A federal judge in St. Louis has ruled that robocalls using Mike Huckabee were meant to promote a movie, not a political survey, and thus violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
That ruling clears the way
Huckabee reportedly said during the recording, “I am an enthusiastic supporter of a new movie called Last Ounce of Courage… about faith, freedom and taking a stand for American values.”
…On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber in Eastern Missouri ruled that defendant Veritas Entertainment violated the TCPA because the millions of prerecorded calls were intended to promote the movie, not to gather information as part of a political survey.
“It is clear from the script, there was only one purpose of these telephone calls, to market the movie,” Webber wrote in his 21-page ruling. “The focus of the telephone call is the movie and values represented in the movie, while only two questions, if any, can be considered a political survey. Because the telephone calls are telemarketing, they are subject to the TCPA; the court will grant plaintiffs’ motions for summary judgment, concluding the purpose of the calls was for telemarketing.”
We’ve written about this case periodically as it has wound its way through the courts.