Court Rules: You Can Get Sued for Faxing Ads Even If You’re Not Selling Anything

A dental insurance company just learned that sharing partner discounts via fax could cost them thousands of dollars per message, according to a new ruling from the National Law Review. A federal appeals court ruled that companies can face lawsuits for faxing promotional materials even when they’re not selling their own products.

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The case started when United Concordia Companies sent faxes to dentists promoting discounts from partner companies – things like protective equipment deals and recycling services. Dr. Brian Lyngaas, who received these faxes, sued claiming they were illegal advertisements under federal law.

The insurance company argued they couldn’t be sued because they weren’t selling anything themselves. They were just sharing helpful discounts with their network. A lower court agreed with this argument.

But the appeals court said that doesn’t matter. If you’re faxing promotional materials that help your business partners make sales, you can get sued under the same laws that target companies pushing their own products.

How Partner Promotions Became Legal Liability

The court looked at three specific faxes the insurance company sent between 2020 and 2021. These promoted discounts on protective equipment, dental recycling services, and student loan refinancing – none of which the insurance company sold directly.

But here’s exactly what got them in trouble: The faxes used marketing language that encouraged people to buy from the partner companies. One October 2020 fax read: “United Concordia recently collaborated with Prophy Magic to offer … a 10% discount on all PPE products” and promoted the company as “a direct provider of superior products … with over 20 years of industry experience.”

The court said this goes way beyond just sharing helpful information. The insurance company had negotiated special promotional rates with these partners and was actively trying to drive business to them. That makes it advertising, even if the insurance company doesn’t see a penny from direct sales.

The New Rules for Business Fax Promotions

This ruling creates a much bigger legal risk for companies that share partner promotions via fax. Before this case, many businesses thought they were safe from fax advertising lawsuits as long as they weren’t selling their own products.

Now the court has made clear that promoting your business partners through fax can trigger the same penalties. The key factors seem to be whether you’re using promotional language and whether you have some kind of business relationship with the companies you’re promoting.

The court did leave room for what they called “altruistic coupon-clippers” – people who share discounts purely to help others without any business connection. But if you’re promoting partner companies as part of your business strategy, you could face lawsuits.

Why Fax Laws Matter More Than Ever

This case shows why fax-specific laws still have real teeth in 2025. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) allows people to sue for $500 to $1,500 per unsolicited fax advertisement. Send 100 promotional faxes, and you could face a $150,000 lawsuit.

The law was written decades ago when fax machines were the main way businesses sent promotional materials. But courts are still applying these rules to modern business practices, creating unexpected liability for companies that thought they understood the boundaries.

What makes this particularly tricky is that legitimate business communications can easily cross the line into illegal advertising. The difference between sharing helpful information and promoting products isn’t always clear until you’re in court.

The Practical Impact for Businesses

Companies that send business faxes now need to be much more careful about how they word promotional materials. Even sharing discounts from partner companies could trigger expensive lawsuits if the language sounds too much like advertising.

The ruling suggests that businesses should think twice before including promotional language in faxed communications about partner services. Simple information sharing might be safer than enthusiastic endorsements or detailed product descriptions.

This case also highlights how fax communication remains legally significant even as other business communication moves online. Email promotions face different legal rules, but fax promotions fall under this older, stricter law that can be much more expensive for companies that get it wrong.

United Concordia will now face a lawsuit that could cost significant money, all for trying to share what they thought were helpful discounts with their network. That’s an expensive lesson in how three simple faxes can turn into a legal nightmare.