The Southern District of Alabama recently denied a plaintiff’s motion for preliminary approval of a proposed classwide settlement of TCPA claims. See Bennett v. Boyd Biloxi, LLC, No. 14-0330-WS-M, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 163987 (S.D. Ala. Dec. 7, 2015). The plaintiff claims that he and some 70,000 other people received unlawful telemarketing calls promoting the defendant’s casino, resort, and spa. Describing the plaintiff’s motion as a “somewhat pro forma” submission that did not “come close to bearing his burden of persuading the Court to certify the proposed settlement class,” the court sent him back to the drawing board “to research and effectively present the legal argument . . . needed to support certification.”
Human Intervention After The FCC’s Declaratory Ruling
A recent decision illustrates the uncertainties wrought by the “case-by-case” approach of the FCC’s July 2015 Declaratory Ruling when applied in litigation. In Sherman v. Yahoo, Inc., the plaintiff challenged Yahoo’s messenger service, which converted instant messages submitted by Yahoo users from their computers to text messages that would be received on mobile devices. Plaintiff claimed that the Yahoo service sent her mobile device an unsolicited welcome message using automated dialing technology in violation of the TCPA. Yahoo moved for summary judgment, arguing that its service was not an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) as defined by the TCPA because messages could not be sent without human intervention.
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NACDS Files Amicus Brief in Support of Petitioner Rite Aid in Consolidated Appeal of FCC’s TCPA Order
On December 2nd, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Inc. (“NACDS”) submitted an amicus brief in support of member organization and petitioner Rite Aid in the consolidated appeal of the FCC’s July 10, 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order (the “Order”) in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. See ACA Int’l, et al. v. FCC, No. 15-1211 (D.C. Cir.). We reported earlier that Rite Aid filed its opening brief focusing on the healthcare-related portions of the Order on November 25th, the same day the joint petitioners filed their opening brief. The NACDS notes that it also supports the joint petitioners’ arguments related to reassigned numbers, automatic telephone dialing systems, and revocation of consent but submitted a separate amicus brief to address the impact of the Order on critical patient healthcare notifications. Brief at 2 n.1.
Who Bears Liability For That Call Or Fax? Courts Continue To Wrestle With Direct And Vicarious Liability
Whenever more than one individual or entity is allegedly involved in the “sending” of a fax or the making of a call or text, two key questions in the litigation are: (i) what must be pleaded to state a claim against each party and (ii) if indeed there was a violation, who bears responsibility for it?
Rite Aid Files Opening Brief in Consolidated Appeal of FCC’s TCPA Order
On November 25th, petitioner Rite Aid Hdqrtrs. Corp. (“Rite Aid”) filed its opening brief in the consolidated appeal of the FCC’s July 10, 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order (the “Order”) in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. See ACA Int’l, et al. v. FCC, No. 15-1211 (D.C. Cir.). Although Rite Aid supports the opening brief filed by the joint petitioners on the same day, it obtained permission to file a short separate brief focusing on the healthcare-related portions of the Order. (Whereas the joint petitioners’ opening brief was limited to 14,000 words, Rite Aid’s opening brief was limited to 2,500 words.)
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Ninth Circuit Affirms Grant of Summary Judgment to PayPal
In Roberts v. PayPal, Inc., No. 13-16304, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 18836 (9th Cir. Oct. 29, 2015) the Ninth Circuit recently upheld a grant of summary judgment to PayPal in Roberts v. PayPal, Inc., No. 12-0622, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76319 (N.D. Cal. May 30, 2013).
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