Mey v. Pinnacle Security, LLC, No. 5:11-cv-47, 2012 WL 4009718 (N.D. W.Va. Sept. 12, 2012) Plaintiff filed a purported class action lawsuit relating to a call from an unidentified party, advertising Defendant's goods and services received on a cell phone she owned but was being used by her son. Defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing that it did not make the call, and, as such, was not liable for the alleged TCPA violation. Concluding that the TCPA authorizes two private causes set forth in: (1) 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5); and (2) 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3), the court held that Plaintiff could ...
While lawsuits against accounts receivable management firms are down 5 percent compared to the same point in 2011, lawsuit asserting claims for violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 are up almost 47 percent according to an article published by insideARM.com
A proposed settlement has been reached in a class action filed against Jiffy Lube relating to 2.3 million marketing text messages allegedly sent on April 21, 2010. Pursuant to the terms of the settlement class members will be provided with certificates for goods/services valued up to $46,844,780.00, with a cash redemption value up to $35,133,585.00. The settlement also proposes that class counsel receive up to 366,300 certificates (with a cash equivalent of $4,750,000, representing approximately 13.51 percent of the cash value made available to the class).
In a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of those purportedly receiving text messages regarding the XBOX gaming system, Defendant argued that the absence of allegations that Plaintiff was himself charged by his wireless carrier for the text message he received, combined with the Complaint's reliance on general allegations of a “growing problem” of “wireless spam” and other non-particularized forms of harm, were insufficient to establish a cognizable injury to Smith. Plaintiff countered, contending that he experienced–and alleged–numerous sufficiently ...
While the TCPA does not define the phrase “prior express consent,” the FCC (vested with authority to promulgate rules to implement the TCPA) has defined it as consent provided by the consumer during the transaction resulting in the debt. According to the FCC, a specific example of such consent occurs when a consumer lists his or her cell phone number on a credit application seeking the number. Though the FCC concludes that a request for a debtor's cell phone number in a credit application need not disclose the purpose for which the number is sought, it has suggested that credit ...
The phrases “artificial” and “pre-recorded voices” are self-explanatory — for example, an artificial voice is a computer generated voice, and a pre-recorded voice is simply a pre-recorded message that an individual would hear when answering a call. The TCPA defines Automatic Telephone Dialing Systems (ATDS) as equipment that has the capacity to store or produce telephone numbers to be called using a random or sequential number generator to dial numbers. ATDS have also been described as including: (1) predictive dialers, i.e., equipment that eliminates the need for time ...
Though the TCPA is a federal statute, until recently, a split of authority existed as to whether federal district courts could exercise original federal question jurisdiction over TCPA claims. This was due to the fact that the Act contains distinct provisions governing civil actions brought by private parties, and state attorneys general. On the one hand, the TCPA allows private parties to bring TCPA claims in an appropriate court of a state if otherwise permitted by the laws or rules of that state. States attorney generals on the other hand are limited to bringing TCPA claims in ...
Private party litigants can seek the following relief under the TCPA: (1) Injunctive relief; (2) Actual damages or $500 for each violation of the Act (whichever is greater); or (3) Both Injunctive relief and damages (47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3)). Courts also have the discretion to treble damage awards if a violation of the Act is "willful and knowing," i.e., each $500 violation could be increased to $1,500 in the court's discretion. What constitutes a "willful and knowing" violation of the TCPA depends on the court in which the action is filed. Specifically, some courts hold that a defendant ...
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (TCPA) is a federal statute that was enacted in 1991 to address concerns relating to telemarketing/solicitation practices. It amended the Communications Act of 1934, and has been characterized by Manuel H. Newberger, in FDCPA Updated On The TCPA, Time-Barred Debt and Voice Mail Messages, as “one of the new weapons of choice of those suing debt collectors.” But it has far broader application. For example, it has entangled not only debt collectors but also other businesses ranging from local businesses to national banks and ...
Thrasher-Lyon v. CCS Commercial, LLC, No. 11 C 04472, 2012 WL 3835089 (E.D. Ill. Sept. 4, 2012) Pending before the Court was the question of whether "prior express consent" under Section 227(b)(1)(A) of the TCPA means consent to be contacted in general, or consent to be contacted via "robo-calls." By way of background, Plaintiff, who was involved in a car accident, gave her cell phone number to the driver whose car she hit. The driver's insurer called Plaintiff for information about the accident. During the call, the agent asked Plaintiff for the best way to reach her. She said the number ...