Summary: A flopped movie is the least of Veritas Entertainment, Mike Huckabee, and a number of others problems as a class action lawsuit has been brought against them for advertising the movie with robocalls.
A movie where everyday freedoms are taken away and Christmas is being threatened by an African-American man in Washington D.C. has an apocalyptic feel that is common in Hollywood, but the film, Last Ounce of Courage, takes things too far. Not only was the movie a monumental flop, the making and advertising methods were as well.
The method of promoting this film by film producers and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee resulted in robocalls to 4 million homes. A recording featuring Huckabee’s voice was disguised as a survey about freedom and liberty, but was allegedly really intended as a way to get people to see the film, which appeared in theaters in 2012. The movie grossed just over $3 million.
A class-action lawsuit has been brought by Ron Golan and Dorit Golan against Veritas Entertainment, Huckabee and a number of defendants. The federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 places statutory damages of $500 to $1500 per call, bringing the total to at least $2 billion.
The case was originally dismissed by Judge Webber, but reversed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Webber then removed Huckabee from the case, but left the remainder of the defendants, including Dr. James Leininger, a Texan billionaire who financed the movie. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri has finally granted the class certification. See the order granting the class action complaint here.
In the third amended class action complaint document, we learn that Huckabee was “given authority to review, edit, and make changes to the script.” The lawsuit argues that Huckabee “knew that this recording would be played for telemarketing purposes during telephone calls to consumers.” See a copy of the third amended class action complaint document here.
In the lawsuit details, we learn from an invoice that ccAdvertising was paid by Veritas Entertainment $248,500 for an Artificial Intelligence Call Survey for the Last Ounce of Courage Campaign, which targeted 4,000,000 homes. An additional $30,000 was paid to ccAdvertising for Email to Text Messages for the Last Ounce of Courage Campaign. They targeted 30,000,000 cell phones in the attempt. See a copy of the ccAdvertising invoice for more information.
Of those who answered the call, only 122,600 completed the survey, according to a ccAdvertising memo on the results of the calls. The confidential memo also notes that 1,018,609 responses were recorded, meaning that they each of those households heard at least ten seconds of the survey either as a live voice or on an answering machine. See a copy of the confidential memo with the survey results here.
According to case No. 4:14CV00069 ERW, the Golan’s are seeking $1,000 per call in damages and treble damages up to $3,000. They are being represented by Schultz & Associates LLP in Chesterfield, MO.
Do you think Mike Huckabee should be included in the lawsuit since he knew what his voice was being used for? Tell us in the comments below.
To learn more about other class action lawsuits, read these articles:
- Former Wells Fargo Employees File Class Action Lawsuit in California
- Man Files Class Action Lawsuit against Pokemon Go for Trespassing Players
- Sephora Sued for Discrimination in New Class Action Lawsuit
Photo: traileraddict.com