Rocket Mortgage faces four TCPA telemarketing lawsuits

Rocket Mortgage is fighting four class action complaints from consumers accusing it of persistent, unwanted calls and text messages, as it reckons with some of the numerous telemarketing complaints lodged against lenders.

Citizens have filed over 65 lawsuits in the past few years against mortgage firms for alleged violations of the decades-old Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Four other TCPA complaints against Rocket have reached conclusions via arbitration or settlement, but four consumers continue to seek class action certification.

The industry leader in a statement this week highlighted its awards for customer satisfaction, and suggested attorneys for plaintiffs are littering the industry with "baseless" TCPA claims in search of quick, lucrative settlements. 

"To date, not one single TCPA class against Rocket Mortgage has been certified," a company spokesperson said in a statement. "This is a clear indication of just how seriously we take our compliance obligations. We are confident this successful trend of the right outcome will continue. "

Attorneys for plaintiffs didn't respond to requests for comment this week. Rocket's TCPA settlements with other consumers were undisclosed in court documents, but other real estate players have paid out seven-and-eight figure settlements for similar claims. Spam call blocking app Robokiller in January suggested Americans received 14.3 million robocalls from mortgage companies that month, more volume than car warranty and student loan calls.

Roseville, California resident Richard Tuso sued Rocket Monday, identifying a Rocket Mortgage broker who sent an unsolicited text about a refinance opportunity despite Tuso's earlier pleas to the company to stop contacting him. Tuso's number has been on the National Do-Not Call Registry since 2003 and he never contacted Rocket nor sought a refi, according to his lawsuit.

"The unauthorized telephone calls placed by Defendant, as alleged herein, have harmed Plaintiff Tuso in the form of annoyance, nuisance, and invasion of privacy," wrote counsel for Tuso. 

The complaint includes screenshots of Rocket employees' LinkedIn profiles, where they list "cold calling" as a job duty at Rocket. The suit also cites a phone number and five-digit shortcode for Rocket updates from which Tuso allegedly received the persistent messages from.

Tuso is seeking class certification and unspecified damages including $500 to $1,500 per violation of the TCPA, according to statutes.

New Hampshire resident Richard Daschbach is also pursuing a TCPA claim against Rocket, and gained an early victory in March when a judge tossed the lender's move to dismiss his suit and compel arbitration. 

Daschbach in September 2021 entered his information in a "lead mill" website, fedratewatch.org, which was owned by Rocket and was subsequently contacted by the lender. U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante in a March order said the website's terms of use and arbitration clause, which according to screenshots were in small gray font against a white background, were not "reasonably conspicuous." 

"Based on certain design elements, the website at issue does not place a reasonably prudent internet user on notice of the Terms of Use and arbitration clause," wrote Laplante in the order dated March 22. "Daschbach therefore did not form an enforceable arbitration agreement with Rocket Mortgage."

The consumer and Rocket have agreed to a timeline of discovery deadlines and trial dates in 2024, according to court documents.  

In a separate lawsuit, a judge compelled arbitration for a consumer suing Rocket for TCPA claims, closing the case. Rocket also settled two other lawsuits for undisclosed amounts, according to court records. 

Steep paydays against lenders include a $7.2 million TCPA settlement from Cardinal Financial last month to over 141,000 class members, and a $40 million settlement from Keller Williams to consumers it allegedly called who were on the Do Not Call Registry.