Papa John’s sued for $250 million over cell phone text spam

 

In light of this massive class action lawsuit, I wonder if John Schnatter, Papa John’s CEO, is still questioning whether an $8 million investment in his employees healthcare is still too much.
It’s strange that a CEO could view investing in his team as a costly problem, yet could let an alleged violation of federal and state laws slip by without being addressed. His investors are clearly concerned, and as this lawsuit moves forward, they will find out how much Schnatter protected the company from these violations.
CNNMoney:

Popular U.S. pizza chain Papa John’s faces a $250 million class-action lawsuit for blasting customers with illegal text messages.
The plaintiffs allege that Papa John’s (PZZA) franchises sent customers a total of 500,000 unwanted messages in early 2010. The spam texts offered deals for pizza, and some customers complained they were getting 15 or 16 texts in a row, even during the middle of the night, according Donald Heyrich, an attorney representing the class.
“After I ordered from Papa John’s, my telephone started beeping with text messages advertising pizza specials,” Erin Chutich, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “Papa John’s never asked permission to send me text message advertisements.”

And remember, just as CEOs can make decisions about their companies, consumers can and should also make decisions based on corporate CEOs.