Defendant NextGen Leads runs a campaign to market its insurance services through the use of prerecorded telemarketing calls to numbers on the national do not call registry, in “plain violation” of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, alleged plaintiff Cynthia Powell’s class action Thursday (docket 1:23-cv-00272) in U.S. District Court for Southern Alabama in Mobile. Because the calls were transmitted “using technology capable of generating thousands of similar calls per day,” Powell, an Alabama resident, sues “on behalf of a proposed nationwide class of other persons who received similar calls,” it said. At no point has Powell “sought out or solicited” NextGen’s services before receiving the prerecorded calls on her cellphone, it said. Her complaint estimates she received at least five calls from NextGen since July 7. Powell and members of her proposed class have been harmed by the defendant’s conduct “because their privacy has been violated and they were annoyed and harassed,” it said.

Montgomery Ward hounded plaintiff Sophia De La Torre with at least 20 debt collection calls, despite her repeatedly telling the online retailer to stop, alleged her Telephone Consumer Protection Act complaint Tuesday (docket 3:23-cv-00484) in U.S. District Court for Western Wisconsin in Madison. De La Torre previously obtained a line of credit through Ward’s to buy personal and household goods, but due to financial difficulties she fell behind on her monthly payments, said the complaint. Frustrated with the “persistent” calls, she contacted Ward’s and told its representative of her inability to pay, demanding that the calls stop, it said. She repeated her do not call requests several more times, it said. “Rather than being understanding” of De La Torre’s “situation and requests,” Ward’s continued placing the calls, it said. “Seeing no end” to the company’s “relentless conduct,” De La Torre “was forced to hire counsel and her damages therefore include reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred in prosecuting this action,” it said.

Debt collector National Recovery Agency “routinely violates” the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by using an artificial or prerecorded voice to phone consumers without their prior express consent, alleged plaintiff Theresa Soto’s class action Tuesday (docket 2:23-cv-01411) in U.S. District Court for Arizona in Phoenix. Soto estimates the company hounded her with at least 22 debt collection calls intended for an account holder she doesn’t know, said her complaint. She alleges the calls invaded her privacy, intruded into her life and caused “a private nuisance,” it said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Beth Jantz for Northern Illinois in Chicago ordered counsel for plaintiff Thomas Gebka and defendant State Farm to meet and confer and submit a joint proposed discovery plan by Aug. 1 in Gebka’s Telephone Consumer Protection act class action against the insurer, said a docket entry notification Tuesday (docket 1:22-cv-05546). U.S. District Judge John Kness on July 12 referred the case to Jantz to supervise discovery when he denied State Farm’s motion to dismiss Gebka’s TCPA amended complaint for failure to state a claim (see 2307120033). The joint proposed discovery plan should include proposed deadlines for the issuance of initial disclosures and a due date for the issuance of initial written discovery requests, plus a fact discovery deadline and whether any expert discovery is anticipated, said the notification.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Rodriguez for New Jersey in Camden granted Vision Solar’s motion to dismiss plaintiff Brennan Landy’s first amended complaint for alleged Telephone Consumer Protection Act violations because Landy failed to provide “the sufficient foundation” for the claim that Vision Solar “does business under the fictitious name Solar Exchange,” said his signed order Monday (docket 1:21-cv-20241). Landy alleges in the amended complaint that during one of the unlawful calls he received, the call center operator told him that Solar Exchange and Vision are “partner companies,” said the order. That contradicts Landy’s assertion that Vision Solar and Solar Exchange “are not partner companies but are the same company,” it said. One of the five new robocall enforcement actions the FTC announced Tuesday to debut the multi-agency Operation Stop Scam Calls “enforcement sweep” (see 2307180035) targeted Solar Xchange (with a different spelling), a seller of residential solar panels, and its lead generator, Vision Solar, treating those defendants as separate companies. The complaint (docket 2:23-cv-01387) filed Friday in U.S. District Court for Arizona in Phoenix by the FTC, DOJ and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D), alleges the companies were responsible for placing tens of millions of illegal robocalls to phone numbers on the national do not call registry.

Though Comcast Cable denies the allegations of former subscriber Na’eem Betz that it violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by hounding him with calls offering him a discount on an old account (see 2304280051), his allegations “fall squarely within the arbitration provision that he agreed to as a Comcast customer,” said Comcast’s motion Monday (docket 1:23-cv-01177) in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to compel Betz’s claims to arbitration. Comcast also moved to stay the litigation pending the outcome of that arbitration. Comcast’s counsel conferred with Betz twice in June, and the pro se plaintiff indicated “he opposes the relief requested in this motion,” it said.

The parties in Bryan Reo’s claims against Allstate for alleged Telephone Consumer Protection Act wrongdoing (see 2302220037) expect to exchange pre-discovery disclosures by July 21, said their joint planning report Thursday (docket 1:23-cv-00329). The parties propose a Jan. 19 expert discovery cutoff deadline, it said. Pro se plaintiff Reo alleges Allstate violated the TCPA by contacting him in December, said the report. He also claims Allstate received his contact information from the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles in violation of the Driver's Privacy Protection Act, it said. Allstate’s defense asserts Reo requested and consented to be contacted per the website OneCarInsurance.com, it said. Allstate intends to conduct written discovery, and if needed, a deposition as to Reo's “request for quotations via the internet,” it said. Allstate may call an IT expert “to investigate and opine” about Reo's “consent to be contacted,” said the report.

U.S. District Judge John Adams for Northern Ohio in Akron granted the joint request of plaintiff Matthew Dickson and defendant Direct Energy to stay Dickson’s remanded Telephone Consumer Protection Act complaint, said Adams’ signed order Thursday (docket 5:18-cv-00182). The parties requested the stay while the U.S. Supreme Court considers Direct Energy’s forthcoming cert petition seeking review of the 6th Circuit’s reversal of the district court’s order dismissing Dickson’s lawsuit for lack of Article III standing (see 2307130036). The parties should file a notice when it’s “appropriate to lift the stay,” said Adams’ order.

InvestorPlace Media, which sells subscribers stock market news and trading tips, doesn’t honor consumer requests to opt-out of text message solicitations, even after sending consumers confirmations that they’re unsubscribed from receiving future solicitations, alleged plaintiff Courtney Hill’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action Wednesday (docket 5:23-cv-00111) in U.S. District Court for Western North Carolina in Statesville. Hill asked InvestorPlace to stop contacting him in July 2021 and the company immediately acknowledged receipt of that request, said his complaint. Yet InvestorPlace sent him at least 13 more texts over the next 16 months, including one as recently as April 23, it said. InvestorPlace’s failure to honor opt-out requests demonstrates it doesn’t maintain written policies and procedures on lawful text messaging marketing, it said. The conduct also shows the company fails to give its employees the proper training and doesn’t maintain an internal do not call list, it said. Hill seeks injunctive relief to halt the company’s illegal conduct, “which has resulted in the invasion of privacy, harassment, aggravation, and disruption of the daily life of thousands of individuals,” it said. He also seeks statutory damages on behalf of himself and members of his proposed class, plus “any other available legal or equitable remedies,” it said. InvestorPlace didn’t comment Thursday.

Plaintiff Matthew Dickson and defendant Direct Energy want U.S. District Judge John Adams for Eastern Ohio in Akron to stay all proceedings in Dickson’s remanded Telephone Consumer Protection Act complaint against the utility, said their joint notice Wednesday (docket 5:18-cv-00182). Wednesday was the deadline that Adams imposed for a joint filing from the parties detailing how they think the case should proceed after remand, including a proposed discovery schedule and a deadline for any motion practice (see 2307050002). Good cause exists for the stay while the Supreme Court considers Direct Energy’s forthcoming cert petition seeking review of the 6th Circuit’s reversal of the district court’s order dismissing Dickson’s lawsuit for lack of Article III standing, said the joint notice. The parties “strongly disagree” about whether the 6th Circuit’s decision on Dickson’s standing is correct, it said. Dickson maintains that the 6th Circuit’s decision is correct and need not be reviewed, it said. “But the parties do agree that the most efficient course is to stay all proceedings while the Supreme Court decides the issue,” it said. Absent a stay, the “intervening actions” by the parties and the court, including consideration of Dickson’s pending motion for class certification, “could be unnecessary if they are mooted or modified by the forthcoming Supreme Court review,” it said.