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1. Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Carolina Liquidators, Inc. ) File No. EB-00-TC-010
)
Forfeiture Order ) NAL/Acct. No. X3217-007
FORFEITURE ORDER
Adopted: October 31, 2000 Released: November 2,
2000
By the Commission:
1. In this Order, we issue a monetary forfeiture in the
amount of $230,000 against Carolina Liquidators, Inc. (Carolina
Liquidators) for willfully or repeatedly violating Section
227(b)(1)(C) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (Act),
and the Commission's rules and orders.1 Carolina Liquidators
sent unsolicited advertisements to telephone facsimile machines
on 34 separate occasions.
2. On July 12, 1999, the Commission staff issued a
citation to Carolina Liquidators pursuant to section 503 of the
Act.2 The staff cited Carolina Liquidators for using a telephone
facsimile machine, computer, or other device to send unsolicited
advertisements to a telephone facsimile machine, in violation of
section 227 of the Act and the Commission's rules and orders.
Despite the citation's warning that subsequent violations could
result in the imposition of monetary forfeitures, the Commission
received several consumer letters stating that Carolina
Liquidators had continued to engage in such conduct after
receiving the citation.3 On July 25, 2000, the Commission issued
a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) against
Carolina Liquidators that proposed a forfeiture amount of
$230,000 for 34 apparent violations. Although Commission rules
provide that a cited party must either respond to the NAL or pay
the full amount of the proposed forfeiture within 30 days of
issuance of an NAL,4 Carolina Liquidators failed to respond to
the NAL or pay the proposed forfeiture amount. Therefore, based
on the information before us, we affirm this forfeiture in the
full amount proposed in the NAL.
3. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to section
503(b)(5) of the Act, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(5), and
section 1.80 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.80, that
Carolina Liquidators, Inc. IS LIABLE FOR A MONETARY FORFEITURE in
the amount of $230,000 for willful or repeated violations of
section 227(b)(1)(C) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(C),
sections 64.1200(a)(3) and 64.1200(f)(5) of the Commission's
rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 64.1200(a)(3), 64.1200(f)(5), and the related
orders.
4. Payment of the forfeiture shall be made in the manner
provided for in Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules within 30
days of the release of this Order.5 If the forfeiture is not
paid within the period specified, the case may be referred to the
Department of Justice for collection pursuant to section 504(a)
of the Act.6 Payment may be made to the Commission's Credit and
Debt Management Center by mailing a check or similar instrument,
payable to the order of the Federal Communications Commission, to
the Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 73482, Chicago,
Illinois 60673-7482. The payment should note the NAL/Acct. No.
referenced above. Requests for full payment under an installment
plan should be sent to: Chief, Credit and Debt Management Center,
FCC, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.
5. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Forfeiture
Order SHALL BE SENT by certified mail to Mr. Cory Pierce, Owner,
Carolina Liquidators, Inc., 2722 West Irving Blvd., Irving, Texas
75061.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Magalie Roman Salas
S-
ecretary
_________________________
1 See 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(C); 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(3);
see also Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone
Consumer Protection Act of 1991, Report and Order, 7 FCC Rcd
8752, 8779, ¶ 54 (1995) (TCPA Report and Order) (stating that
Section 227 of the Act prohibits the use of telephone facsimile
machines to send unsolicited advertisements).
2 See 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(5) (authorizing the Commission to
issue citations to non-common carriers for violations of the Act
or of the Commission's rules and orders).
3 See Carolina Liquidators, Inc., Notice of Apparent
Liability For Forfeiture, FCC 00-263 (released July 25, 2000).
4 47 C.F.R. § 1.80.
5 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(f)(4).
6 47 U.S.C. § 504(a).