HOUSTON – Trial lawyer Eric Dick, who unsuccessfully ran for city council last year, was recently hit with a lawsuit alleging his campaign bombarded thousands of people with unwanted text messages pushing his political agenda.
Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Joe Shields, a Friendswood resident, filed the suit against Dick and “John Doe Spam Text Blaster” on Jan. 21 in federal court.
Shields claims he’s suffered “concrete injuries” because an unwanted text message was sent to his cellular number – injuries such as wear and tear to his phone’s data, memory, software, hardware and battery.
Shields says he “was forced to waste precious time in dealing with the text message,” which occurred on Sept. 14, 2019 at 3:06 p.m.
According to the suit, the text in question read: “Hi! :) Im Jen a volunteer. It’s a crime to feed the poor. Will you vote for Eric Dick for City Council to change that law? Sign the petition https://cutt.ly/hou.”
Shields says the number of the texter was assigned to Inteliquent, a company that providers mass texting capabilities.
“The automated system was set up to blast as many of the same text messages as possible to the purchased cell phone number list, which is exactly what the TPCA prohibits,” the suit states.
“Defendant Eric Dick authorized the click monkeys to act on his behalf.”
In addition to actual damages, Shields is seeking permanent injunctive relief, asserting that Dick will continue to irreparably harm him and others by continuing to make unwanted text messages.
Shields is representing himself.
Dick is currently the presiding board president of the Harris County Department of Education.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. Case No. 3:20-cv-00018