MADISON - ST. CLAIR RECORD

A putative class action suit has been filed against a pain relief center and its owner, alleging employees of companies wasted their time receiving unsolicited faxes from the center.

Lead class plaintiff Locklear Electric of Wood River claims it received a faxed advertisement from Florissant Injury and Pain Relief Center and from William Straughn on Sept. 18, 2005.

However, Locklear had not given Florissant or Straughn permission to send it the advertisement, according to the complaint filed Aug. 28 in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

With this new case, Locklear has now filed at least eight class action lawsuits over unsolicited faxes since February 2005 in Madison and St. Clair counties.

The company is represented by Robert J. Sprague of Sprague and Urban in Belleville, by Brian J. Wanca of Anderson and Wanca in Rolling Meadows, by Phillip A. Bock of Bock and Hatch in Chicago and by Max G. Margulis of Margulis Law Group in Chesterfield.

In some previous class actions filed in Madison County, Locklear has been represented by Lanny Darr of Schrempf, Kelly, Napp and Darr in Alton.

By sending the advertisement to Locklear and at least 39 other companies, Florissant and Straughn violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits the use of any fax machine or computer to send an unsolicited advertisement to a fax machine, the suit states.

"Receiving Defendants' junk faxes caused the recipients to lose paper and toner consumed in the printing of Defendants' faxes," the complaint says. "Moreover, Defendants' faxes used Plaintiff's fax machine. Defendants' faxes cost Plaintiff time, as Plaintiff and its employees wasted their time receiving, reviewing and routing Defendants' illegal faxes."

In the two-count suit, Locklear and the putative class are asking the court to decree the case as a class action, to award $500 for each violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, to enter an injunction prohibiting Florissant and Straughn from sending future unsolicited faxes and to award further costs it deems just of not more than $150,000 per individual. They are also seeking additional appropriate damages and costs.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number: 09-L-454.