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District Court (Cal.) Dismisses TCPA Case under Duguid — Says Dismissal at the Pleadings Stage is Appropriate in Situations Where the Defendant Had the Plaintiffs’ Telephone Number to Start

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Brickman v. Facebook, Inc., No. 16-cv-00751-WHO, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 175700, at *10-12 (N.D. Cal. Sep. 15, 2021), Judge Orrick dismissed a TCPA case at the pleadings stage. I recognize that some courts have considered the determination of whether a plaintiff has plausibly shown the use of an ATDS covered by Duguid to be more appropriately resolved on summary… Read More

District Court (Ark.) Says Lessor Who Provided That the Driver Was Not Its Employee Was Not Liable Under the Graves Amendment’s Savings Clause

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Hamilton v. Brewster, No. 2:20-CV-02054, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 175964, at *5-6 (W.D. Ark. Sep. 16, 2021), Judge Holmes granted summary judgment to a lessor who proved that the driver was not the lessor's employee under the Graves Amendment savings clause, having been faced with pleadings alleging that the driver of the vehicle was the lessor's employee. "Although the… Read More

District Court (Nev.) Says Debt Collector Who Knew Debtor Was Represented By Counsel Must Communicate with Counsel, Even Before Counsel Formally Appears in the Action

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Shafer v. Moore Law Grp., No. 3:20-cv-00525-MMD-CLB, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174185, at *8 (D. Nev. Sep. 14, 2021), Judge Du allowed an FDCPA case to press forward against a debt collector who served a pleading directly on a represented party in an existing lawsuit because the party's lawyer had not formally entered an appearance. Plaintiff alleges that, despite… Read More

District Court (La.) Finds Neither FDCPA Nor FCRA Cover Commercial Transactions

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Weiser v. Castille, No. 20-2043, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173993, at *13-14 (E.D. La. Sep. 14, 2021), Judge Lemmon dismissed FDCPA and FCRA claims arising out of a Plaintiff's investment mobile home properties.   Additionally, an obligation arising from a commercial transaction, as opposed to a transaction "primarily for personal, family, or household purposes" is not a "debt" as defined… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Says FDCPA Claim Not Barred by Rooker-Feldman Doctrine, But, Instead, By Collateral Estoppel

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Webb v. Midland Credit Mgmt., No. 20cv2211-MMA-WVG, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173479, at *11-12 (S.D. Cal. Sep. 13, 2021), Judge Anello dismissed an FDCPA claim challenging the propriety upon which a state court debt judgment was obtained.  The facts were as follows: On December 11, 2018, Midland filed a state court complaint against Plaintiff "for the principal amount of… Read More

District Court (Ill.) Says Restitution Judgment Obtained by FTC, But Reversed by SCOTUS’ AMG Cap. Mgmt. Decision, Did Not Preclude Restitution Award Under Alternative Theory

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Ftc v. Credit Bureau Ctr., No. 17 C 194, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173180, at *3-7 (N.D. Ill. Sep. 13, 2021), Judge Kennelly allowed the FTC to amend its judgment to preserve a restitution award on an alternative legal theory after SCOTUS held in AMG Cap. Mgmt. that section 13(b) of the FTC Act did not afford a right… Read More

6th Cir. Says TCPA Still Enforceable Despite Period of Unconstitutionality

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Lindenbaum v. Realgy, Ltd. Liab. Co., No. 20-4252, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 27159, at *2-4 (6th Cir. Sep. 9, 2021), the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found that the District Court erred in dismissing a TCPA claim based on the period of unconstitutionality found in Barr. In 1991, Congress prohibited almost all robocalls to cell phones and landlines.… Read More

District Court (Ohio) Says Criminal Data Hack Was Not Supervening Cause Entitling Business to Summary Judgment in Data Breach Case

by Scott J. Hyman |

In In re Sonic Corp. Customer Data Sec. Breach Litig., No. 1:17-md-2807, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168504, at *13-16 (N.D. Ohio Sep. 7, 2021), Judge Gwin denied summary judgment to the defendants, who argued that the criminal hacking constituted a supervening cause. Here, Sonic can only prevail by showing that the hackers' criminal acts were independent of Sonic's negligent security… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Says “Pay-to-Pay” Fees Were Subject to the Rosenthal Act as “Due and Owing” Under the AG’s Opinion, But Did Not Violate the Act Because the Fees Were Permitted By Law and the Deed of Trust

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Mariscal v. Flagstar Bank, FSB, No. ED CV 19-2023-DMG (SHKx), 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171374, at *4-8 (C.D. Cal. Sep. 9, 2021), Judge Gee dismissed, a second time, the Plaintiff's Rosenthal Act Class Action challenging a mortgage company's "pay-to-pay" fees. The fee itself need not be a debt, as long as it is connected to the collection of a… Read More

9th Cir. Says California State Courts of Appeal Got It Wrong in Their Interpretation of McGill’s Effect on Arbitration Clause Enforcement

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Hodges v. Comcast Cable Communications, LLC.,  the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit held that the district court erred in denying Comcast's motion to compel arbitration even though its arbitration clause precluded customers from litigating public injunction claims in any forum.  First, the Court of Appeals held that the mere presence of the clause in the arbitration agreement… Read More

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