Attorney General's News Release

December 3, 2003

Sellers of roofing services violated consumer fraud laws by sending unsolicited “blast fax” ads, Nixon says

St. Louis, Mo. — Attorney General Jay Nixon is suing three people from the St. Louis area who used “blast fax” advertising to sell roofing services. Nixon's lawsuit says the three violated Missouri consumer protection laws by sending repeat faxes to those who had asked that the ads stop and by using the consumers' own resources of paper and toner to sell their services.

“ By suing under state consumer fraud laws, we're using a new approach to go after those who fax avalanches of unwanted ads at the recipients' expense,” Nixon says. “Going into state courts supplements the successful efforts we've already made in federal court on unsolicited fax ad cases.”

The lawsuit filed today in St. Charles County Circuit Court alleges Angelo Delmaro, Julie Delmaro and Robert Delmaro sent unsolicited fax advertisements to small businesses and other owners of fax machines in the St. Louis area advertising the services of North-West Roofing. The business address for North-West Roofing is a “virtual office” rented at a location in Chesterfield. Angelo and Julie Delmaro share a St. Charles address; the address of Robert Delmaro is not known by the Attorney General's Office.

Nixon says the defendants violated the law by, among other things:

• Continuing to send fax ads to consumers after expressly being asked to stop sending the ads; and
• Shifting the cost of advertising — equipment, toner, paper and time — to the consumers without the consumers' consent.

The lawsuit asks the court to issue injunctions prohibiting the defendants from further violations of the law, and to order the defendants to pay all costs of the state connected to bringing the suit.

Last week, a Florida vacation company that sent unsolicited fax ads agreed to stop blast faxing into Missouri. Nixon sued the business in August in federal court. A similar lawsuit against California-based Fax.com is still pending in federal court. Nixon won a decision from the federal appeals court last March when that court ruled the federal law making it illegal to send unsolicited fax ads was constitutional.

Nixon is asking Missourians with complaints about unsolicited fax ads to contact the Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-392-8222 or download a complaint form online.

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