Mortgage lender American Financial Network began placing numerous calls to plaintiff Richard Winters’ cellphone in August in an effort to solicit its products and services to a number listed on the national do not call registry since 2018, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, alleged Winters’ class action Wednesday (docket 8:23-cv-02427) in U.S. District Court for Central California in Santa Ana. Based on Winters’ experiences, the lender doesn’t maintain written policies to comply with the national do not call rules, and doesn’t properly train its personnel in any procedures established under those rules, alleged the complaint. Winters, an Arizona resident, and the members of the class have suffered irreparable harm as a result of the company’s "unlawful and wrongful conduct," it said.

U.S. District Judge Steven Logan for Arizona in Phoenix granted plaintiff Phillip Woods' Nov. 14 motion to stay his Telephone Consumer Protection Act case against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's presidential campaign committee, pending the resolution of appellant Jacob Howard’s 9th Circuit appeal against the Republican National Committee (see 2311150003), said the judge’s signed order, dated Monday and posted Wednesday (docket 2:23-cv-01958). Howard and Woods both contend that the text messages they received included a video with a prerecorded audible component that’s prohibited under the TCPA. Logan’s Nov. 6 order granted the RNC’s motion to dismiss plaintiff Howard’s class action, precipitating Howard’s 9th Circuit appeal. Logan held that the text messages weren’t actionable under the TCPA because the downloaded videos didn’t automatically begin playing when they were received.

Charter Communications wrongly seeks judgment on the pleadings of plaintiff George Morris’ Telephone Consumer Protection Act complaint on the grounds that it isn’t subject to the personal jurisdiction of the court, said Morris’ opposition Tuesday (docket 3:23-cv-01741) in U.S. District Court for Northern Texas in Dallas to Charter’s Nov. 14 motion (see 2311160037). Charter’s course of business “permeates” the state of Texas “in a manner that far exceeds the minimum contacts necessary to satisfy specific jurisdiction,” said the opposition. Exercising personal jurisdiction over Charter “is consistent with the notions of fair play and substantial justice,” it said. Notwithstanding its “general denial,” Charter admits that its retail marketing agent made no fewer than four calls to Morris attempting to sell him Charter’s products and services, it said. Charter claims that the complaint doesn’t set out with “sufficient specificity” the calls that Morris claims violate the TCPA, it said. But this is “belied by the plain language” of the complaint, it said.Through its Spectrum brand, Charter does “extensive, systematic business” in Texas “through marketing and maintaining ongoing connections with its customers via its products and services,” it said. Morris alleges that unlawful Charter telemarketing calls in violation of the TCPA were received on his phone in Texas, it said. He further alleges that the telemarketing callers identified themselves as authorized Charter vendors, it said: “This is enough to infer that Charter made the calls or that the callers were calling on behalf of or were employed by Charter, as opposed to some other entity.”

Plaintiff Robert Doyle brought a class action Tuesday to stop Resorts Condominium International (RCI) from violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and invading consumers’ privacy by making unsolicited telemarketing calls using a prerecorded or artificial voice without their consent, said Doyle’s complaint (docket 2:23-cv-23237) in U.S. District Court for New Jersey in Newark. RCI is “a self-professed pioneer in the timeshare industry whose core business is timeshare exchanges,” said the complaint. But in its “overzealous attempt to market its services,” RCI knowingly and willfully made, and continues to make, unsolicited telemarketing phone calls, it said. Doyle, a Morris County, New Jersey, resident, alleges receiving multiple prerecorded telemarketing calls from RCI despite never having had a business relationship with the company, said the complaint. Doyle didn’t give RCI “prior express invitation or consent in writing” for the company to call his personal cellphone for marketing or solicitation purposes, it said. Doyle “properly alleges injuries in fact,” which are “fairly traceable” to RCI’s unlawful acts, “and are likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision,” it said. “Receiving the unwanted phone calls resembles the kind of harm associated with intrusion upon seclusion,” it said.

Thane Charman’s Dec. 4 amended class action alleging that Spectrum had committed Telephone Consumer Protection Act wrongdoing corrected his original complaint to read that Charman lives in San Diego County, which is within the jurisdiction of the Southern District of California, said his filing Monday (docket 3:23-cv-02184). U.S. District Judge Todd Robinson for Southern California had ordered Charman to show cause why his case shouldn’t be transferred to U.S. District Court for Central California in Santa Ana because his original complaint said he lived in Orange County. Charman’s counsel attributed the error to an “editing mistake due to the template that was used to create this case.” Charman alleges Spectrum “engaged in a scheme” to sell cable and internet services via prerecorded and live cold calls to residential phone numbers on the federal do not call registry (see 2311300046).

House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R) campaign committee removed to U.S. District Court for Colorado in Denver a complaint filed Nov. 15 in Jefferson County Court in which William Hunsaker alleges the committee violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Colorado Consumer Protection Act by inundating his cellphone with at least five text-message solicitations for campaign donations without his prior consent. All rights are reserved, “including defenses and objections to venue and personal jurisdiction” and the right to move to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim for relief and failure to sue the appropriate parties, said the committee’s notice of removal Monday (docket 1:23-cv-03322). Dickinson Wright in El Paso is counsel for the Louisiana Republican's campaign committee; pro se plaintiff Hunsaker lives in Arvada, Colorado. Hunsaker's complaint alleges that the committee began using an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) around Nov. 1 to send the text messages to his cellphone. The ATDS consisted of a combination of hardware and software systems “that have the capacity to store telephone numbers using a random or sequential generator and to dial such numbers from a list without human intervention,” it said. The committee “knowingly transmitted” misleading or inaccurate caller ID information “with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain something of value,” in violation of the TCPA, it said. The committee intentionally initiated the text messages even though it knew or should have known that Hunsaker hadn’t consented to receive them and that his number has been listed on the national do not call registry since November 2019 and the Colorado do not call list since December 2019, said the complaint. The committee’s knowing and willful conduct entitles Hunsaker to recover treble damages under the TCPA, plus court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees, it said, even though Hunsaker is representing himself.

U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas for Southern Florida in West Palm Beach ordered plaintiff Kawa Orthodontics by Dec. 22 to either move for default judgment against defendant Northwell Health Labs or show cause why it hasn’t done so, said the judge’s signed order Friday (docket 9:23-cv-81424). Failure to comply may result in immediate dismissal of the case without prejudice for lack of prosecution, said the order. A clerk’s entry of default was entered Dec. 4 against Northwell for failing to file a responsive pleading by the Nov. 17 deadline to Kawa’s Oct. 26 Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action (see 2312050034). Kawa filed its TCPA lawsuit to challenge the practice of Northwell and three of its subsidiaries of sending unsolicited fax advertisements promoting their lab services to unhappy recipients (see 2310270005).

Harley-Davidson Financial Services continued to “harass” plaintiff Michael Mordis with debt collection calls to his cellphone after he bought a motorcycle, but was unable to keep up with the regular installments due and defaulted on his agreement to pay, alleged Mordis’ Telephone Consumer Protection Act complaint Friday (docket 0:23-cv-62359) in U.S. District Court for Southern Florida in Fort Lauderdale. The calls persisted even after Mordis hired counsel to send Harley-Davidson two letters on his behalf demanding that the calls stop, said the complaint. Harley-Davidson, or others acting on its behalf, nevertheless persisted in leaving prerecorded messages on Mordis’ cellphone, and called and hung up without leaving messages on other occasions, causing him severe emotional distress, it said. Harley-Davidson willfully or knowingly violated the TCPA and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act by attempting to collect directly from Mordis after being notified that he was and still is represented by counsel, it said. Court records show that Mordis’ complaint is the seventh TCPA action filed against Harley-Davidson’s credit organization since April 2017.

Plaintiff Brandi Taylor and defendant, Kohl’s have reached a settlement of Taylor’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act claims against the retailer, said Taylor’s notice Thursday (docket 2:23-cv-01874) in U.S. District Court for Eastern California in Sacramento. Under Local Rule 160(b), the parties will submit “dispositional documents” to the court within 21 days, said the notice. Taylor’s Aug. 31 complaint alleged Kohl’s placed no fewer than 30 debt-collection calls to her cellphone “after being notified to stop calling” (see 2309010001).

Plaintiff Christine Williams seeks injunctive relief to stop Rhino Guard, owner of the Luxestone tech products brand, from violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Oklahoma’s Telephone Solicitation Act by sending multiple telemarketing text messages to her cellphone, said her class action Thursday (docket 5:23-cv-01142) in U.S. District Court for Western Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. The text messages, to a phone number that Williams listed on the national do not call registry in July 2003, “constitute telemarketing because they encouraged the future purchase or investment in property, goods, or services -- in this case, workout equipment,” said the complaint. At no point in time did Williams provide Luxestone with her express written consent to be contacted, nor does she have any existing business relationship with the company, it said. The Oklahoma County resident also “never signed any type of authorization” permitting or allowing the placement of text messages “using an automated system for the selection and dialing of telephone numbers,” it said. Luxestone’s unsolicited text messages caused Williams “actual harm,” including invasion of her privacy, aggravation, annoyance, intrusion on seclusion, trespass and conversion, it said. The text messages also inconvenienced Williams “and caused disruption to her daily life,” it said.