Consumer-Pay Settlement Trends: Albertsons & Safeway TCPA Class Action
Corporate directors and officers can be held personally liable when their failures to uphold their fiduciary duties costs the company money. The experienced national shareholder derivative litigation attorneys at Federman & Sherwood can help you hold them accountable.
Given the explosion in TCPA lawsuits, and the trend in companies settling these cases for large amounts of money, it is logical to expect that shareholder derivative lawsuits in these areas will increase in the future. Companies that try to earn businesses from customers through communications that violate the law, such as Safeway, have been held accountable in large class action lawsuits. When this happens, shareholders can take action on behalf of the company to recover money from the officers and directors.
If you are a shareholder in a company that has settled a recent Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuit, the shareholder derivative litigation attorneys at Federman & Sherwood can explain whether you may seek company on behalf of that company. Schedule a free initial consultation today to learn more about your legal options. Call our lawyers at (800) 237-1277.
Companies Have Been Sued Under the TCPA and Have Settled the Lawsuits
A recent lawsuit settlement makes the growing risks to companies more apparent when they violate consumer laws. Not only are companies being held liable in shareholder derivative lawsuits for data breaches, but boards and directors also now face risks when they have been found to have violated other laws, such as the TCPA. Recent settlements in these areas may give rise to a new field of shareholder derivative lawsuits.
AI-driven calling and text systems have led to increasing lawsuits in the field of the TCPA. Both the number of TCPA lawsuits and the size of the average settlement is growing. In 2025, there were over 2,400 lawsuits filed in this area. September 2025 saw a single month high with $224 class action lawsuits filed in that month. In many cases, defendants have no choice but to settle lawsuits because there is overwhelming evidence that they have broken the law.
In one recent case, the grocery store chains Safeway and Albertsons agreed to pay a settlement of $5.95 million after the company was alleged to have sent junk texts to consumers. Under the law, businesses must seek permission first before they send unsolicited texts to consumers. The law gives a private right of action that allows consumers to file a lawsuit, and they can be paid for each junk text that they receive.
It May Be Possible for Shareholders to Sue Directors and Officers in the Name of the Company
Currently, most of the focus of shareholder derivative lawsuits against directors and officers is to hold them accountable for things like data breach violations. For now, it is relatively rare for shareholders to file a derivative lawsuit for things like TCPA violations. However, what TCPA and data breach violations do have in common is that they can result in a large potential loss to the company. While the Safeway settlement was $6 million, other companies have been sued and settled their cases for larger amounts. For example, Sirius XM settled a class action lawsuit about unwanted texts and do not call list violations for roughly $28 million.
As you can see, there is a large potential loss to the shareholders when any type of consumer protection law has been violated. These settlements can be large because companies must pay each time that they have broken the law. In the case of TCPA lawsuits, these violations can involve millions of texts. While the average settlement size is in line with the amount that Safeway paid, there are potentially cases that could cause far more in losses to the shareholders.
Just because you may have read quite a bit about data breach shareholder derivative lawsuits, do not think that court cases are limited to these circumstances. Every time a company has to settle a lawsuit for misconduct, shareholders lose money. When these lawsuits were the result of a lack of oversight by directors and officers, the shareholders can take legal action on behalf of the company to recover losses. Given the increasing focus on TCPA lawsuits and enforcement actions, it is likely that shareholders will begin filing derivative lawsuits in this area in the near future. Theoretically, there should be no distinction between a data breach or a TCPA violation that results in a large settlement. In both cases, there was a large loss to the company that was caused by either conscious illegal action or a lapse in oversight.
Contact a National Shareholder Derivative Litigation Law Firm
If corporate insiders harmed the company through fraud, self-dealing, or mismanagement, a shareholder derivative lawsuit may help recover losses. Schedule a free initial consultation with a shareholder derivative litigation lawyer at Federman & Sherwood by calling us today at (800) 237-1277 or by filling out an online contact form.