and will now work to finalize a full agreement. Once complete, they plan to ask the court to give preliminary approval to the settlement and certify the proposed class. In the meantime, the parties asked the court to pause any decisions on pending motions while those next steps play out.
The Calls Kept Coming
The lawsuit, filed in late 2022 by four plaintiffs — Julie Campbell, Diana Bickford, Kerrie Mulholland, and Keith Sadauskas — alleged SiriusXM violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by continuing to call consumers without their permission, even after prior settlements in similar cases. The plaintiffs argued that SiriusXM “continued its illegal calls unabated” and was “well aware of its illegal calling practices” based on the volume of complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission.
“Each of the plaintiffs has spent years receiving unwanted telemarketing calls from SiriusXM,” the complaint stated. “Plaintiffs either repeatedly asked SiriusXM to stop calling them or were precluded by Sirius XM’s failure to maintain the required opt-out mechanism.”
According to the original complaint, hundreds of consumer complaints were filed with the Federal Trade Commission after the 2019 settlement, many from people who were still receiving unwanted calls. In some cases, the plaintiffs said they never subscribed to SiriusXM, and in others, they claimed they asked the company to stop calling but the calls kept coming. The plaintiffs said SiriusXM had already paid more than $60 million in previous settlements, but claimed the company failed to implement “practice changes sufficient to comply with the TCPA” and continued calling people on the Do Not Call list without their consent.
‘Established Business Relationships’
SiriusXM denied any wrongdoing in a March response to the suit. The company said it followed all applicable telemarketing laws and only contacted people with whom it had an “established business relationship,” often through car dealers who bundled free SiriusXM trials with vehicle purchases. It also disputed whether many of the plaintiffs’ phone numbers were properly registered on the Do Not Call list or whether any actual harm was done.
But the plaintiffs argued that receiving a free trial satellite radio as part of a car purchase did not establish a two-way business relationship. “The relationship that exists at the time of the lease or purchase of a vehicle is between the consumer and a car dealer, not SiriusXM,” the complaint said. They argued SiriusXM lacked consent and continued making calls for months or years after opt-out requests or trial periods ended.
Julie Campbell, one of the lead plaintiffs, said the calls came during a period when her son was undergoing dialysis and waiting for a kidney transplant. “Every phone call that was not about her son’s transplant was a disappointment,” the complaint said. “Given everything going on in her life, Ms. Campbell was especially motivated to stop receiving unwanted telemarketing phone calls.”
In its response, SiriusXM insisted it had “not engaged in illegal calling practices” and said that the terms of past settlements “speak for themselves.” The company also denied that any proposed class could be properly certified under federal rules.
Details of the proposed settlement have not been released. The next steps will include filing the formal agreement and asking the court to approve the terms and notify affected consumers.
