Analysis · Calls & text messages
Temu Sued Over Late Night Marketing Texts Under TCPA Quiet Hours Rule
A California man has filed a proposed class action against Whaleco, Inc. d/b/a Temu, U.S., alleging that Temu sent telemarketing text messages outside the hours the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) allows. The complaint, Wade v. Whaleco, Inc., Case No. 5:26-cv-02677, was filed May 19, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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The rule is simple. No telephone solicitations before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m., measured at the recipient's location.
Here is what happened
Plaintiff Steven Wade, of Riverside, California, alleges that Temu initiated, or caused to be initiated, telemarketing texts to his phone on December 21, 2025 at 9:54 PM, December 26, 2025 at 11:35 PM, and January 4, 2026 at 9:55 PM.
He seeks to represent an "After-Hours Class" of people in the United States who, within four years before filing, received more than one telemarketing text from Temu before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. local time. The complaint estimates that the class numbers at least in the dozens. These are allegations. Temu has not been found liable.
You can read the complaint here: Wade v. Temu TCPA complaint.
The law
The claim arises under 47 U.S.C. § 227(c) and 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1). The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule bars telephone solicitations to residential subscribers before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. local time at the called party's location. Under § 64.1200(e), the restriction extends to wireless numbers.
The complaint relies on Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, 577 U.S. 153 (2016), for the point that a text message is a "call" under the TCPA.
The private right of action in § 227(c)(5) allows up to $500 per violation, and up to $1,500 if willful or knowing.
Why it matters
Quiet hours claims are easy to plead. A screenshot with a timestamp is often all it takes. Two of the three texts alleged here were sent less than an hour after the 9:00 p.m. cutoff. Small scheduling errors become class claims.
What this means for you
- Schedule marketing texts by the recipient's time zone, not the sender's.
- Build in a buffer. Schedule your last sends well before 9:00 p.m.
- When the time zone is unknown, use the most restrictive assumption.
- Keep send logs with timestamps so you can respond to claims with data.
Courts are not getting more lenient. Compliance programs need to get better.
Not legal advice. TCPA.com provides general information, not legal advice, and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Do not rely on it. Verify any action with your own licensed lawyer before you take it. See our Terms of Use.
Primary sources
About the Author: Harrison Gevirtz
Harrison Gevirtz serves as the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of Ringba, a call tracking and pay per call platform, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Harrison Gevirtz is a serial operator in call tracking, call routing and telemarketing operations, and for the past several years he has focused on how federal regulations affect the daily operations of these industries. At TCPA.com, Harrison Gevirtz covers TCPA litigation, Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) enforcement, tech support fraud prosecutions and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rulemaking in a way that's accessible to the non-lawyer executive or compliance manager.
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