Attorney General's News Release

June 23, 2005

Attorney General Jay Nixon sues Springfield mortgage service company for violations of state No Call law

St. Louis, Mo. — Attorney General Jay Nixon has obtained a temporary restraining order against a Springfield-based mortgage services company for allegedly calling Missouri residents who have registered for the state No Call list.

The lawsuit, filed in the City of St. Louis Circuit Court, alleges that TE Mortgage Corp., 1540 W. Battlefield, formerly known as Liberty Financial, has made at least 300 telemarketing calls soliciting the sale of mortgage services to households on the state's No Call list. In issuing the restraining order, the court ordered TE Mortgage to refrain from calling residential telephone numbers on the list, and the company is prohibited from blocking phone numbers from residential caller identification systems.

"For more than four years, Missouri has been at the forefront in protecting the privacy of residents that do not want to be annoyed by telemarketing calls," Nixon said. "Our aggressive enforcement efforts have made that possible, and we will continue to enforce No Call to the fullest extent of the law."

The lawsuit names TE Mortgage and its president, Terry E. Elliott of Ozark, as defendants. Nixon is asking the court to order the company to pay civil penalties of up to $5,000 per call, plus attorney's fees and all court costs.

Missouri residents not yet on the list can have their numbers included or can file a complaint regarding a No Call violation via the Attorney General's Web site or by calling 1-866-NOCALL1.

To date, Nixon's office has obtained more than $1,263,000 from businesses for violating Missouri's No Call law. More than 2 million Missouri households have signed up for the No Call list.

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 the Press Secretary.

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