Suburban businesses battle in Supreme Court

SPRINGFIELD — What started as one suburban business receiving unwanted faxes from another in 2007 has turned into a lengthy court battle that led to an Illinois Supreme Court ruling Friday.

Attorneys for Italia Foods, based in Schaumburg, argued on behalf of a class of others companies, that unsolicited faxes sent to them by Des Plaines-based Hobbit Travel violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, a federal law that prohibits some unsolicited telemarketing practices.

Hobbit Travel’s parent corporation argued all the way to the state Supreme Court that because the act is a federal law, it shouldn’t be sued in state court.

All seven Supreme Court justices disagreed with Hobbit Travel, and ruled Italia Foods could sue over the faxes.

In the opinion. Justice Thomas Freeman cites a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court to defend the decision.

“Federal law is enforceable in state courts ... because the Constitution and laws passed pursuant to it are as much laws in the states as laws passed by the state legislature,” the opinion stated.

The act passed in 1991, but the practice known as “junk faxing” still is common. In 2003, one Naperville resident became so annoyed with the unwanted faxes and calls that he started an organization to help people take legal action against businesses that ignored the law.

Italia Foods attorney Brian Wanca praised the court’s ruling.

“It’s the correct decision and it’s the way virtually all other courts came out on this issue,” he said. “State courts must entertain claims under federal statutes.”

Attorneys for Hobbit Travel did not return messages seeking comment.

Legal victories could net businesses or citizens anywhere from $500 to $1,500 per fax, which is why the next ruling in the Italia Foods, Hobbit Travel case could be important. The class action suit involves thousands of faxes and multiple businesses against Sun Tours, Hobbit Travel’s parent company.

A lower court didn’t rule on whether to apply the federal four-year statute of limitations or the state’s two-year limitation period.

The answer could change the outcome because the faxes were received between June 2005 and April 2007 and Italia Foods filed the case in January 2008, which could cut down the number of faxes eligible for financial penalties.

That portion of the case can now be deliberated in the appellate court once again.