Consumer Finance

In Whatley v. Creditwatch Services, Ltd., 2014 WL 1287174 (E.D.Tex. 2014), Judge Schell declined to increase Plaintiff’s TCPA damages based on willfulness due to uncertainty in the law at the time as to whether consent could be revoked. Plaintiffs ask the court to award him $24,000, which amounts to treble damages for each of Defendant's sixteen violations of the TCPA.… Read More

In Ryan v. Jersey Mike's Franchise Systems, 2014 WL 1292930 (S.D.Cal. 2014), Judge Benitez granted a defense Motion to Deny Class Certification based on a conflict between the class representative’s deposition testimony and a declaration submitted by the representative in opposition to the Motion. Movants state that Jersey Mike's caused a pro-motional text message to be sent to the cell… Read More

In De La Torre v. Legal Recovery Law Office, 2014 WL 1279738 (S.D.Cal. 2014), Magistrate Judge Bartick ordered defendant to produce phone bills, but only for the time relevant in the Complaint and redacted to exclude calls made to parties other than the Plaintiff. Here, the Court concludes Defendant's phone bills are only relevant to the extent they contain evidence… Read More

In Kennedy v. CompuCredit Holdings Corp., --- F.Supp.2d ----, 2014 WL 1284495 (M.D.Fla. 2014), Judge Adams found that an FDCPA Plaintiff stated a claim based on the theory that a Debt Buyer’s “Fresh Start” program violated the FDCPA since participation in the Program was conditioned on waiving certain rights available under the FDPCA, such as debt validation. Plaintiff Kennedy failed… Read More

In Peters v. Coface Collections North America, Inc., 2014 WL 1259778 (D.Ariz. 2014), Judge Martone found that a debtor could not claim the protection of the FDCPA when the debtor had represented at the time of purchase that the goods were to be used for a commercial purpose. The undisputed evidence shows that plaintiff represented to Princeton that Multi Media… Read More

In In re Wallace, 2014 WL 1244792 (9th Cir.BAP 2014), the 9th Circuit BAP reversed and remanded for further proceedings a bankruptcy court’s finding that an automobile finance company’s post-petition retention of a repossessed vehicle was not a willful violation of the bankruptcy laws. The bankruptcy court here acknowledged that Carcredit's repossession of the automobile constituted a technical violation of… Read More

In Kristensen v. Credit Payment Services, 2014 WL 1256035 (D.Nev. 2014), Judge Gordon denied defendant’s Motion to Dismiss a TCPA class action, finding that vicarious liability might exist.  The facts were as follows: The Complaint alleged that the website in the text message—www.lend5k.com—automatically redirected to websites owned and operated by CPS and/or its agents who promoted CPS's payday loan products.… Read More

In Sharp v. Allied Interstate Inc., 2014 WL 1224656 (W.D.N.Y. 2014), Judge Skretny denied summary judgment to a defendant collecting on a cellular telephone bill due to a failure to prove consent. This Court has previously ruled that a consumer has consented to calls even if the cell phone number was not provided at the time the account was opened.… Read More

In Osorio v. State Farm Bank, F.S.B.--- F.3d ----, 2014 WL 1258023 (11th Cir. 2014), the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit reversed the district court's finding that State Farm did not violate the TCPA when it called its credit card holder on a cell phone that she shared with her housemate. This is a consumer-protection case arising from… Read More

In Sterling v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, LLC., 2014 WL 1224604 (W.D.N.Y. 2014), Judge Arcara affirmed the Magistrate's recommendation and granted summary judgment to a TCPA plaintiff in a wrong-party called case.  The facts were as follows: Plaintiff is the subscriber assigned to a cellular telephone number previously held by a debtor (“Jane Doe”), who had provided the number to Mercy Hospital… Read More

In Steinhoff v. Star Tribune Media Co., LLC, 2014 WL 1207804 (D.Minn. 2014), Judge Nelson found that Plaintiff had consented to receive calls on her cellular telephone. The parties dispute whether the third element of a TCPA claim is met.FN2 Defendant argues that Plaintiff gave her prior express consent to receive autodialed calls to her cellular number because she disclosed… Read More

On Thursday the FCC entered rulings  on the petitions filed by GroupMe, Inc.: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2014/db0327/FCC-14-33A1.pdf and the Cargo Airline Association: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2014/db0327/FCC-14-32A1.pdf The FCC's ruling on the petition of Group Me, Inc. for an expedited declaratory ruling and clarification on the issue of whether it could rely on its members to provide consent for "called parties" that would receive text messages as… Read More

In Buonomo v. Optimum Outcomes, Inc.--- F.R.D. ----, 2014 WL 1013841 (N.D.Ill. 2014), Judge St. Eve granted in part and denied in part a TCPA defendant's Motion to Strike class allegations in a wrong-party TCPA case. One of the central issues in TCPA “wrong party” cases is whether the called party, which the Seventh Circuit has defined as “the person subscribing… Read More

In Greene v. Alliance Automotive, Inc., --- S.W.3d ----, 2014 WL 928859 (Mo.App. W.D. 2014), the Missouri Court of Appeal affirmed in an unpublished decision a trial court’s striking down of an arbitration clause in an automobile retail installment sales contract.  The court reviewed a videotape of the closing of the sale by the dealer, and found that the Customer… Read More

In Hitchman v. National Enterprise Systems, Inc., 2014 WL 912363 (S.D.Fla. 2014), Judge Marra denied cross-motions for summary judgment due to a factual question of whether the Plaintiff orally revoked consent to receive autodialed calls on her cellular telephone. The TCPA is silent on whether a consumer may revoke previously-granted consent to receive calls on her cellular telephone. It is… Read More

In King v. Legal Recovery Law Offices, Inc., 2014 WL 938559 (N.D.Cal. 2014), Magistrate Judge Westmore held that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine does not bar an FDCPA claim that is not intricately intertwined with the underlying state court action.  The facts were as follows: On January 13, 2013, Plaintiff and Defendant settled the state court action by way of a stipulated… Read More

In A & L Industries, Inc. v. P. Cipollini, Inc., 2014 WL 906180 (D.N.J. 2014), Judge Chesler held that class notice by fax did not constitute “junk fax” under the TCPA. The Court also adopts the reasoning advanced in City Select to reject the exact same arguments regarding Rule 5(b) and the TCPA that are proffered by Defendant here. See… Read More

In Baker v. Caribbean Cruise Line, Inc.,  2014 WL 880634 (D.Ariz. 2014), Judge Rosenblatt held that the Plaintiff adequately pleaded the use of an ATDS under the TCPA. Defendant asserts that Plaintiff's complaint fails to support the allegation that the calls were automated or used an artificial or prerecorded voice, and omits facts about the time, length, and content of the calls.… Read More

In Charvat v. Allstate Corporation, --- F.Supp.2d ----, 2014 WL 866377 (N.D.Ill. 2014), Judge Bucklo held that consent obtained during an autodialed call, such as requesting that a consumer ‘press 1’ to receive further information, does not constitute the prior consent necessary to deliver the message in the first place.  Judge Bucklo also refused to stay the matter under the… Read More

In Chapman v. First Index, Inc., 2014 WL 840565 (N.D.Ill. 2014), Judge Ellis denied class certification in a TCPA-fax case.  Although Judge Ellis recognized the split of authority, and although the Plaintiff attempted to define the class to exclude those who had provided prior express consent, Judge Ellis still found the class unmanageable due to individualized inquiries. Courts are split… Read More