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CEB Prac. Guide § 2B.05: "Call" Defined -- Other Electronic Media

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District Court (Fla.) Says Ringless Technology Triggers TCPA

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Picton v. Greenway Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge, No. 6:19-cv-196-Orl-31DCI, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103796 (M.D. Fla. June 21, 2019), Judge Presnell allowed a TCPA claim to proceed based on “calls” placed by ringless technology. The So-called "ringless" voicemail technology allows advertisers to transmit recorded messages via the Internet directly to the voicemail box associated with a cellular telephone without causing the [*2]  phone… Read More

District Court (Fla.) Says Ringless Voicemail Technology Places a “Call” under the TCPA

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Schaevitz v. Braman Hyundai, No. 1:17-cv-23890-KMM, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48906 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 25, 2019), Judge Moore found that direct-to-voicemail call technology placed a “call” under the TCPA.  The facts were as follows: Major Advertising, LLC, on behalf of Defendant, transmitted an unsolicited pre—recorded voicemail message (the "Message") to Plaintiff's cellular telephone, which stated as follows: Hi, this… Read More

District Court (Mass.) Says VoiP Service Not Protected by TCPA Unless Defendant Knew that Plaintiff’s Number Was Assigned to VoiP Service

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Breda v. Cellco Partnership d/b/a/ Verizon Wireless, 2017 WL 5586661, at *3–5 (D.Mass., 2017), Judge Casper granted summary judgment to a TCPA defendant because Plaintiff's number had been assigned to a VoiP plan that was not protected by the TCPA.  The facts were as follows: Cellco placed calls to Breda's phone number to discuss a Verizon customer's account status in error (the… Read More

District Court (Conn.) Says 29 Calls in 24 Days Can Be Harassment; Says Calls Received Over VoiP Do Not Trigger TCPA

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Lundstedt v. I.C. System, Inc., 2017 WL 4281057, at *2–3 (D.Conn., 2017), Judge Meyer allowed an FDCPA claim to proceed based on the call pattern alleged in the Complaint. [D]efendant argues that the alleged pattern of calls—29 calls over a period of 24 days—is legally insufficient to show an intent to annoy, abuse, or harass plaintiff as the statute requires.… Read More

District Court (Pa.) Finds that Calls Over VoiP Resulted in No Charge to Plaintiff; So, No TCPA Violation

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Klein v. Commerce Energy, Inc., 2017 WL 2672290, at *10 (W.D.Pa., 2017), Judge Conti granted summary judgment to a TCPA defendant against a Plaintiff who received calls over VoiP and through Google. There is no dispute that the challenged calls were made to Klein's VoIP number. Collectcents and Commerce Energy, however, dispute that either of them can be held… Read More

District Court (Pa.) Says Creditor Not Vicariously Liable under TCPA for Debt Collector’s Calls to Wrong Call Recipient who Received Calls Over Google VoiP; Leaves Spokeo Issue for Another Day

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Klein v. Just Energy Group, Inc., 2016 WL 3539137, at *2 (W.D.Pa., 2016), Judge Conti granted summary judgment to an energy company who's debt collectors placed wrong-party calls to Klein over Klein's Google VoiP.    Because Klein's VoIP number had been erroneously recorded as the number for P.S., Commerce Energy, Inc. d/b/a Just Energy provided Klein's VoIP number to Collectcents… Read More

District Court (Conn.) Says Calls over VoiP Were Calls to a “Cellular Telephone” Under the TCPA — So Long as Debtor Tells the Caller; Says Credit Responsible Debt Collector’s Calls under TCPA

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Ghawi v. Law Offices Howard Lee Schiff, P.C., 2015 WL 6958010, at *3-5 (D.Conn., 2015), Judge Arterton denied summary judgment to a TCPA defendant, rejecting the argument that the calls were not to a cellular telephone so long as the debtor told the caller that the calls were routed to a a cell phone. All Defendants argue that Mr. Ghawi's… Read More

And So It Begins: District Court (Ill.) Holds that TCPA Applies to Autodialed Calls Made to Commercial Business’ Cellular Telephones Without Consent

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Telephone Science Corp. v. Trading Advantage, LLC, 2015 WL 672266 (N.D.Ill. 2015), Judge Guzman found that the TCPA was not limited to consumer protection only; it applied to autodialed calls made to a commercial business' cellular telephones, too. Telephone Science Corporation (“TSC”) brings this case under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) seeking relief for telemarketing calls defendants made to… Read More

District Court (Md.) Grants S.J. to TCPA Defendant that No ATDS Was Used; Offers Insights into Application of TCPA to VoiP Technology

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Nieto v. Allied Interstate, Inc., 2014 WL 4980376 (D.Md. 2014), Judge Blake granted summary judgment to a TCPA defendant on the basis that no ATDS was used to dial the call. No genuine dispute exists as to whether Allied used an ATDS in calling Nieto. In support of its assertion that it did not use an ATDS, Allied presents an affidavit… Read More

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