In Trim v. Reward Zone USA LLC, No. 22-55517, 2023 WL 5025264, at *3–4 (9th Cir. Aug. 8, 2023), the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit held that to be a prerecorded voice message under the TCPA, the message must be audible. Prerecorded text messages which have no sound component are not voice messages within the statute's meaning even… Read More
In Risher v. Adecco Inc., No. 19-cv-05602-RS, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 209676 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 18, 2022), Judge Seaborg dismissed an evolving theory that text messages can be a pre-recorded voice under the TCPA. In the absence of express consent, section 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii) of the TCPA, and its implementing regulations at 47 CFR § 64.1200(a)(2), prohibit non-emergency calls… Read More
In Soliman v. Subway Franchisee Advert. Fund Tr., Ltd., No. 3:19-cv-592 (JAM), 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126468, at *6-8 (D. Conn. July 18, 2022), Judge Meyer disposed of the argument that Subway's text message software was an ATDS. And under Soliman's reading, the Act would probably cover much more than mass dialing. As she admits, sequential number generation is "an… Read More
In Demesa v. Treasure Island, LLC, No. 2:18-cv-02007-JAD-NJK, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98511, at *8-9 (D. Nev. June 1, 2022), Judge Dorsey rejected a TCPA Plaintiff's attempted end-around Duguid, where the Plaintiff argued that a standard text message fell within section 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(B)'s prohibition against using "artificial or prerecorded voice" without consent. DeMesa's alternative theory of liability fares no better.… Read More
In Eggleston v. Reward Zone USA LLC, No. 2:20-cv-01027-SVW-KS, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20928, at *11-14 (C.D. Cal. Jan. 28, 2022), Judge Wilson dismissed a TCPA "pre-recorded voice" case premised on the theory that the standard text messages that she received did not constitute a "voice" under the TCPA. Plaintiff also alleges that Defendant's text messages violated § 227(b) because… Read More
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 Brown v. Ocwen Loan Servicing Llc, No. 8:18-cv-136-T-60AEP, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151236, at *11-15 (M.D. Fla. Sep. 5, 2019), Judge Barber granted in part and denied in part summary judgment brought by a TCPA defendant, distinguishing between pre-recorded and non-prerecorded calls. Ocwen contends summary judgment on the Browns' TCPA claims is warranted because its Aspect dialer is not… Read More
In Gonzalez v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC., 2018 WL 4217065, at *5–6 (M.D.Fla., 2018), Judge Moody described the effect of ACA Int'l on what constitutes an ATDS. In sum, ACA Int’l vacated the FCC’s 2015 Order in two ways relevant here: it vacated the FCC’s interpretation of what it means for a device to have the capacity to function as… Read More
In Benedetti v. Charter Communications, Inc., 2018 WL 2970998, at *2 (S.D.Ind., 2018), Judge Miller denied summary judgment to a TCPA defendant who established that an ATDS was not used because the calls may have been pre-recorded calls. Charter is correct that Ms. Benedetti doesn’t have evidence to show that any of the calls was made by using an automatic… Read More
In Ybarra v. Dish Network, L.L.C., 2015 WL 6159755, at *4 (C.A.5 (Tex.),2015), the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the TCPA was not violated when a dialer system designed to leave pre-recorded messages only when a "live" voice is reached did not leave any messages, but disconnected, when it reached an answering machine. The TCPA makes… Read More
