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Posts tagged as “TCPA”

NJ Fed. Court Holds 18 Calls Over Two Weeks – Mostly Unanswered – Did Not Violate FDCPA

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey recently ruled that 18 telephone calls to a consumer over a two-week period – of which 17 were unanswered, and the last where the consumer hung up – did not violate the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). In so ruling, the Court also affirmed that under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), persons who knowingly release their phone numbers have in effect given their invitation or permission to be called at the number which they have given, absent instructions to the contrary. A copy of the opinion…

2nd Cir. Rules Successful Offer of Judgment Mooted TCPA Putative Class Action

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently held in a non-precedential opinion that a consumer, in the circumstances of this case, did not have standing to bring putative class action claims after entry of judgment in his favor on his individual claims pursuant to the defendants’ offer of judgment under Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

ND Calif. Holds Numerous Unwanted Calls Required for TCPA Standing

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently held that an individual had Article III standing to bring a federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act claim against a bank because the individual sufficiently alleged a concrete and particularized injury. However, the Court warned that not just any alleged violation of the TCPA will necessarily give rise to Article III standing.  The Court found persuasive the allegations here that the bank supposedly made voluminous calls to the individual even after the individual supposedly requested the bank to stop calling him because he was not the debtor. A copy of…

3rd Cir. Holds No TCPA Coverage Under Businessowners Insurance Policy

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently held that a businessowners insurance policy did not cover a class action judgment that arose out of unsolicited advertisement communications in violation of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act. A copy of the opinion in Auto-Owners Insurance Company v. Stevens & Ricci Inc. is available at:  Link to Opinion. A business was solicited by an advertiser who claimed to have a fax advertising program that complied with the TCPA, 47 U.S.C. § 227. The business allowed the advertiser to fax thousands of advertisements to potential customers on its behalf. Six years later, a…

ND Calif. Holds Alleged ‘Invasion of Privacy’ Sufficient for TCPA Standing

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently held that a mobile phone app designed to send messages to a phone user’s contacts did not violate the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act because the phone user selected the message recipients and had to take several affirmative steps for the app to send the unwanted messages. In so ruling, the Court also held that the plaintiff had Article III standing because his TCPA claim did not simply allege a procedural violation, and instead alleged that he suffered concrete harm because the mobile app provider supposedly invaded his privacy…

SD Calif. Holds No Standing For TCPA Plaintiff Alleging 290 Nonconsensual Calls

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California recently held that a TCPA plaintiff alleging some 290 unwanted autodialed calls to her cell phone did not demonstrate “concrete injury” sufficient to confer Article III standing under Spokeo v. Robins. A copy of the opinion in Romero v. Department Stores National Bank et al is available here:  Link to Opinion. The plaintiff failed to make payments to her credit card, and started to receive collection calls. The defendant creditors allegedly called the plaintiff on her cellular telephone more than 290 times using an automated telephone dialing system (ATDS) over the course of six months…

ND California Holds 2015 TCPA Amendment Applies to Collection Calls Made in 2014

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently held that an amendment to the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) enacted as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 applies to calls made in 2014 “solely to collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the United States,” and therefore granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant. A copy of the opinion in Silver v. Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency is available at:  Link to Opinion. The plaintiff filed a putative class action under the TCPA alleging that, in or around January 2014, the defendant student…

N.C. Fed. Court Rejects Defendant’s TCPA Arguments as to ‘Revocation of Consent,’ ‘ATDS’

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina recently rejected a defendant’s arguments that its contract with the plaintiff did not allow revocation of prior express consent under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and that the defendant’s telephone communication system was not an “automatic telephone dialing system” under the TCPA. A copy of the opinion in Cartrette v. Time Warner Cable, Inc. is available at:  Link to Opinion. In 2013, the plaintiff requested that the defendant install cable services at her home, and agreed to a services agreement that included a paragraph titled, “Robo-Calls,” stating: “[Defendant]…

SDNY Allows Defendant’s Offer of Full Relief to Moot TCPA Action

In a putative class action for alleged violation of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. § 227 et seq.,  and notwithstanding the recent ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, 136 S. Ct. 663 (2016), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently granted a defendant’s request to enter judgment in the consumer’s favor providing all relief sought only by the plaintiff in his individual capacity. A copy of the opinion in Leyse v. Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC is available at: Link to Opinion. Since the time of this…

WD North Carolina Grants Stay of TCPA Lawsuit Pending DC Circuit Challenge to FCC Order

The U.S. District Court of the Western District of North Carolina recently stayed proceedings in a suit pending the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia’s ruling on challenges to the Federal Communication Commission’s Declaratory Ruling and Order, 30 FCC Rcd. 7961 (2015) (the “FCC Order”) under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). A copy of the opinion in Abplanalp v. United Collection Bureau, Inc. is available at:  Link to Opinion. The plaintiff’s credit card agreement contained an arbitration provision requiring that all claims against the lender, including claims against third parties to whom the plaintiff’s debt was…

9th Cir. Rules in Favor of Defendant in Putative TCPA Class Action Involving Third Party Consent

In an unreported ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed summary judgment for the defendant in a putative class action for alleged violation of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The Court held that the named plaintiff expressly consented to the text message in question when she provided her cell phone number to a third party contracting with the defendant while using the third party’s services. A link to the opinion in Baird v. Sabre, Inc. can be found here:  Link to Opinion. The named plaintiff booked flights online for herself and her family…