In Loyhayem v. Fraser Fin. & Ins. Servs., No. 20-56014, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 23660, at *2-8 (9th Cir. Aug. 10, 2021), the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit held that a TCPA plaintiff adequately pleaded a claim for relief for a call that left a pre-recorded message. The plaintiff in this case, Jonathan Loyhayem, filed this action under the… Read More
In Hufnus v. Donotpay, Inc., No. 20-cv-08701-VC, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118325, at *1-5 (N.D. Cal. June 24, 2021), Judge Chhabria dismissed a TCPA claim on the basis that defendant did not call using an ATDS. DoNotPay's motion to dismiss is granted. To state a claim under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Hufnus must allege that DoNotPay sent messages using… Read More
In Timms v. Usaa Fed. Sav. Bank, No. 3:18-cv-01495-SAL, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108083, at *8 (D.S.C. June 9, 2021), Judge Lydon ruled against a TCPA plaintiff on whether an aspect dialer was an ATDS after Duguid. Defendant's Motion submits that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the TCPA claim because it did not use an ATDS… Read More
In Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid (No. 19-511) (2021), the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that The question before the Court is whether that definition encompasses equipment that can “store” and dial telephone numbers, even if the device does not “us[e] a random or sequential number generator.” It does not. To qualify as an “automatic telephone dialing system,” a device… Read More
In In Stoutt v. Travis Credit Union, No. 2:20-cv-01280 WBS AC, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57392 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 24, 2021), Judge Schubb certified the Creasy TCPA issue for review by the 9th Circuit. The facts were as follows: In this putative class action, plaintiff Shawntel Stoutt claims that defendant Travis Credit Union violated § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii) of the Telephone Consumer Protection… Read More
In Ewing v. Freedom Forever Ltd. Liab. Co., No. 20-cv-880-JLS (AHG), 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53561 (S.D. Cal. Mar. 22, 2021), Judge Sammartino dismissed part of a TCPA claim, but let the balance proceed. Judge Sammartino held that some of the calls were barred by the statute of limitations, but still remained relevant. Defendants argue that "most of Plaintiff's… Read More
In Akselrod v. Marketpro Homebuyers LLC, No. CCB-20-2966, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5253 (D. Md. Jan. 11, 2021), Judge Blake denied staying a TCPA case when the case did not turn of the definition of an ATDS. In order to succeed on its autodialing claim, Akselrod must prove that the communications he received were made using an automated telephone dialing… Read More
In Trujillo v. Free Energy Sav. Co., LLC, No. 5:19-cv-02072-MCS-SP, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 239730 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 21, 2020), Judge Scarsi rejected the argument that Barr created a finite period of constitutional infirmity for the TCPA. Defendant does not present any authority deeming a statute ineffective, in whole or in part, where the statute suffered a finite period of constitutional infirmity… Read More
In Frantz v. Factor, No. 20-cv-1012-MMA (KSC), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 213941 (S.D. Cal. Nov. 13, 2020), Judge Anello stayed a TCPA case pending the outcome of the Duguid decision by the SCOTUS. The Court described the split of authority succinctly. Under the TCPA, it is "unlawful for any person within the United States . . . (A) to make… Read More
In Aleisa v. Square, Inc., No. 20-cv-00806-EMC, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 188024 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 9, 2020), Judge Chen stayed an action pending SCOTUS’ review of what constitutes an ATDS. All three of the Landis factors weigh in favor of granting Square's motion to stay the proceedings pending the Supreme Court's forthcoming decision in Duguid II. First, and most importantly,… Read More
In Camacho v. Hydroponics, Inc., No. EDCV 20-980 JGB (KKx), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174379 (C.D. Cal. Sep. 22, 2020), Judge Bernal denied a stay in a TCPA case. The TCPA defines an ATDS as "equipment which has the capacity (A) to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator; and (B) to… Read More
In Komaiko v. Baker Techs., No. 19-cv-03795-DMR, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143953 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 11, 2020), Magistrate Judge Ryu denied a stay in a TCPA case pending SCOTUS review of the Duguid case. At issue in Duguid is the definition of ATDS in the TCPA, and specifically whether that definition "encompasses any device that can 'store' and 'automatically dial' telephone… Read More
In Allan v. Pa. Higher Educ. Assistance Agency, No. 19-2043, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 23935 (6th Cir. July 29, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit followed Mark’s interpretation of the TCPA as to what constitutes an auto dialer. Here, again, we agree with the Second and Ninth Circuits [*15] that the structure and context of the autodialer ban support… Read More
In Ruiz v. Hunt & Henriques, No. D075286, 2020 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 4847 (July 29, 2020), in the context of an anti-SLAPP motion brought by the debt collection law firm, the Court of Appeal found that a debtor need not dispute the debt to challenge the amount of the debt stated. Hunt alternatively argues that Ruiz cannot recover under… Read More
In Panzarella v. Solutions, No. 18-3735, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104746 (E.D. Pa. June 15, 2020), Judge Tucker granted summary judgment to a TCPA defendant on the basis that no ATDS was used under the TCPA. Plaintiffs, in arguing that the ININ system is an ATDS, point to the ININ user manual and a declaration from an expert, Randall Snyder.… Read More
In N. L. v. Credit One Bank, N.A., Nos. 19-15399, 19-15938, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 17434 (9th Cir. June 3, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit followed Soppet and Osorio decisions regarding calls to recycled to cellular telephones. Credit One also attempts to draw support from certain orders of the FCC, which has authority to promulgate regulations implementing… Read More
In Calhoun v. FLRish, Inc., No. 19-cv-08212-JCS, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84485, at *5-7 (N.D. Cal. May 13, 2020), Judge Spero stayed a TCPA pending the outcome of the SCOTUS' decision in Barr v. AAPC. A number of other district courts have stayed TCPA cases claiming violations of the ATDS prohibition pending a decision in AAPC. See, e.g., Lacy v.… Read More
In Thompson v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., No. 19-cv-62220-SINGHAL/Valle, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72971, at *4-6 (S.D. Fla. Apr. 25, 2020), the District Court granted summary judgment to a debt collector in a TCPA case. A. The "Called Party". From what can be gathered, it appears case law on the undefined term "called party" is rather thin. Nevertheless, PRA insists Plaintiff… Read More
In Duran v. La Boom Disco, Inc., No. 19-600-cv, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 10861, at *16-22 (2d Cir. Apr. 7, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit followed the 9th Circuit's decision in Marks. The next question is whether the ExpressText and EZ Texting programs also have the second capacity required by the statute to be ATDSs—the "capacity… Read More
In DeCapua v. Metro. Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., No. 18-590 WES, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47695 (D.R.I. Mar. 18, 2020), Judge Smith granted a TCPA defendant’s motion to dismiss. The Court accepts the R&R's reasoning. See Glasser, 948 F.3d at 1312 ("Far from automatically dialing phone numbers, this system requires a human's involvement to do everything except press the… Read More
