Space Coast Credit Union “routinely violated” the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by placing non-emergency calls to consumers’ cellphone numbers without their “prior express consent,” using an artificial or prerecorded voice, alleged Broward County, Florida, plaintiff Renate Moore’s class action Thursday (docket 0:23-cv-60659) in U.S. District Court for Southern Florida in Fort Lauderdale. Moore estimates Space Coast left her at least 15 prerecorded voice mails in the past year, it said. It also sent her a text message Feb. 17 referencing a debit card ending in 2734, it said. Moore never had an account with Space Coast, doesn’t own such a debit card, and she believes its calls and voice messages were intended for a person named Marie, it said. Moore alleges she suffered “actual harm” through an invasion of her privacy because she was forced “to spend time trying to determine who the calls were from and how to get them to stop,” it said.

The U.S. District Court for Eastern Missouri in St. Louis should deny the motion of home entertainment retailer Vintage Stock to dismiss Count II of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action of Sheila and Dennis Thompson (see 2301120009) because the defendant “was expressly forbidden to send any advertising text messages but did so in violation of federal law,” said the Thompsons’ amended response Thursday (docket 4:23-cv-00042). Their injury in fact was from sending and receiving illegal text messages, it said. The court also should deny Vintage Stock’s motion to dismiss or strike the Thompsons’ class allegations, it said. The defendant is improperly raising issues of class definition at the motion to dismiss stage of this case, “but issues of class definition are determined at the class certification phase and not on a motion to strike or dismiss,” it said.

U.S. District Judge John Kness for Northern Illinois in Chicago rescheduled an April 13 telephone status conference to May 4 at 9:30 a.m. CDT in plaintiff Thomas Gebka’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action against State Farm, said a minute entry Thursday (docket 1:22-cv-5546). Gebka alleges State Farm, via third parties acting on its behalf, made insurance-solicitation telemarketing calls to his cellphone without his “express” consent (see 2210110009).

The Republican Committee of Chester County (RCCC), Pennsylvania, inundated plaintiff Mark Fidanza’s cellphone with 17 text messages between Oct. 19 and Nov. 8 during the runup to the midterm elections, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, alleged Fidanza’s second amended complaint Wednesday in U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania (docket 2:22-cv-05185). U.S. District Judge Kelley Hodge signed an order earlier Wednesday granting Fidanza leave to amend his complaint to add Buzz360 as a defendant and dismissing the RCCC’s motion to dismiss his first amended complaint as moot. The RCCC’s previous affidavits identified Buzz360 as the vendor it hired to send the text messages. Fidanza maintains he never lived, worked or voted in Chester County, and “is not a member of any political party or organization,” said his complaint. He isn’t now, and never has been, registered to vote in Chester County, but is instead registered to vote in Montgomery County, where he lives, it said. Fidanza had “no prior contact or dealings” with the RCCC and he never authorized the RCCC to contact him, it said.

Defendant Spruce Services, a residential cleaning company that specializes in large apartment complexes, “routinely violates” the Telephone Consumer Protection Act “by delivering more than one advertisement or marketing text message” to residential phone numbers listed on the national do not call registry without “prior express invitation or permission,” alleged Boca Raton, Florida, plaintiff Jeffrey Orenstein in a class action Wednesday (docket 1:23-cv-00391) in U.S. District Court for Western Texas in Austin. Spruce, which is headquartered in Austin, also routinely violates the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act by placing telemarketing calls to Florida consumers through automated systems, also without their consent, it said. Orenstein, whose number has been listed on the DNC registry since December 2004, received at least three telemarketing and solicitation text messages on his cellphone from Spruce between October and January, said his class action. Orenstein “suffered actual harm as a result of the text messages at issue in that he was annoyed by the delivery of unwanted telemarketing or solicitation messages, and that he suffered an invasion of privacy, an intrusion into his life, and a private nuisance,” said his complaint. Spruce knew, or should have known, that Orenstein registered his cellphone number with the DNC registry, it said. Spruce didn’t comment.

Bank of America bombarded plaintiff Robert Wenokur with 25 debt collection calls over three months, and the calls continued despite his giving the bank “certified notice” that they stop, said Wenokur’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act complaint Monday (docket 2:23-cv-02473) in U.S. District Court for Central California in Los Angeles. The bank also sent Wenokur multiple payment demands via email and regular mail despite knowing he was represented by counsel, in violation of California’s Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, it said. The statute prohibits debt collectors from engaging in abusive, deceptive and unfair practices, it said. Wenokur brings the action against Bank of America “for its abusive and outrageous conduct in connection with debt collection activity,” it said. “By enacting the TCPA, Congress intended to give consumers a choice as to how corporate entities may contact them and to prevent the nuisance associated with automated or prerecorded calls,” it said. Bank of America didn’t comment.

Margaritaville restaurants parent IMCMV Holdings denies the allegations in plaintiff Racheal Paul’s first amended class action that it violated “any provision” of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (see 2303210003), said its answer Monday (docket 6:23-cv-00223) in U.S. District Court for Middle Florida in Orlando. IMCMV also denies Paul or any other person was “damaged” as the complaint alleges, it said. Paul alleges the company unlawfully sends telemarketing text messages without consent to consumers who registered their numbers on the national do not call registry and to those who have specifically asked Margaritaville to stop texting them. But Paul’s claims are subject to “mandatory arbitration” under an agreement she made with IMCMV “or others,” it said. Any attempt she made to revoke her consent to receive the texts “was not properly and/or clearly communicated,” it said. The TCPA, as Paul asserts, violates the due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, and the fines and penalties she seeks under the TCPA violate the Eighth Amendment and “constitute a taking” under the Fifth Amendment, it said.

Plaintiff Catherine Migliano voluntarily dismissed with prejudice all her Telephone Consumer Protection Act claims against the right-leaning social media platform Parler, said Migliano’s notice Monday (docket 0:22-cv-61805) in U.S. District Court for Southern Florida in Fort Lauderdale. All claims of Migliano’s putative class members are dismissed without prejudice, said the notice. Migliano and Parler jointly asked for a 45-day discovery stay in early February to enable settlement talks to proceed (see 2302060010). Migliano’s class action alleged Parler inundated her with telemarketing text messages promoting the sale of Donald Trump non-fungible tokens in violation of the TCPA (see 2210280002).

Plaintiff Wesley Todd has settled his Telephone Consumer Protection Act claims against T-Mobile, said his notice Friday (docket 2:23-cv-14024) in U.S. District Court for Southern Florida in Fort Pierce. Todd expects within 60 days to file a notice of withdrawal of his complaint and voluntary dismissal of his action with prejudice, said the notice. The court only days earlier gave T-Mobile until April 17 to file a motion to set aside the clerk’s entry of default against the company that shows good cause for its failure to timely respond to the action (see 2303290004). Todd had alleged that T-Mobile sent him “repeated text messages” to a cellphone number listed on the national do not call registry since May 18.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford for Northern Texas in Dallas signed an order Thursday (docket 3:22-cv-02913) giving pro se plaintiff Lucas Horton until April 14 to show cause why his Telephone Consumer Protection Act complaint shouldn’t be dismissed for his failure to timely and properly effect service against defendant Democratic Victory Fund PAC. Wednesday was Horton’s deadline to file proof of service with the court, but he didn’t do so, said Rutherford’s order. Horton’s Dec. 29 complaint alleges the fundraising and telemarketing frenzy to support Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., in his Dec. 8 runoff against Republican Herschel Walker caused the Democratic Victory Fund PAC to run afoul of the TCPA when it inundated the public with thousands of texts a day to people who aren’t registered to vote, or aren’t of voting age (see 2301030001).