AG Lawsuit Against Marketing Company Masquerading as Delivery Service Will Proceed

Judge Denies Valley Delivery’s Motion to Dismiss

PHOENIX – Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced today that his office’s consumer fraud lawsuit against Valley Delivery, LLC, Next Day Delivery, LLC, and their owner, Matthew Willes will continue after a Maricopa County Superior Court Judge denied the company's motion to dismiss the complaint.

According to the lawsuit filed in March 2020, Valley Delivery and Next Day Delivery distributed hundreds of thousands of fake “delivery slips” to Arizonans notifying them that they missed a “delivery” and needed to call the companies to reschedule. The slips stated, "Sorry We Missed You," and directed homeowners to call a number to reschedule the supposed deliveries. When consumers called the companies, however, there was no shipped packages to be delivered, and instead, it is alleged that Valley Delivery and Next Day Delivery collected personal information and sold it to third-party companies that then inundated the consumers with telemarketing calls. Millions of dollars of revenue were generated as a result of these alleged deceptive business practices.

"It's frustrating when any company continues to avoid accountability for their misrepresentations to consumers by filing frivolous procedural motions,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. "Enough is enough. We're going to keep fighting to hold individuals who habitually deceive consumers accountable."

Valley Delivery asserted that its actions were not subject to the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act because they were not strictly “advertisements.” The State argued in response that the Consumer Fraud Act protects Arizonans from all misrepresentations in connection with the sale of goods or services, not just through deceptive advertisements. Outrageously, Valley Delivery also claimed that the State had no right to seek restitution for consumers.

In a 2013 consent judgment between the State of Arizona and Matthew Willes’ previous business, Metro Delivery, LLC, the company was ordered to “not represent to consumers that they are attempting or have attempted to deliver a package to the consumer unless that is the sole purpose of contact with the consumer.” Instead of running his business in compliance with the court’s orders, Willes simply started up new businesses and continued the same conduct.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joseph Mikitish denied Valley Delivery’s motion to dismiss in its entirety. As a result, the State’s lawsuit will proceed and the Attorney General’s Office will pursue restitution and civil penalties all the way to trial if necessary.

3 On Your Side recently exposed the company's tactics and highlighted the office's consumer fraud lawsuit.

Assistant Attorneys General Evan Daniels, Andrija Samardzich, and Mark Ciafullo of the Consumer Protection and Advocacy Section are handling the case for the State.

If you believe you have been the victim of consumer fraud, you can file a consumer complaint by visiting the Attorney General’s website. If you need a complaint form sent to you, you can contact the Attorney General’s Office in Phoenix at (602) 542-5763, in Tucson at (520) 628-6648, or outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas at (800) 352-8431.

Copy of the State’s Response to the Motion to Dismiss
Copy of the Court’s Order