Court sides with Fairview HME

ST. LOUIS - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has upheld the dismissal of a class action lawsuit filed against Fairview Health Services alleging its HME division made unauthorized telemarketing calls in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The court ruled that Samuel Zean, who filed the complaint in Minnesota, had given prior express written consent to receive calls. The TCPA prohibits any person from making “any call using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to any telephone number assigned to a cellular telephone service.” Fairview provided documents with Zean's signature, giving the company permission to contact him by phone, including by cell phone. Fairview Health Services is a nonprofit corporation that operates hospitals and clinics in Minnesota and sells HME under the name Fairview Home Medical Equipment.