Smith v. Altima Medical Equipment, Inc., Case No. Ed CV 16-00339-AB (DTBx) (C.D. Cal. Jul. 29, 2016)
Plaintiff filed a TCPA class action lawsuit based on a single telephone call regarding the sale of medical equipment, claiming harm to herself and the class in the form of "multiple involuntary telephone and electrical charges, the aggravation, nuisance, and invasion of privacy that necessarily accompanies the receipt of unsolicited and harassing telephone calls, and violations of their statutory rights." Defendant moved to dismiss under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rules ...
Meyer v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, No. 11-56600, 2012 WL 4840814 (9th Cir. Oct. 12, 2012) Pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit was the district court's: (1) Provisional certification of a class consisting of individuals with cell phone numbers that Defendant did not obtain from either a creditor or the class member, where the cell phone number had a California area code, or Defendant's records identified the class member as living in California; and (2) Preliminary injunction order restraining Defendant from using its dialer to place calls to cell ...
Barton v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, Civil No. 12—162 (MJD/JJG), 2012 WL 449860 (D.Minn. Sept. 26, 2012) Plaintiff asserted several claims relating to Defendants' alleged efforts to collect mortgage debt. Dismissing Plaintiff's TCPA claim for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, the court stated "Plaintiff alleges that Defendants violated the TCPA by contacting her on her cell phone. The TCPA prohibits the use of automated telephone equipment to a cellular telephone for which the party is charged for the call. 47 § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii). The TCPA does not ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...