diff --git a/docs/legal/AG-response-David-Sgro-BCP-26-05-025816-DRAFT.docx b/docs/legal/AG-response-David-Sgro-BCP-26-05-025816-DRAFT.docx new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d5a32b1 Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/legal/AG-response-David-Sgro-BCP-26-05-025816-DRAFT.docx differ diff --git a/docs/legal/AG-response-David-Sgro-BCP-26-05-025816-DRAFT.md b/docs/legal/AG-response-David-Sgro-BCP-26-05-025816-DRAFT.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..70de564 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/legal/AG-response-David-Sgro-BCP-26-05-025816-DRAFT.md @@ -0,0 +1,176 @@ +# DRAFT — FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW BEFORE SENDING + +**This is a draft response to a Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General consumer-complaint +mediation request. It contains legal positions that should be reviewed and approved by +licensed counsel before transmission. Footnotes/【bracketed notes】 flag items to verify or +decide. Do not send on letterhead until counsel signs off and the bracketed items are +resolved.** + +--- + +Performance West Inc. +525 Randall Ave, Ste 100-1195 +Cheyenne, WY 82001 +info@performancewest.net | (888) 411-0383 + +May 【__】, 2026 + +VIA EMAIL (bmauser@attorneygeneral.gov) AND U.S. MAIL + +Brett W. Mauser, Agent +Commonwealth of Pennsylvania +Office of Attorney General — Bureau of Consumer Protection +15th Floor, Strawberry Square +Harrisburg, PA 17120 + +**Re: David Sgro — Complaint No. BCP-26-05-025816** + +Dear Mr. Mauser: + +Thank you for your letter of May 7, 2026 and for the opportunity to respond to the +complaint filed by Mr. David Sgro. Performance West Inc. ("Performance West") takes +consumer concerns seriously and welcomes the chance to clarify the facts and bring this +matter to an amicable conclusion. We respond to each of Mr. Sgro's concerns below. + +## Summary of our position + +Performance West sends business-to-business informational and marketing emails to +telecommunications providers using **publicly available contact information that those +providers themselves filed with the Federal Communications Commission.** Such email is +lawful under the federal CAN-SPAM Act, which governs commercial email and permits +business-to-business outreach on an opt-out basis. As soon as Mr. Sgro asked not to be +contacted, his address was removed from our mailing program, and he has since been placed +on our permanent do-not-contact (suppression) list. We regret any frustration Mr. Sgro +experienced and have taken steps to ensure he receives no further messages. + +## The facts + +**1. The source of the email address was a public government filing, not "scraping" of +private data.** +Mr. Sgro's company, Dataspindle LLC, is a registered voice service provider and is listed in +the FCC's **Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD)** — a public database the FCC requires voice +providers to file in and maintains for public inspection. Mr. Sgro's RMD record (RMD0007035, +FRN 0026522417) lists his business contact email, dave@dataspindle.com, as the public point +of contact. Performance West obtained that address from the public FCC RMD filing. We did not +obtain it from any private or confidential source. Collecting and using a business contact +address that a company has voluntarily published in a public government database is not +unlawful. + +**2. The conduct at issue is commercial email, which is governed by the federal CAN-SPAM +Act — not the statute Mr. Sgro cites.** +Mr. Sgro's complaint asserts a violation of the "Unsolicited Telecommunication Advertisement +Act." 【COUNSEL TO CONFIRM: Pennsylvania's Unsolicited Telecommunication Advertisement Act, +73 P.S. § 2250.1 et seq., addresses unsolicited *facsimile* and *telephone* advertisements; +it is a fax/telemarketing statute and does not regulate commercial *email*. Confirm cite and +scope before relying on this.】 Performance West sent Mr. Sgro **email**, not a fax or a +telephone solicitation. The statute Mr. Sgro relies upon does not apply to the conduct he +describes. + +Commercial email in the United States is governed by the federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 +(15 U.S.C. §§ 7701–7713). CAN-SPAM: +- applies to commercial email sent to **business** recipients (there is no exemption either + way for B2B); +- is an **opt-out** regime — it does **not** require a recipient's prior consent before a + commercial email may be sent, and lawful unsolicited commercial email is permitted; +- **preempts** state laws that would expressly regulate the use of commercial email, except + to the extent a state law prohibits falsity or deception (15 U.S.C. § 7707(b)). + +Performance West's messages contained accurate, non-deceptive header and subject-line +information, identified the sender, included Performance West's valid physical postal address, +and included a functioning unsubscribe mechanism — the requirements CAN-SPAM imposes. + +**3. Mr. Sgro's opt-out request was received and honored; he is now permanently suppressed.** +Our records show Mr. Sgro unsubscribed on April 13, 2026, and he reports having blocked our +sending domain. CAN-SPAM directs senders to honor an opt-out request within ten (10) business +days; we removed him from the relevant mailing upon his request. +【COUNSEL/JUSTIN TO CONFIRM AND COMPLETE: Our list-management records indicate that, due to an +inadvertent re-import of a public-data list, Mr. Sgro's business address was re-added to a +mailing segment on April 26, 2026, which may have resulted in one or more additional messages +after his April 13 opt-out. If that occurred, we should (a) say so plainly, (b) explain it was +an inadvertent processing error rather than a refusal to honor the opt-out, and (c) confirm it +is corrected. Verify exactly what, if anything, was sent after April 13 before finalizing this +paragraph — do not assert "no further emails were sent" unless that is verified true.】 +To prevent any recurrence, Mr. Sgro's address (dave@dataspindle.com) and the dataspindle.com +domain have been added to Performance West's **permanent global suppression (do-not-contact) +list**. He will receive no further commercial email from Performance West. + +**4. Performance West did not threaten or refuse to stop.** +Mr. Sgro states that he was told Performance West "believes he has done nothing wrong and has +no intention of stopping." 【JUSTIN TO CONFIRM the substance of any phone/email exchange with +Mr. Sgro so we can address this accurately. Our position is that we honor opt-outs; if a +discussion conveyed a different impression, we should clarify that any commercial mailing to +him has stopped and will not resume.】 To be clear for the record: Performance West has stopped +emailing Mr. Sgro and will not resume. + +**5. No transaction or financial harm.** +As Mr. Sgro's complaint states, he purchased no product or service from Performance West +("Products or Services Purchased: NONE") and paid nothing. There is no transaction, refund, or +monetary issue in dispute. The only relief Mr. Sgro seeks is to stop receiving email — which +has already been accomplished. + +## Note regarding Mr. Sgro's replies / our responses + +【JUSTIN/COUNSEL: Mr. Sgro's complaint references continued "emails." To the extent any of the +communications he received were **direct replies to messages Mr. Sgro himself sent to us** +(for example, a reply answering or acknowledging his own email), those are transactional or +relationship communications responding to his inbound contact, not commercial solicitations, +and are not unsolicited marketing. If applicable, include a short factual description here of +which messages were Performance West's marketing emails versus replies to Mr. Sgro's own +correspondence. Only include this if accurate and verifiable.】 + +## Resolution + +Performance West has taken the following steps: +1. Removed Mr. Sgro's address from all marketing mailings; +2. Added dave@dataspindle.com and the dataspindle.com domain to our permanent do-not-contact + suppression list, so no further commercial email will be sent; +3. Reviewed our list-import process to prevent a previously-suppressed address from being + re-added. + +We believe these measures fully address Mr. Sgro's stated concern — that he no longer wishes +to be contacted — and we consider the matter resolved on our end. We are glad to confirm any +of the above to your office in writing. + +Please contact me directly with any questions. + +Respectfully, + +Justin Hannah +Performance West Inc. +info@performancewest.net +(888) 411-0383 + +--- + +## INTERNAL NOTES — NOT PART OF THE LETTER (delete before sending) + +**Deadline:** AG letter dated May 7, 2026; response requested within 21 days → on/before +**May 28, 2026**. 【Confirm current date relative to deadline — if past, send immediately and +note that the complaint copy was just received/processed.】 + +**Strengths of our position:** +- His cited statute (Unsolicited Telecommunication Advertisement Act) is a fax/telemarketing + law, not an email law — counsel should confirm and lead with this. +- CAN-SPAM is opt-out, permits B2B cold email, and preempts most state email-content laws. +- The address came from his own public FCC RMD filing. +- No purchase, no money, no transactional harm — this is a mediation, not an enforcement + action; AG just wants it resolved. The cleanest resolution is "he's permanently suppressed." + +**The one real exposure — must be handled honestly:** +- listmonk records show his lists 3 & 6 were re-created/"confirmed" on **April 26, 2026** (after + his April 13 opt-out), and campaigns went to those lists on **May 11, May 27, and June 11, + 2026.** listmonk does not retain a per-recipient send log and does not date the global + blocklist, so we cannot currently prove whether he was globally suppressed (which would have + excluded him) or only list-unsubscribed (which a re-import would have overridden) during + those May–June sends. +- BEFORE finalizing, verify: (a) was he globally **blocklisted** on/around April 13, or only + unsubscribed from one list? (b) did any message actually go to him after April 13? If yes, + the letter must acknowledge the inadvertent re-import rather than claim a clean record. +- If SendGrid was the sending platform in the March–April window, pull SendGrid Email Activity + for dave@dataspindle.com for the authoritative per-message timestamps. + +**Do NOT, in the signed letter:** +- Claim "no emails were sent after he opted out" unless verified true. +- Assert legal conclusions about the PA statute without counsel's confirmation of the cite/scope. + +**Recommend:** licensed PA counsel review and finalize. This draft is a starting point only.