Law / United States / 
California
Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Unsolicited Prerecorded Telephone Messages
Cal. Civ. Code § 1770(a)(22), with §§ 1780, 1782
In force.
A telephone contact rule binding private bodies.
- Enforcement body
- Private civil action under Civil Code section 1780.
- Obligation class
- Consent, Disclosure
As of .
What it requires
- Before disseminating an unsolicited prerecorded telephone message, first give the person answering an unrecorded, natural-voice statement of your name or the organization you represent and either your address or telephone number, and get that person's consent to listen to the prerecorded message.
- This duty does not apply to a message sent to a business associate, customer, or other person with an established relationship with you, to a call to collect an existing obligation, or to a call made at the recipient's own request.
- If a consumer sends you written notice by certified or registered mail describing a violation and demanding correction, you avoid a damages claim, though not an injunction, by giving an appropriate correction, repair, replacement, or other remedy within 30 days of that notice.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureNo
Private right of actionYes
Statutory damages
Civil Code section 1780(a)(1) sets no fixed per-violation figure for an individual consumer; it guarantees only that the total damages awarded in a class action are not less than $1,000 in the aggregate. A senior citizen or disabled consumer meeting the criteria in section 1780(b) may recover up to a further $5,000.
- As of
- Class action available
- Yes
What this law does
Civil Code section 1770(a)(22) makes it an unlawful practice under the Consumers Legal Remedies Act to disseminate an unsolicited prerecorded telephone message without first giving the person answering an unrecorded, natural-voice statement of the caller's name or the represented organization and either the caller's address or telephone number, and without obtaining that person's consent to listen to the prerecorded message; this duty does not apply to a message sent to a business associate, customer, or other person with an established relationship, to a call to collect an existing obligation, or to a call made at the recipient's own request.
Section 1780(a) lets a consumer harmed by a violation of section 1770 sue for actual damages (no less than $1,000 in total in a class action), an injunction, restitution, and punitive damages, and section 1780(e) awards a prevailing consumer court costs and attorney's fees.
Section 1782 requires the consumer to send the business written notice by certified or registered mail, at least 30 days before filing for damages, describing the violation and demanding correction; the business avoids a damages claim, though not an injunction, by giving an appropriate remedy within 30 days of that notice.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app sends automated outreach.