American College of Medical Quality TCPA Settlement Pays Up to $500 for Unsolicited Faxes

In 2022, a company called the American College of Medical Quality (ACMQ)—along with affiliated parties—sent advertising faxes that certain recipients say they never asked for. A class action lawsuit, brought by a plaintiff associated with Loop Spine & Sports Center, alleged that these unsolicited “fax ads” violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a key U.S. law that restricts certain types of automated or unwanted communications. The TCPA is designed to curb spam and protect people from being targeted through fax transmissions, which can be especially disruptive because they interrupt lines and impose handling costs. Under the settlement, individuals or businesses whose fax numbers received a qualifying ACMQ fax between Aug. 6 and Aug. 10, 2022—identified by the settlement’s Exhibit A sample—may submit a claim for a payment of up to $500, with total payments capped at $175,000 for an estimated 7,200 unique fax numbers. The lawsuit was filed to give affected recipients a practical way to seek compensation and to hold senders accountable for using fax advertising that may violate TCPA requirements, as well as related common-law theories such as trespass to chattels and conversion. Even though the defendants denied wrongdoing, they agreed to settle to avoid the expense and uncertainty of continued litigation—an approach common in TCPA cases where statutory protections can lead to significant risk and potential liability. Industry-wide, this matters because unsolicited fax marketing remains a frequent target of enforcement and private lawsuits under the TCPA, particularly after years of court decisions clarifying how “advertising,” “unsolicited communications,” and consent are evaluated; similar class actions have been brought against marketers and lead-generation firms for fax-based outreach. More broadly, settlements like this one send a signal to healthcare-related organizations and outside marketing vendors—especially those using third parties like strategy or list-handling firms—that communication compliance isn’t optional. Claimants must use the notice information (such as a notice ID and PIN) and provide the fax number that received the qualifying transmission, and the process includes a defined deadline (Sept. 11, 2026) and an eventual fairness hearing before payments go out roughly 60 days after final court approval. In this case, attorneys’ fees and service awards are also carved out of the overall settlement, reinforcing how TCPA class actions often balance consumer payouts with litigation costs while still aiming to deter repeat conduct.