Recent TCPA Cases

Van Patten v. Vertical Fitness Group, LLC

Plaintiff Bradley Van Patten signed up for a membership at a Gold’s Gym in Wisconsin in 2009. Days after signing up, he called to cancel his membership. Three years later, Van Patten had moved to California and ownership of the gym had ended its relationship with Gold’s and become an “Xperience Fitness” franchise. Marketing texts were sent to Van Patten during the summer of 2012 trying to get him to sign up for the gym again. Van Patten filed a lawsuit alleging violations of the TCPA and arguing that when he cancelled his gym membership, his consent to receive marketing messages was also revoked. On January 30^th, 2017, a panel of judges in the Ninth District Court concluded that the plaintiff had given prior express consent and did not effectively revoke it.

Wells Fargo to settle two TCPA class actions

Wells Fargo is set to settle two TCPA class actions for a total of nearly $18 million. In the first case, Prather v. Wells Fargo Bank, the plaintiffs claim that Wells Fargo called almost half a million student loan borrowers using autodialers without the prior express consent of the call recipients. Wells Fargo denies the claims, but has elected to settle the case rather than keep fighting. In the second case, Luster v. Wells Fargo, the plaintiffs allege that Wells Fargo made millions of debt collection calls to consumers using autodialers without their prior express consent. The bank has argued that Luster and the members of the class are not entitled to damages. However, after mediation Wells Fargo has agreed to a settlement that would compensate 3.38 million members of the proposed class.

Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. v. Federal Insurance Company

 

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently heard oral arguments in a case involving the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team and their insurance carrier. At an October 2013 basketball game, a fan sent a text message to the team with hopes of having his message displayed on the big screen at the arena. When the Lakers responded to the text, and allegedly attempted to solicit business from the fan, the fan sued the team for violations of the TCPA. The Lakers settled that lawsuit, but then sued their insurance carrier for rejecting the team’s claim for defense and indemnity.  Federal Insurance successfully dismissed the case, citing the policy’s exclusion for claims "based upon, arising from, or in consequence of...invasion of privacy." The Lakers have appealed. The outcome of the appeal with be very interesting, as it deals with the issue of whether exclusions for invasions of privacy in insurance policies limit coverage for claims under the TCPA.  Click here for more information about this case.