On May 23, 2025, Pizza Hut (“Defendant”) entered into a settlement agreement to resolve a putative class action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. In Brennan v. Pizza Hut, Plaintiff alleged in his TCPA complaint that Defendant sent him three text messages without consent. Plaintiff claimed that these telemarketing texts violated the National Do-Not-Call (“NDNC”) Registry provisions of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”).
As our readers are aware, the TCPA was signed into law in 1991 to restrict certain telephone solicitations. The TCPA requires that telemarketing companies refrain from contacting consumers who have registered their telephone numbers on the NDNC registry. NDNC violations can result in a TCPA complaint being filed against your company, allowing class members to recover damages of $500 to $1,500 per violation if they prevail in litigation.
The Brennan TCPA Complaint
Many are familiar with Defendant, which is based out of Texas and operates an international pizza chain. In his TCPA complaint, Plaintiff states that, on at least three occasions, he received telemarketing texts promoting Defendant’s products. Plaintiff alleged that he had listed his telephone number on the NDNC Registry for roughly three months prior to the delivery of the text messages at issue. As our readers are aware, these allegations are contained in many TCPA complaints and are standard recitations of the actionable portions of the statutory language.
Defendant did not file a responsive pleading. Instead, the parties settled the lawsuit three months after it was initiated.
Why is Brennan Important to Your Business?
The TCPA is a strict liability statute that does not place a cap on statutory damages, which range from $500 to $1500 per violative call/text. For entities that market to consumers nationwide, such as Defendant, TCPA class action complaints routinely result in settlements and judgments that can reach tens of millions of dollars.
Note that compliance with the TCPA does not apply only to entities that actually call/text consumers. Companies may be found vicariously liable for statutory violations committed by agents that they have hired to conduct their telemarketing campaigns, even if the companies did not violate the TCPA directly.
Against this backdrop, it is critical that companies maintain proper NDNC compliance procedures.
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