An Ohio judge has to decide whether former Republican candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, can be sued for robocalling voters.
On Monday, lawyers for a New Hampshire voter filed a brief opposing Ramaswamy's attempts to have the case dismissed.
If the lawsuit goes ahead, two of the candidates in the Republican primary—former President Donald Trump and Ramaswamy, will be facing court battles.
Ramaswamy is being sued by a New Hampshire man who claims the robodialling of his cell phone was illegal.
According to the lawsuit, Ramaswamy or his campaign team made pre-recorded calls using Ramaswamy's voice to contact potential voters on their cell phones without obtaining their consent first.
The calls invited people to take part in a "teleforum town hall" and said they would be connected to the event if they stayed on the line or pressed one of their phone's keypads before Ramaswamy appeared on the call to push for votes.
New Hampshire man Thomas Grant, who filed the suit, said he received several of these calls during Ramaswamy's campaign and that they were made "en masse" without his prior express consent.
Grant is accusing Ramaswamy or his team of violating the Pre-recorded No Consent Class and is asking for up to $1,500 in damages for each violation.
Grant said that he received at least eight robocalls to his personal cell phone between July and October 2023.
Newsweek sought email comment from Ramaswamy's attorney on Tuesday.
On Monday, Grant's lawyer requested in a written brief that the judge reject Ramaswamy's motion to dismiss the Ohio case.
"Defendant Ramaswamy's motion to dismiss is wholly lacking in merit," it states.
"Plaintiff's injuries from the call are traceable to Ramaswamy's conduct," it adds.
The brief also claims that "Ramaswamy determined to whom prerecorded calls would be sent, when they would be sent, and their content."
Ohio-native Ramaswamy, a pharmaceutical entrepreneur who founded biotechnology company Roivant Sciences in 2014. He announced his intention to pursue the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in 2023 but later withdrew from the race and endorsed Donald Trump.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the ongoing hush money trial in New York. The prosecution seeks to prove that before the 2016 presidential election, Trump paid, or discussed paying, two women—adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal—not to disclose his alleged affairs with them and thereby mislead voters about his character.
Uncommon Knowledge
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more
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