Pizza fans beware: Papa John’s lawsuit looms! The pizza giants are in trouble with the law after thousands of text messages sent to unwitting customers has landed them with a $250 million class-action lawsuit, CNN Money reports. 

"After I ordered from Papa John's, my telephone started beeping with text messages advertising pizza specials," Erin Chutich, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement. "Papa John's never asked permission to send me text message advertisements." The suit alleges that different Papa John franchises sent customers a total of 500,000 unwanted messages in early 2010. The spam texts offered deals for pizza, with some customers complaining that they were getting 15 or 16 texts in a row, even during the middle of the night. 

The lawsuit could lead to the largest damages awards ever recovered under the TCPA; the plaintiffs are seeking $500 per text, but they could be awarded up to $1,500 for each message if a jury rules that Papa John's wilfully broke the law. "We have noticed text message spam is increasing in part because advertisers see it as a great way to get their material directly into the hands of customers," Donald Heyrich, an attorney representing the class said. "We hope this case keeps text message spam out of cellphones."