On April 27, the Supreme Court accepted certiorari review in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 13-1339, to address whether consumers can establish Article III standing without actual harm or injury, by alleging a violation of a federal statute. "Spokeo is a people search engine that organizes White Page listings, Public Records and Social Network information to help you safely find and learn about people." Robins filed a putative class action against Spokeo, alleging it is a ... Keep Reading »
Telecommunications Class Action Articles
The latest class action developments and trends in the telecommunications industry, including news, key cases, and strategies.
Predominance Lacking in Telephone Recording Case Involving Caller Consent
In a class action brought under a California penal statute that prohibits the intentional recording of telephone calls without the consent of all parties on the call, a California district court denied class certification on the grounds that common questions of fact do not predominate among the putative class members. Defendant, a construction materials supplier, received orders from its customers through a dedicated phone line. Prior to 2009, defendant utilized a ... Keep Reading »
GCs facing more bet-the-company and higher exposure class actions
Across industries, companies spent $2 billion on class action lawsuits in 2014, slightly less than the $2.1 billion they spent in 2013. This year, spending is expected to return to 2013 levels. Companies’ class action dockets increased on average by one new case in 2014, bringing the average number of class actions managed to five. This total is expected to remain constant in 2015, as the number of new matters is likely to be offset by those resolved. As before, ... Keep Reading »
Illinois District Court Denies Certification of Class in TCPA Claim for Lack of Typicality, Adequacy, Numerosity and Ascertainability
The Northern District of Illinois denied certification of a class in a claim brought pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA"), 47 U.S.C. Sec. 227. Plaintiff alleged that defendant violated the TCPA by sending it unsolicited faxes promoting defendant's catering services. In discovery, plaintiff obtained a fax log demonstrating that Defendant sent 3,000 faxes to 106 unique fax numbers. Plaintiff also obtained a template fax that defendant allegedly used ... Keep Reading »
Northern District of California Adopts Flexible Approach To Analyzing Pre-Certification Standing Issues
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California partially granted and partially denied a motion to dismiss based on the standing of 18 named plaintiffs from 13 different states seeking class certification under the consumer protection and privacy laws of 48 states arising from plaintiffs’ purchases of numerous cell phone models. Plaintiffs sued the software developer of a cell phone network diagnostic tool and numerous mobile device ... Keep Reading »
Eleventh Circuit Holds Unaccepted Rule 68 Offer To Named Plaintiffs Does Not Moot A Class Action
The Eleventh Circuit recently held that a defendant may not moot a class action through an unaccepted Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 offer of complete relief to the named plaintiffs—but not to class members—before the named plaintiffs move to certify the class. In doing so, the Eleventh Circuit joined the majority of circuits that have addressed the same issue. Named plaintiffs filed a class action in state court against Buccaneers Limited Partnership (“BLP”) ... Keep Reading »
California District Court Certifies TCPA Class Against Defaulted Defendant
The District Court for the Southern District of California certified a consumer class asserting violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) by defendant Bennett Law, PLLC. Plaintiff alleged that she received numerous automated debt collection calls on her cell phone from Bennett without her consent. The law firm failed to respond to her complaint, and the court entered a default. The court then proceeded to consider plaintiff’s motion for class ... Keep Reading »
Northern District of Illinois Declines To Restrict Defense Counsel’s Communications With Putative Class Members
The Northern District of Illinois refused to restrict a defense counsel’s communications with putative class members, reasoning that the communications were not misleading or coercive. The case arose when a “romantic getaway” motel reservations desk employee claimed that all phone calls made to or from the motel’s reservations desks were intercepted, recorded, and archived without consent of either party to the calls, and that some employees listened to the calls for ... Keep Reading »
District Court Certifies TCPA Class Over Objections to Adequacy of Named Plaintiff and Individualized Issues of Consent
A New York federal district court, after holding an evidentiary hearing, certified a class for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). Plaintiff alleged that the defendant, a collection agency, repeatedly called his cell phone using an automated dialing system without his consent, including after being told that he was not the party defendant was trying to reach and after plaintiff had asked to be put on a “do not call” list. Plaintiff ... Keep Reading »
No Revival Of Class Claims For Plaintiff Who Delayed Amending His Complaint In Bad Faith
An Illinois federal district court has ruled that a class plaintiff whose motion for class certification was denied may not avoid that outcome by amending his complaint to introduce a new legal theory and revised class definition if the complaint could have been amended prior to moving for class certification. Chapman’s initial attempt to certify claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act failed because the Court found that individual issues would predominate ... Keep Reading »