LoanDepot Motion to Dismiss TCPA Claims Is ‘Without Merit,’ Says Plaintiff

District Court for South Florida in Fort Pierce. Under the TCPA, a call is deemed abandoned if it's not connected to a live sales representative within two seconds of the called person's completed greeting. LoanDepot says Sawicki's abandoned call claim should be dismissed because there's no private right of action to enforce that provision in the statute. But loanDepot’s motion “blatantly ignores the face” of Sawicki’s second amended complaint and “unwittingly takes conflicting positions in a futile effort to fit a square peg in a round hole,” said Sawicki’s response. The motion “is without merit and must be denied in its entirety,” it said. LoanDepot wrongly cites TCPA Section 227(d) as its basis for asserting no private right of action is available to Sawicki for his abandoned call claim, it said. The defendant’s argument “must fail” because courts have “correctly concluded” that the TCPA’s abandoned call provision was promulgated under Section 227(b), which grants a private right of action, and not §227(d), as loanDepot contends, said Sawicki’s response. The facts that give rise to Sawicki’s claims against loanDepot “are as simple as they come,” it said. LoanDepot began placing “voluminous” solicitation calls in November to Sawicki’s cellphone, it said. Despite Sawicki’s requests that loanDepot cease its calls, the mortgage lender “continued pounding” his cellphone number with additional solicitation calls, it said.