Groups suing companies that allegedly sent thousands of unwanted “junk faxes” scored a victory and suffered a defeat in separate court rulings this week.
In the victory, the Colorado Court of Appeals rejected a Denver District Court judge’s dismissal last year of one of the lawsuits, sending it back for a potential trial.
The ruling also affects at least 30 pending cases filed in Denver and Arapahoe district courts, said Denver attorney Jim Demirali, who represents the anti-junk fax group Consumer Crusade Inc. A handful of those cases also are in appeals and could soon be returned to lower courts because of the appellate court ruling, he said.
The remainder, which proceeded despite the lower-court ruling, would have been halted had the appellate court upheld the dismissal, Demirali said.
In the defeat, U.S. District Court Judge Phillip Figa dismissed one of Consumer Crusade’s roughly 15 pending federal cases, ruling that federal courts don’t have jurisdiction over the suits. Other rulings in federal court also have gone against groups suing junk faxers.
The cases filed in federal court either claim damages exceeding $75,000 or include plaintiffs and defendants from outside Colorado, Demirali said.
The two rulings will have the effect of causing future anti- junk-fax cases to be filed at the state level, unless Figa’s judgment is later overturned on appeal, Demirali said.
Consumer Crusade, launched with the help of syndicated Denver radio show host Tom Martino, is suing nearly 50 companies in state and federal courts, Demirali said.
Consumer Crusade sues on behalf of companies that received junk faxes. It claims the faxes violate the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act as well as state law. Under federal law, the group can be awarded up to $500 per junk fax. Consumer Crusade’s suits allege a total of up to 20,000 junk faxes, Demirali said.
Staff writer Greg Griffin can be reached at 303-820-1241 or ggriffin@denverpost.com.
