Attorney General's News Release

Sept. 12, 1997

Nixon obtains TRO against vendor at Blue Springs festival for alleged phone slamming, illegal lottery

Jefferson City, Mo. — Attorney General Jay Nixon today obtained a temporary restraining order that prevents a vendor at the Blue Springs Fall Fun Festival from using a Sea Doo giveaway contest to improperly switch the long-distance telephone service of contest registrants.

Nixon obtained the TRO from the Jackson County Circuit Court against LCI International Telecom Corp. of Dublin, Ohio, and Campus Promotion Network Inc. (CPN) of Chicago. CPN performs marketing services on behalf of LCI and has set up a booth at the Fall Fun Festival, which runs through this weekend, and also has operated booths at other Missouri fairs this summer.

CPN's booth at the festival features a Sea Doo watercraft and contest entry forms. Nixon said CPN representatives invite passers-by to fill out a contest form but do not verbally inform them that, by entering the contest, they are authorizing a change in their long-distance carrier. The only item that indicates registrants will be authorizing such a change is on the form itself, Nixon said, and consumers can only enter the contest by filling out the form that switches their long-distance service.

Federal regulations require that documents consumers sign to authorize switches in long-distance service be a separate document whose sole purpose is to authorize the switch. In his lawsuit, Nixon also said CPN and LCI were operating an illegal lottery because contest participants were required to give something of value the designation of a long-distance carrier in order to take part in a game of chance.

Today's temporary restraining order signed by Judge C. William Kramer prohibits the defendants from changing the long-distance service of any consumer who filled out an entry form at the Fall Fun Festival or any other similar contest promotion they have operated. They also are prohibited from using contest entry forms as letters of authorization to switch consumers' long-distance service.

A preliminary hearing on Nixon's request for an injunction and penalties against the defendants is scheduled for Sept. 22 in Jackson County Circuit Court.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818