The tally of legal actions pursuing civil robocall deception charges against the overseeing entity of Family First Life has escalated to seven.
TRUST chronicled the fifth Family First Life robocall deception action last August. Subsequently;
- Nichols v. Integrity Marketing Group was initiated on September 23rd, 2023
- Newman v. Integrity Marketing Group was instituted on April 19th, 2024
Litigant Terri Nichols launched her California legal battle against Integrity Marketing Group on September 23rd, 2023.
Within her legal challenge, Nichols asserts that Integrity Marketing Group transgressed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
Nichols maintains that her personal telephone number has been registered with the National Do Not Call Registry since March 2022, and she avers that she “did not give her approval for calls from Integrity Marketing”.
Notwithstanding,
Nichols encountered several unrequested telemarketing calls from the Defendant on May 13 (twice) and May 18, 2022.
These telemarketing calls all adhered to a similar pattern.
The caller inquired whether the Plaintiff possessed any additional Medicare coverage.
Upon the Plaintiff’s denial of such coverage, the Defendant’s telemarketers probed into the Plaintiff’s current Medicare supplemental plan.
Subsequently, the Defendant’s telemarketers expressed the desire to pose other preliminary questions to develop a quotation for the Plaintiff to acquire Medicare supplemental coverage.
They requested her social security number as part of this process.
The Plaintiff showed no interest and thus terminated the conversation.
Nichols contends that the actions of Integrity Marketing Group
(A) intruded upon Plaintiff’s personal space and tranquility;
(B) squandered Plaintiff’s time;
(C) irritated Plaintiff;
(D) monopolized Plaintiff’s telephone line; and
(E) badgered Plaintiff.
In her lodged Complaint, Nichols aspired to act as a representative for a class of individuals exposed to analogous behavior.
Integrity Marketing Group advanced a motion to dismiss Nichols’ Complaint on November 16th.
Subsequent to the submission of a Revised Complaint on November 17th, Integrity Marketing Group consented to a “stipulation of dismissal with prejudice” on December 8th, 2023.
This implies that Integrity Marketing Group settled with Nichols, although the particulars remain undisclosed.
Litigant Wes Newman instigated his Illinois case against Integrity Marketing Group on April 19th, 2024.
Newman equally reproaches Integrity Marketing Group for contravening the TCPA.
The TCPA policies and execution by Integrity are deficient, and Integrity neglects to properly implement them, leading to Plaintiff and other consumers succumbing to widespread TCPA infractions.
As with the Plaintiff’s experience, the consumer often falls victim to TCPA infractions via numerous Integrity affiliates, bereft of a realistic mechanism to terminate the calls due to the obscure origins of the call and Integrity’s refusal to ensure TCPA conformity.
Newman details that he commenced receiving calls from agents representing Integrity Marketing Group utilizing “assumed identities and falsified numbers” starting from 2021.
A campus of forty-one uncontested telemarketing communications from Integrity Marketing Group is recorded in Newman’s formal complaint.
Even though the callers frequently commenced with a generic, fictitious identity, these interactions are traced back to agents tied to Integrity’s partners, inclusive of
(1) a minimum of two marketing calls linked to Integrity subsidiary Connexion Point on November 19, 2021;
(2) a noe less than two marketing calls connected to Integrity subsidiary Berwick Insurance Group on December 7,
2021;(3) a marketing communication associated with Integrity subsidiary Your Insurance Group on January 16, 2022; and
(4) an approximate total of thirty-four or more marketing calls identified with Integrity subsidiary Family First Life between February 1, 2022 and July 21, 2023.
Newman asserts his grievances were communicated to Integrity Marketing Group but dismissed.
Integrity ought to be answerable for these communications, even though it might not have “originated” them.
Despite awareness that its protocols result in unlawful calls, and acknowledging that its in-house do-not-call register is incomplete, it persists in profiting from such business: Significantly, the Plaintiff kept an ongoing direct dialogue with Integrity’s internal and external counsel over a span of months in hopes of halting these calls, all went ignored.
Specific to Family First Life, Newman points to marketing communications commencing February 2022.
The Plaintiff responded to a solicitation from [removed] on February 1, 2022, which was followed by the caller identifying herself as “Erica Smith with State Farm,” aimed at engaging the Plaintiff for a final expense insurance plan.
However, this mention of State Farm was a diversion: After the Plaintiff addressed certain inquiries, he was patched through to an intermediary who introduced himself as Michael Williams, with the intention of finalizing the sale with the Plaintiff.
Even though Mr. Williams did not initially disclose Integrity or its affiliates, he subsequently texted the Plaintiff his licensing details, signifying his affiliation with Family First Life.
Mr. Williams cited LeadEngin as the source of his lead obtained on the Plaintiff.
Upon the Plaintiff’s attempt to engage with LeadEngin regarding the undesirable calls, they disregarded his outreach.
The Plaintiff lodged a complaint pertaining to this interaction with Integrity’s in-house and external lawyers via email on February 18, 2022.
An estimated twenty-nine unsanctioned marketing calls by Family First Life ranging from February 2022 through July 2023 are also chronicled.
Newman alleges that the practices of Integrity Marketing Group infringe upon the TCPA.
Given the magnitude of calls the Plaintiff has dealt with across multiple Integrity divisions, nonadherence to the TCPa reflects a widespread issue that both Integrity and its promotional affiliates have neglected to rectify.
As a result, the Plaintiff initiates this class legal proceeding seeking both injunctive redress and compensatory reparations against Integrity, representing himself and those who similarly endured TCPA robocall, IDNC, and NDNCR offenses owing to the malpractices of Integrity and its collaborators.
Newman proposes to act on behalf of other victims similarly impacted by Integrity Marketing Group in a suggested collective legal action.
As of May 29th, Newman’s legal dispute continues. On May 10th, Integrity Marketing Group submitted a petition requesting additional time to address Newman’s Complaint.
The judiciary honored this motion on May 13th, allowing Integrity Marketing Group until June 12th.
Family First Life is marketed as a multilevel marketing (MLM) establishment in the insurance field, where the trafficking of leads to agents is a primary aspect of their operation.
With the current standing of seven civil TCPA deception legal filings, it seems this is a persistent challenge for both Family First Life and Integrity Marketing Group.
While three of these lawsuits have reached a conclusion, the denouement for four others, including Newman’s, is still in progress.
The TCPA falls under the federal oversight of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). It remains ambiguous as to whether the FCC is actively investigating Integrity Marketing Group.