Stellantis faces £7 million settlement after law student's lawsuit
The FCA corporation, which is currently part of Stellantis, attempted to advertise the clearance of one of its models morally and legally dubiously. However, on the recipient list was a diligent law student who secured a costly settlement for the company after years of legal battles.
This unusual story begins in 2018, before the merger of FCA and PSA, which resulted in the formation of Stellantis. The American branch of FCA chose a rather unorthodox method to advertise the clearance of the Chrysler Pacifica, which turned out to be quite problematic in the long run.
They opted for the so-called "ringless voicemail". These are messages sent directly to the subscriber's voicemail without making a call. These messages are often flagged as spam by modern phones. In some countries, the use of this method is outright banned.
Unfortunately, Miriam Gregorian, a law student, was one of the message recipients. The message from FCA not only surprised her but also raised concerns about privacy protection.
She was determined to gather a group who received the message and then file a class-action lawsuit, citing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The recipients had not given any consent to receive information from FCA. Subsequently, a similar incident involving messages from the RAM brand was also included in the case.
Law student sued Stellantis. Settlement worth millions of pounds
The legal tussle between the student and Stellantis lasted for many years, as the court could not precisely determine whether and what losses were incurred by those who received the message. Although the company maintains that it did not break any laws, it eventually decided to settle, as reported by the American portal "CarScoops".
As part of the dispute resolution, Stellantis committed to compensating each person who received the message about the Chrysler promotion. There are reportedly 89,000 people on the list, and each will receive £20 or £50 in compensation.
It may not seem like a substantial sum, but given the number of affected individuals, the total settlement value is expected to be £7.05 million. For a company as large as Stellantis, this expenditure is not overly burdensome, but it is certainly a satisfactory solution for all those involved, particularly Gregorian.
