Spam Text Lawsuit: Suing Over Unwanted Marketing Texts Under the TCPA

Spam text lawsuits are usually brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and, in some states, state telemarketing laws. They typically allege one of four things:

• Texts to Do Not Call numbers. Two or more marketing texts in 12 months to a number on the National Do Not Call Registry.
• Texts after STOP. The business ignored an opt-out and kept texting.
• Automated texts without written consent. Marketing texts sent in bulk without the consent the rules require.
• Texts at barred hours. Marketing texts before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time. See TCPA quiet hours lawsuits.

O'Reilly Automotive

In Bryan v. O'Reilly Automotive, an Illinois state court case (No. 2026CH000016), O'Reilly agreed to an $18,842,577 settlement over marketing texts. The settlement received preliminary approval on June 29, 2026, class members who file a valid claim can receive an estimated $22 with no proof required, and the claim deadline is September 28, 2026. The class covers people whose numbers were on the Do Not Call Registry for at least 30 days and who received more than one O'Reilly text within 12 months after the number was reassigned to them, from April 15, 2021 to June 29, 2026. The final approval hearing is set for November 5, 2026. File only on the official settlement website, OReillyRNDSettlement.com.

Blackstone Medical Services

In Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services, consumers received marketing texts and calls promoting home sleep tests even after replying STOP and registering on the Do Not Call Registry. The district court dismissed the case because the complaint focused on texts, and the Seventh Circuit affirmed on July 14, 2026. This is now the leading appellate decision against text-based Do Not Call claims.

Toyota of North Miami

Car dealer FRL Automotive, doing business as Toyota of North Miami, agreed to an $889,525 settlement over marketing texts sent to people who had opted out, for a class estimated at about 2,627 people. Dealership texting cases are covered on our car dealership telemarketing page.

The biggest change in 2026 is a split among federal appeals courts over whether a text message is a "call":

Court	Date	Holding
Ninth Circuit (Howard v. Republican National Committee)	January 13, 2026	Texts are "calls" under § 227(b), though dismissal was affirmed on other grounds
Seventh Circuit (Steidinger v. Blackstone)	July 14, 2026	Texts are not "telephone calls" under § 227(c)(5)

The Seventh Circuit relied on the Supreme Court's June 2025 decision in McLaughlin Chiropractic v. McKesson, which freed courts from having to follow the FCC's long-standing view that texts count as calls. The court read "telephone call" by its ordinary meaning when Congress passed the law in 1991. It also pointed out that elsewhere in the statute Congress defined a telephone solicitation as a "telephone call or message," but limited the Do Not Call private right of action to a "telephone call," which the court took as a sign that the narrower word was deliberate.

Consumer advocates and the plaintiffs' bar see it differently: they argue that a text is functionally the same intrusion as a call, that the FCC treated texts as calls for more than two decades, and that Congress could not have anticipated texting in 1991. Until the Supreme Court resolves the split, both readings will keep appearing in lower court decisions.

What this means right now:

• In Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, Do Not Call claims based only on texts are foreclosed unless the Supreme Court or Congress changes the rule.
• Elsewhere, district courts are divided. Some have followed the same reasoning; others still treat texts as calls.
• Several law firms that advise businesses have predicted Supreme Court review because of the split.

A spam text claim that is strong in one state may fail in another, so the court where a case is filed now matters as much as the texts themselves.

Your claim is stronger if:

1. The texts were marketing: sales, promotions, discounts, or invitations to buy.
2. Your number was on the Do Not Call Registry for at least 31 days before the texts, or you replied STOP and the texts continued.
3. You never signed up for the business's text program, or you did but revoked consent.
4. The sender can be identified, usually from the brand named in the text or the website it links to.
5. You live in a state and circuit where text claims are still recognized, or a state law like Florida's covers texts directly.

How the law treats different kinds of texts

• Marketing texts from a business you never dealt with: the classic spam text claim, strongest when your number is on the registry.
• Marketing texts from a store you signed up with: usually lawful until you opt out; texts after a STOP reply are the problem.
• Transactional texts: order, delivery, fraud alert, and appointment messages generally are not telemarketing.
• Texts meant for someone else: common with reassigned numbers, and the core of the O'Reilly settlement class.
• Scam texts: illegal, but usually sent by senders who cannot be found or sued. Report them rather than reply.

Consent is often decided by how you joined. In a 2026 Delaware federal case, King v. Bon Charge, a consumer who texted a keyword to join a brand's marketing list in exchange for a discount was found to have given permission for those messages, which defeated her quiet hours claim, though her Do Not Call claim was allowed to proceed because written consent was not on the record.

Who probably does not qualify: people who opted in to a text club and never opted out, people who received only transactional texts (order confirmations, shipping updates, appointment reminders), and people who received a single marketing text. People in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin face the Seventh Circuit ruling for Do Not Call text claims, though other claims may remain.

Law	Per text	If willful
TCPA Do Not Call (§ 227(c)(5))	Up to $500	Up to $1,500
TCPA automated or artificial messages (§ 227(b))	$500	Up to $1,500
Florida Telephone Solicitation Act	$500 or actual damages	Up to 3 times

In an individual case, damages can add up quickly across dozens of texts. Someone who received 15 marketing texts after replying STOP could, in principle, claim up to $7,500 under the Do Not Call provision, or more if a court finds the violations willful, assuming the claim is recognized where the case is filed. In class settlements, the fund is shared. The O'Reilly settlement's estimated $22 per claimant is a realistic example of a class payment for text messages. The Toyota of North Miami settlement, with a small class, estimated up to $85 per text received after opting out.

Class settlements almost never pay the full $500 per text; they trade a smaller, certain payment for the risk and delay of trial. See how much you can get from a TCPA lawsuit.

• 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5). A private right of action for anyone who receives "more than one telephone call within any 12-month period" from the same entity in violation of the Do Not Call rules. The Seventh Circuit's ruling turns on the words "telephone call."
• 47 U.S.C. § 227(b). Restrictions on automated and artificial or prerecorded voice calls. The Ninth Circuit treated texts as calls under this section.
• 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200. The FCC's rules on the Do Not Call Registry, internal do-not-call lists, and calling hours.
• Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act (Fla. Stat. § 501.059). Before suing over text solicitations, a Florida consumer must reply STOP, and can sue only if the texts continue more than 15 days after that notice.

Other states have their own telemarketing laws, and some expressly cover texts. Read the TCPA explained for the federal framework.

• TCPA claims: 4 years from each text under the federal catch-all statute of limitations.
• O'Reilly Automotive settlement: claims due September 28, 2026; final approval hearing November 5, 2026.
• State laws: vary, and some require a pre-suit STOP notice and waiting period, like Florida's 15 days.

If you are part of a settlement class and want to keep your own claim, you must opt out by the settlement's deadline. Otherwise the settlement releases your claim against that company, whether or not you file.

The circuit split adds a timing consideration. If the Supreme Court takes up the question, a ruling could change which text claims are viable nationwide, in either direction. Waiting to see what happens is risky, because the 4-year clock keeps running on each text. Documenting texts now and getting advice early keeps your options open whichever way the law moves.

1. Screenshot, do not delete. Capture each text with the date, time, and sender visible on screen.
2. Reply STOP once and screenshot it. Texts after a STOP reply are some of the strongest evidence, and in Florida the reply is required before suing.
3. Check your registry date. Confirm when your number was added to the Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov, and save the confirmation email.
4. Keep the whole thread. Do not delete the conversation or block the sender until you have captured everything; blocking can hide later messages you may need to prove.
5. Do not click links. Many spam texts are phishing attempts. Report them by forwarding to 7726 (SPAM).
6. Check open settlements. If you got O'Reilly texts on a reassigned number, the claim deadline is September 28, 2026.
7. Get a review. Independent attorneys who handle TCPA cases can tell you whether your state still allows your claim, and whether a state telemarketing law offers a better route.

Claims in pending cases are unproven. If a business keeps texting you, a free case review takes about two minutes. For blocking tips, see how to stop robocalls and spam texts.