(Adds company response, details of lawsuit)
WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. government and
four states sued Dish Network Corp (DISH.O) on Wednesday,
accusing the satellite television provider of assisting its
authorized dealers in calling consumers with recorded
telemarketing messages.
The marketing calls were made to some consumers who signed
up for the Federal Trade Commission's national do-not-call
registry to fend off unwanted sales pitches, the agency said.
"Because a few bad actors still don't get it, we want to
make it crystal clear. If you call consumers whose numbers are
on the Do Not Call Registry, you're breaking the law," said
Eileen Harrington, acting director of the FTC's consumer
protection unit.
Dish Network said the company obeyed the law and should not
be held responsible for violations by independent retailers.
"An independent audit demonstrates that DISH Network is in
compliance with 'do-not-call' laws, has proper controls in
place, and is well within the safe-harbor provisions of the
law," the Englewood, Colorado-based company said in a
statement.
"We also believe that the FTC is equating merely doing
business with an independent retailer to 'causing' or
'assisting and facilitating' violations by that retailer," Dish
Network said. "We look forward to resolving these differences
of opinion through the judicial process."
The FTC said the lawsuit was filed in federal district
court in Springfield, Illinois and was joined by state
attorneys general from California, Illinois, Ohio and North
Carolina.
The federal lawsuit seeks to stop Dish from making the
calls either directly or indirectly through its dealers, asks
for unspecified civil penalties and asks that the company be
required to enforce compliance with the do-not-call registry
regulations. Two other related lawsuits were also filed against
two of Dish Network's authorized dealers, the agency said.
The FTC's do-not-call registry became effective in 1995,
allowing consumers to register their telephone numbers without
charge. Telemarketers can access the registry via the Internet
but are prohibited from calling the phone numbers.
Dish provides service to more than 13.7 million satellite
television customers.
Federal Trade Commission v Dish Network, U.S. District
Court, Central District of Illinois, No. 09-03073.
(Reporting by Julie Vorman; Editing by Derek Caney)
