Ammons v. Ally Fin., Inc.
Opinion
WAVERLY D. CRENSHAW, JR., CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Martha Ammons brings suit against Ally Financial, Inc. ("Ally"), under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA"),
I. Background and Facts
In April 2014, Ammons1 and her daughter purchased a Nissan Altima from Trinity Automotive dealership in Nashville, Tennessee.2 (Doc. No. 35 at ¶ 2.) The purchase had two components: a credit application ("CA") and a retail installment sale contract ("RISC"). First, Ammons (who was listed as the "buyer") and her daughter (who was listed as the "co-buyer") obtained financing for the purchase via the CA. (Id. at ¶¶ 3-4.) In the "Applicant Information" section of the CA, Ammons provided the cellular telephone number that is at issue in this case.3 (Id. at ¶¶ 5-6.)
*581The CA provided that: "[b]y providing your cell phone number on this application, you are consenting to receive servicing and collection calls on your cell phone using an auto dialer or prerecorded message. This consent applies to the dealer, who is the originating creditor in this transaction, as well as any assignee who may purchase your credit contract from the dealer. " (Id. at ¶ 7.) The CA further stated that, "by signing below, you certify that you have read and agree to the terms...." (Id. at ¶ 8.) Trinity Automotive transmitted the CA to Ally, which processed and approved it. (Doc. No. 25-2 at ¶ 4.)
Next, Ammons and her daughter executed the RISC with Trinity Automotive. (Doc. No. 35 at ¶ 9.) Trinity Automotive then assigned its interests in the RISC to Ally. (Id. at ¶ 10.) In the "Servicing and Collection Contacts" section, the RISC states:
You agree that we may try to contact you in writing, by e-mail, or using prerecorded/artificial voice messages, text messages, and automatic telephone dialing systems, as the law allows. You also agree that we may try to contact you in these and other ways at any address or telephone number you provide us, even if the telephone number is a cell phone number or the contact results in a charge to you.
(Doc. No. 35 at ¶ 11.) The RISC also states that it "contains the entire agreement ... relating to this contract. Any change to this contract must be in writing and we must sign it. No oral changes are binding." (Id. at ¶ 12.) Finally, the RISC states: "You agree to the terms of this contract. You confirm that before you signed this contract, we gave it to you, and you were free to take it and review it. You confirm that you received a completely filled-in copy when you signed it." (Doc. No. 25-4 at 1.) The RISC contains a choice of law provision that dictates both "federal law and the law of the state of Tennessee apply." (Doc. No. 35 at ¶ 14.)
In July 2015, Ammons began receiving automated calls from Ally to her cellular phone number to discuss a delinquency in payments that were due under the RISC. (Id. at ¶ 16; Doc. No. 69-1 at ¶ 9.) Based on her own testimony, Ally's call records and admissions, and her own non-exclusive, handwritten call logs,4 Ammons alleges that Ally called her over 500 times between August 31, 2014 and January 24, 2017. (See Doc. Nos. 89 at ¶¶ 5, 8; 69-1 at ¶ 15.) However, based on various records, Ally suggests that there was a dramatically lower number of calls. (Doc. Nos. 86-2 at 13-16; 86-1 at 8-12; 69-8; 102 at ¶ 19.)
In her deposition, Ammons acknowledged that she didn't answer "a lot" of Ally's calls. (Doc. No. 86-1 at 37.) Ally's corporate representative, Diane Accurso, testified at her deposition that Ally "made" a substantially lower amount of calls than Ammons asserts, but conceded that this assertion only took into account calls where a representative actually spoke to Ammons or left a voicemail or text message. (Doc. No. 69-8 at 11.) In written discovery responses, Ally admitted that it "initiated" the following number of calls to Ammons' number using equipment with the capacity to operate as a predictive dialer: (a) after December 22, 2015: 518, (b) after September 22, 2016: 235; and *582after December 16, 2016: 64. (Doc. No. 69-3 at 5.)
The parties also plainly dispute if, how, and when Ammons instructed Ally's agents to stop calling her. (Doc. No. 89 at ¶¶ 7, 9.) Ammons testified that "from the beginning, [she] asked [Ally] to call [her daughter] instead of me." (Doc. No. 69-2 at 4.) But the calls kept coming, sometimes "four and five times a day." (Id. ) Ammons testified that, in conjunction with directing Ally to her daughter, she told them "don't call me" on "several, a lot of times." (Id. at 5.) Two key dates in the parties' disagreements on this subject are December 22, 2015, and September 22, 2016. (Id. ) Ammons contends that on December 22, 2015, she provided her daughter's information to Ally and asked Ally to stop calling her cell phone. (Doc. No. 69-1 at ¶ 11.) Ally, on the other hand, argues that records of the December 22, 2015, communication could be interpreted as Ammons instructing Ally to call Ammons' daughter, but not necessarily to stop calling Ammons.5 (Doc. No. 89 at ¶ 7.) Likewise, Ammons contends that on September 22, 2016, she spoke to an Ally agent-Mr. Body-and asked him to put a note in her file that Ally should stop calling her and call her daughter. (Doc. Nos. 69-1 at ¶ 12; 102 at ¶ 23; 86-1 at 12.) Ammons maintains that Mr. Body agreed that Ally would no longer call Ammons and stated that he would "put a flag on the account" so that no further automated calls would be made. (Id. ) However, Ally contends that (1) its records do not confirm that it spoke with Ammons (as opposed to, e.g., Ammons' daughter), (2) Ammons' evidence is fundamentally confused, and (3) the evidence suggests that Mr. Body volunteered to stop the calls in error rather than agreed to stop them in response to a demand from Ammons. (Doc. No. 89 at ¶ 9.) Regardless, on September 22, 2016, a permanent note was entered on Ammons' account by Mr. Body that advised "dnc buyer!!!" (Id. at ¶ 11; Doc. No. 69-6 at 58.) Accurso has stated that "dnc" means "do not call."6 (Doc. No.
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WAVERLY D. CRENSHAW, JR., CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Martha Ammons brings suit against Ally Financial, Inc. ("Ally"), under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA"),
I. Background and Facts
In April 2014, Ammons1 and her daughter purchased a Nissan Altima from Trinity Automotive dealership in Nashville, Tennessee.2 (Doc. No. 35 at ¶ 2.) The purchase had two components: a credit application ("CA") and a retail installment sale contract ("RISC"). First, Ammons (who was listed as the "buyer") and her daughter (who was listed as the "co-buyer") obtained financing for the purchase via the CA. (Id. at ¶¶ 3-4.) In the "Applicant Information" section of the CA, Ammons provided the cellular telephone number that is at issue in this case.3 (Id. at ¶¶ 5-6.)
*581The CA provided that: "[b]y providing your cell phone number on this application, you are consenting to receive servicing and collection calls on your cell phone using an auto dialer or prerecorded message. This consent applies to the dealer, who is the originating creditor in this transaction, as well as any assignee who may purchase your credit contract from the dealer. " (Id. at ¶ 7.) The CA further stated that, "by signing below, you certify that you have read and agree to the terms...." (Id. at ¶ 8.) Trinity Automotive transmitted the CA to Ally, which processed and approved it. (Doc. No. 25-2 at ¶ 4.)
Next, Ammons and her daughter executed the RISC with Trinity Automotive. (Doc. No. 35 at ¶ 9.) Trinity Automotive then assigned its interests in the RISC to Ally. (Id. at ¶ 10.) In the "Servicing and Collection Contacts" section, the RISC states:
You agree that we may try to contact you in writing, by e-mail, or using prerecorded/artificial voice messages, text messages, and automatic telephone dialing systems, as the law allows. You also agree that we may try to contact you in these and other ways at any address or telephone number you provide us, even if the telephone number is a cell phone number or the contact results in a charge to you.
(Doc. No. 35 at ¶ 11.) The RISC also states that it "contains the entire agreement ... relating to this contract. Any change to this contract must be in writing and we must sign it. No oral changes are binding." (Id. at ¶ 12.) Finally, the RISC states: "You agree to the terms of this contract. You confirm that before you signed this contract, we gave it to you, and you were free to take it and review it. You confirm that you received a completely filled-in copy when you signed it." (Doc. No. 25-4 at 1.) The RISC contains a choice of law provision that dictates both "federal law and the law of the state of Tennessee apply." (Doc. No. 35 at ¶ 14.)
In July 2015, Ammons began receiving automated calls from Ally to her cellular phone number to discuss a delinquency in payments that were due under the RISC. (Id. at ¶ 16; Doc. No. 69-1 at ¶ 9.) Based on her own testimony, Ally's call records and admissions, and her own non-exclusive, handwritten call logs,4 Ammons alleges that Ally called her over 500 times between August 31, 2014 and January 24, 2017. (See Doc. Nos. 89 at ¶¶ 5, 8; 69-1 at ¶ 15.) However, based on various records, Ally suggests that there was a dramatically lower number of calls. (Doc. Nos. 86-2 at 13-16; 86-1 at 8-12; 69-8; 102 at ¶ 19.)
In her deposition, Ammons acknowledged that she didn't answer "a lot" of Ally's calls. (Doc. No. 86-1 at 37.) Ally's corporate representative, Diane Accurso, testified at her deposition that Ally "made" a substantially lower amount of calls than Ammons asserts, but conceded that this assertion only took into account calls where a representative actually spoke to Ammons or left a voicemail or text message. (Doc. No. 69-8 at 11.) In written discovery responses, Ally admitted that it "initiated" the following number of calls to Ammons' number using equipment with the capacity to operate as a predictive dialer: (a) after December 22, 2015: 518, (b) after September 22, 2016: 235; and *582after December 16, 2016: 64. (Doc. No. 69-3 at 5.)
The parties also plainly dispute if, how, and when Ammons instructed Ally's agents to stop calling her. (Doc. No. 89 at ¶¶ 7, 9.) Ammons testified that "from the beginning, [she] asked [Ally] to call [her daughter] instead of me." (Doc. No. 69-2 at 4.) But the calls kept coming, sometimes "four and five times a day." (Id. ) Ammons testified that, in conjunction with directing Ally to her daughter, she told them "don't call me" on "several, a lot of times." (Id. at 5.) Two key dates in the parties' disagreements on this subject are December 22, 2015, and September 22, 2016. (Id. ) Ammons contends that on December 22, 2015, she provided her daughter's information to Ally and asked Ally to stop calling her cell phone. (Doc. No. 69-1 at ¶ 11.) Ally, on the other hand, argues that records of the December 22, 2015, communication could be interpreted as Ammons instructing Ally to call Ammons' daughter, but not necessarily to stop calling Ammons.5 (Doc. No. 89 at ¶ 7.) Likewise, Ammons contends that on September 22, 2016, she spoke to an Ally agent-Mr. Body-and asked him to put a note in her file that Ally should stop calling her and call her daughter. (Doc. Nos. 69-1 at ¶ 12; 102 at ¶ 23; 86-1 at 12.) Ammons maintains that Mr. Body agreed that Ally would no longer call Ammons and stated that he would "put a flag on the account" so that no further automated calls would be made. (Id. ) However, Ally contends that (1) its records do not confirm that it spoke with Ammons (as opposed to, e.g., Ammons' daughter), (2) Ammons' evidence is fundamentally confused, and (3) the evidence suggests that Mr. Body volunteered to stop the calls in error rather than agreed to stop them in response to a demand from Ammons. (Doc. No. 89 at ¶ 9.) Regardless, on September 22, 2016, a permanent note was entered on Ammons' account by Mr. Body that advised "dnc buyer!!!" (Id. at ¶ 11; Doc. No. 69-6 at 58.) Accurso has stated that "dnc" means "do not call."6 (Doc. No. 89 at ¶ 12.) Again, Ammons has offered evidence that she received numerous calls after this date, but Ally has offered evidence that far fewer calls were made. (Id. at ¶ 13.)
On December 26, 2016, another Ally agent entered a comment on Ammons' account that stated "dnc buyer-in important note." (Doc. No. 69-6 at 26.) Ally contends that this was just the repeating of Mr. Body's September note; furthermore, Accurso testified that she would "not agree" that the person making this entry was under the impression that she should not be calling Ammons' telephone. (Doc. No. 86-2 at 19.) Ammons contends that Ally called her numerous times after this date, and, again, Ally disputes Ammons' account. (Doc. No. 89 at ¶¶ 16-17.)
On January 20, 2017, Ammons spoke to another Ally agent and reminded him *583about Mr. Body's promise. (Doc. No. 69-1 at ¶ 13.) In a recording of the January 20 call, Ammons can be heard saying: "I talked to Mr. Body about two months ago, and he told me that you all would stop calling me, that he is going to put a (inaudible) on my account." (Doc. No. 86-1 at 12.) In her deposition, counsel for Ally asked Ammons: "[D]o you feel like you clearly expressed to the agent that you did not want Ally to call your cell phone about the account ever again?" Ammons responded, "Yes. I mean, on that particular call, I do." When asked to explain "why," Ammons replied: "I mean, because I told him that I had asked the previous person to tell them not to call me. That meant all of them." (Id. ) Ally's notes for the January 20 call states that Ammons "doesn't want calls anymore ... says to call daughter." (Doc. No. 69-6 at 12.)
Ally has policies and procedures for consumer account servicing and collections that govern customer requests not to be contacted on their cell phone. (Doc. Nos. 92 at ¶ 4; 92-1 (Servicing Collection Policies and Individual Agreement).) According to Accurso, "in the face of a verbal request from a customer not to receive calls at a cell phone number, agents are required to initiate a DNCC (Do Not Call Cell) workflow." (Docs. No. 92 at ¶ 5; 92-2 (DNCC protocol).) The DNCC "wizard" requires multiple steps and, upon completion, is automatically updated in Ally's system for consumer accounts. (Docs. No. 92 at ¶¶ 6-8; 92-2.) Accurso also averred that, in conjunction with processing of a DNCC request, an Ally agent must also update the permission setting in the cell phone consent field associated with the cell phone number by changing that setting to "N". (Doc. Nos. 92 at ¶ 9; 92-3 (Calling Rules).) According to Accurso, notes in a customer's account are not the same as a DNCC workflow, even if they state "dnc buyer!!!" (Doc. No. 92 at ¶¶ 16-17.)
On January 24, 2017, extensive notes were placed into Ammons' account, including Ammons' (1) description of how the dealership told her she could get the car out of her name in six months and (2) request that Ally cease its "stressful" calling. (Doc. Nos. 86-2 at 20-22; 69-6 at 12.) While not explaining how these notes were any different than multiple other prior notes, including Mr. Body's "dnc buyer!!!" note, Ally maintains that January 24, 2017, was "the first time [Ammons] actually asked for calls to stop." (Doc. No. 102 at ¶ 29.) Accurso testified that this was when "the customer requested not to be called" under Ally policies and that Ammons' "request was honored." (Id. at 23.)
II. Legal Standard
In reviewing a motion for summary judgment, this Court will only consider the narrow question of whether there are "genuine issues as to any material fact and [whether] the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). A motion for summary judgment requires that the Court view the "inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts ... in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp.,
III. Analysis
The TCPA prohibits use of an automatic telephone dialing system ("ATDS") to call a cellular telephone number without consent.
A. Threshold Issues
First, Ally contests whether its predictive dialing system qualifies as the necessary ATDS under the TCPA. Second, Ally argues that its liability is limited because either (a) the harm to Ammons generally is not concrete or (b) the TCPA provides liability for only certain types of calls.
1. Whether Ally's Predictive Dialer is an Automatic Telephone Dialing System Under the TCPA
"The term 'automatic telephone dialing system' means equipment which has the capacity[ ] (A) to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator; and (B) to dial such numbers."
Based on what appears at first blush to be unambiguous statutory language, § 227(a)(1) seems to dictate that the essential feature of an ATDS is that it uses "a random or sequential number generator." But the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") has taken a different approach to interpreting § 227(a)(1).7 Following *585on the heels of a 1992 Order in which the FCC stated that it was rejecting definitions that fit "only a narrow set of circumstances" in favor of "broad definitions which best reflect[ed] legislative intent [of the TCPA]," In the Matter of Rules and Regulations Implementing the Tel. Consumer Prot. Act of 1991, 7 F.C.C. Rcd. 8752, 8755 (1992) (hereinafter " 1992 FCC Ruling"), the FCC in 2003 made "short-shrift of the requirement that an ATDS use a random or sequential number generator" by ruling that a system can qualify as an ATDS even if it does not "create and dial 10-digit telephone numbers arbitrarily" but rather "relies on a given set of [phone] numbers." Maddox v. CBE Group, Inc., Civil Action No. 1:17-CV-1909-SCJ,
In 2008, the FCC issued an order that "affirm[ed] that a predictive dialer constitutes an automatic telephone dialing system and is subject to the TCPA's restrictions on the use of autodialers." In the Matter of Rules & Regulations Implementing the Tel. Consumer Prot. Act of 1991, 23 F.C.C. Rcd. 559, 566 (2008) (hereinafter " 2008 FCC Ruling"). The petitioner prompting the 2008 FCC Ruling had argued, among other things, that (1) the FCC's "determination that predictive dialers fall within the meaning of the statutory definition of 'automated telephone dialing equipment' was incorrect and conflicts with the language of the TCPA" and (2) the FCC had erred in 2003 because "debt collectors use predictive dialers to call specific numbers provided by established customers." Id. at 563, 566. Therefore, according to the petitioner, a predictive dialer should have only met the definition of an ATDS when it randomly or sequentially generated telephone numbers, not when it dialed numbers from customer telephone lists. Id. The FCC disagreed. Summarizing and reaffirming the findings of the 2003 FCC Ruling, the FCC added that the petitioner "raise[d] no new information about predictive dialers that warrants reconsideration of th[o]se findings." Id. at 566-67. In 2012, the FCC clarified again that the TCPA's definition of an ATDS "covers any equipment that has the specified capacity to generate numbers and dial them without human intervention regardless of whether the numbers called are randomly or sequentially generated or come from calling lists." In the Matter of Rules & Regulations Implementing the Tel. Consumer Prot. Act of 1991, 27 F.C.C. Rcd. 15391, 15399 (2012) (hereinafter " 2012 FCC Ruling"). In short, under the FCC's 2003 interpretation of § 227(a)(1), reaffirmed in the 2008 FCC Ruling and the 2012 FCC Ruling, a system may qualify as *586an ATDS by simply having "the capacity to dial numbers without human intervention." 18 F.C.C. Rcd. at 14092 (emphasis in original).
In 2015, the FCC went further and took the position that this interpretation meant that an ATDS need only have the future capacity to dial random and sequential numbers, rather than the present ability to do so. In the Matter of Rules & Regulations Implementing the Tel. Consumer Prot. Act of 1991, 30 F.C.C. Rcd. 7961, 7974 (2015) (hereinafter " 2015 FCC Ruling"). The 2015 FCC Ruling was promptly challenged in the Courts of Appeal and eventually consolidated before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in ACA International.8
Specifically, what ACA International did was to reject the FCC's have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too approach to the questions before it. [In the 2015 Ruling, t]he FCC was of "two minds on the issue" of whether "a device must be able to generate and dial random or sequential numbers to meet the TCPA's definition of an autodialer," or whether "that equipment can meet the statutory definition even if it lacks that capacity."Id. at 701-02 . The FCC answered "yes" and "yes," i.e., it must have that ability and it may lack that ability, two conflicting answers that the D.C. Circuit could not accept because it provided no meaningful guidance.
But what ACA International did not do is endorse one interpretation over the other, even implicitly. ACA International did not say that a predictive dialer, or any other type of device, must be able to generate and dial random or sequential numbers to meet the TCPA's definition of an autodialer. Nor did it say that a predictive dialer, or any other type of device, may lack that capacity. In fact, the D.C. Circuit said that "[i]t might be permissible for the Commission to adopt either interpretation." ACA Int'l,885 F.3d at 703 (emphasis added). But what the FCC could not do was "espouse both competing interpretations in the same order."Id.
In this case, [defendant] is essentially urging the [c]ourt to adopt the first interpretation-i.e., that a predictive dialer must be able to generate and dial random or sequential numbers to be an ATDS-based on ACA International 's *587authority. But ACA International does not compel that conclusion because it did not adopt that interpretation. At best, ACA International arguably calls into doubt the FCC's previous broad statements that predictive dialers are ATDSs regardless of whether they call randomly or from a sequential list or a set list of numbers. But perhaps not, given that the D.C. Circuit did not adopt one interpretation over the other. In any event, ... absent an express rejection of the prior FCC orders, the Court cannot deviate from them and impose [its] own interpretation of the TCPA.
Reyes v. BCA Fin. Servs., Inc.,
In the wake of ACA International, this Court joins the growing number of other courts that continue to rely on the interpretation of § 227(a)(1) set forth in prior FCC rulings. See McMillion v. Rash Curtis & Assocs.,
The Court is unpersuaded by Ally's contrary supplemental authority of Herrick v. GoDaddy.com LLC,
*588Finally, the Herrick decision really rests on the issue of "human intervention." Curiously, regarding human intervention, the decision found that the FCC's prior pronouncements were still helpful and applied them. Be that as it may, human intervention is what truly doomed the Herrick plaintiff, because the defendant's dialer required such a level of human agency that it was completely disqualifying. Id. at *10.
Ally also relies on Marks v. Crunch San Diego, LLC,
Accordingly, applying the appropriate standard here, the primary consideration ... is "whether human intervention is required at the point in time at which [Ammons'] number [was] dialed." Strauss v. CBE Grp., Inc.,
Accordingly, the Court finds as a matter of law that the stipulated predictive dialer used by Ally is an ATDS under § 227(a)(1) and the 2003 FCC Ruling. Ammons will be granted summary judgment on this issue.
2. Standing and the "Making" of Calls Under the TCPA
This Court has previously ruled that violations of the TCPA confer standing based upon particularized and concrete harms. See Cunningham v. Rapid Response Monitoring Servs., Inc.,
Ally attempts to resurrect its failed standing argument at summary judgment by relying on Hagy v. Demers & Adams,
The Court also declines to embrace Ally's argument that because Ammons did not always answer her telephone, some volume of Ally's calls were not "made." (Doc. No. 85 at 22-23.) The plain language of the TCPA Act prohibits "mak[ing] any call ..." § 227(b)(1)(A) (emphasis added). Ally is essentially suggesting that the statute's language not only requires that a call be "made" or placed using an ATDS, but that the owner of the cellular telephone number be contemporaneously aware of the call. "This argument, though linguistically intriguing, does not hold water" because "[t]he text of the TCPA ... does not include such a requirement." Fillichio v. M.R.S. Assocs., Inc., No. 09-61629-CIV,
Indeed, persuasive authority holds that "the intended recipient need not have answered the calls. The act of placing the calls triggers the statute. " Yount v. Midland Funding, LLC, No. 2:14-CV-108,
*591King v. Time Warner Cable,
Accordingly, Ammons still has standing to bring her TCPA claims, and Ally faces potential liability for calls "made" to Ammons.
B. Revocation of Prior Express Consent
The TCPA only prohibits calls made without the "prior express consent of the called party."
In 1992, the FCC clarified that "persons who knowingly release their phone numbers have in effect given their invitation or permission to be called at the number which they have given, absent instructions to the contrary." 1992 FCC Ruling at 8769. In 2008, the FCC confirmed that "the provision of a cell phone number to a creditor, e.g., as part of a credit application, reasonably evidences prior express consent by the cell phone subscriber to be contacted at that number regarding the debt." 2008 FCC Ruling at 564-65 ; see also Baisden v. Credit Adjustments, Inc.,
The TCPA, however, is silent on whether and how a consumer may revoke previously-granted consent. In 2012, the FCC explained that "requests to stop receiving voice calls ... can be confirmed during the same call in which a consumer has expressed a desire to opt out." 2012 FCC Ruling at 15398. In 2015, the FCC analyzed revocability of consent in response to an inquiry by Santander Consumer USA, *592Inc. ("Santander"), a bank. 2015 FCC Ruling at 7993-99. Santander sought exemptions from TCPA liability for calls to debtors who furnished their phone numbers in connection with their accounts. Santander alternatively asked that, if the FCC chose to interpret consent as revocable, it allow callers like Santander to "designate a reasonable method that creates a written record " of revocation. Id. at 7993 (emphasis added). In other words, Santander wanted the FCC to sanction its imposition of written revocation conditions, presumably in its consumer credit agreement-i.e., by contract. See Galbreath v. Time Warner Cable, Inc.,
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has not addressed the issues of the method and timing of revocation of consent under the TCPA.13 Currier v. PDL Recovery Grp., LLC, Case No. 14-12179,
As suggested above, in TCPA cases a consumer complaining about unwanted telephone calls often has a contractual relationship with the company placing those calls. See Skinner v. Bluestem Brands, Inc., No. 3:14-CV-256-CWR-FKB,
Ally attempts to differentiate Osorio and Schweitzer based on the fact that the Eleventh Circuit stated therein that the plaintiffs could revoke any consent previously given "in the absence of any contractual restriction to the contrary." Osorio,
Despite the "apparent clarity" of the 2015 FCC Ruling and complementary caselaw, Patterson,
*595The Court finds the Reyes decision to be highly problematic for multiple reasons.17 First, Reyes is at odds with the 2015 FCC Ruling, which calls for a right to revocation of consent at any time and through any reasonable means, written or oral. Importantly, even though the 2015 FCC Ruling, Gager, and Osorio are clearly informed by common law principles of consent, in the end the 2015 FCC Ruling expressly set forth a right of revocation pursuant to statute . See 2015 FCC Ruling at 7994-95 (noting that there was no evidence that Congress intended to override common law notions of the right to revoke consent and stating that its conclusion was "consistent with the common law," but explicitly stating that the FCC did "not rely on common law to interpret the TCPA to include a right of revocation" and declining to sanction the substitution of common law for statutory law); see also ACA International,
In addition, the 2015 FCC Ruling explained that to allow the caller to designate the exclusive means of revocation could "materially impair the rights" of consumers under the TCPA and specifically disclaimed the addition of "additional burdens," especially if "not repeated to the consumer with each message." 2015 FCC Ruling at 7997. The FCC stated that the "TCPA requires only that the called party clearly express his or her desire not to receive further calls. This common-sense understanding of revocation is consistent with the [FCC's] requiring easy means of revocation ... while acknowledging that where Congress has intended that the means of revocation be limited, it has said so clearly."
Second, the unilateral-provision-of-number versus number-in-bargained-for-contract dichotomy that Reyes has set up is really "a distinction without a difference where[, in reality,] consumers' provision of their telephone numbers represents the same express consent as their signature on a contract" containing a consent clause. Cartrette,
Third, the Reyes court made a broad pronouncement regarding the presence of contractual provisions and resulting waiver of the right of revocation, but it did not address the difficulty in determining the scope and clarity of a consumer's waiver. More specifically, where the "consent" provision in the relevant agreement granted consent to be called but did not mention revocation at all , the Reyes court did not address why it was appropriate to implicitly find at summary judgment that a clear waiver of the right of revocation had occurred. Compare Reyes,
Finally, the history of the TCPA as a consumer protection statute obviously disfavors the Second Circuit's interpretation-a reading of the law that essentially ignores its stated public policy goals. See Mims v. Arrow Fin. Servs., LLC,
Indeed, under the Reyes reading, a debt collector could call a consumer, unbound by any sense of decency or fear of punishment, thousands and thousands of times as long as consent had initially been given in a "bargained-for" contract. Compare with 2015 FCC Ruling at 7970 (noting that "an interpretation that would lock consumers into receiving unlimited, unwanted texts and voice calls is counter to the consumer-protection purposes of the TCPA"). If this construction were so, a wide swath of the consumer base could likely be forced to contract away their rights under the TCPA or be unable to make purchases or obtain loans. See, e.g., Skinner,
*598Scarborough v. Atl. Coast Line R. Co.,
Thus, the Court finds that the adoption of Reyes by other Circuits would represent a sea change in TCPA litigation in this country. Absent that wave or direct guidance to the contrary from our Court of Appeals,21 the Court is not persuaded that *599Reyes controls the outcome here. See, e.g., Gager at 273-74, (holding that "[the company's] argument that its contractual relationship with [the customer] somehow waive[d] her rights under the TCPA is incorrect"); Ginwright,
ACA International fully supports this analysis. There, the D.C. Circuit began its analysis by declaring that "[i]t is undisputed that consumers who have consented to receiving calls otherwise forbidden by the TCPA are entitled to revoke their consent."23 ACA International,
Finally, petitioners object to the [2015 FCC Ruling] insofar as it might preclude callers and consumers from contractually agreeing to revocation mechanisms. The [FCC] correctly concedes however, that the ruling did not address whether contracting parties can select a particular revocation procedure by mutual agreement. The ruling precludes unilateral imposition of revocation rules by callers; it does not address revocation rules mutually adopted by contracting *600parties. Nothing in the [FCC]'s order thus should be understood to speak to parties' ability to agree upon revocation procedures.
From a bird's-eye view, the Court therefore concludes that: (a) the term "consent" is properly read to incorporate common law principles and at common law consent may be revoked; (b) allowing consumers to revoke consent is in keeping with the remedial, consumer-protection purposes of the TCPA, and the concept of irrevocable consent is fundamentally at odds with the TCPA's statutory scheme; (c) the FCC has provided clear authority under the TCPA that consumer consent may be revoked at any time by any reasonable means, and that a caller may not unilaterally limit those means; and (d) Gager , Osorio and their progeny are persuasive authority, Reyes is not persuasive authority, and ACA International supports this analysis.
However, the "issue of consent is ordinarily a factual issue," Thompson v. Louisiana,
Accordingly, the Court concludes that summary judgment is inappropriate concerning revocation of consent and, therefore, liability and damages. See, e.g., Herrera v. First Nat'l Bank of Omaha, N.A.,
IV. Conclusion
Ally's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 25) will be denied. Ammons' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 69) will be granted in part, regarding the conclusion that Ally's predictive dialer is an ATDS under the TCPA, and otherwise denied.
The Court will file an accompanying order.
326 F. Supp. 3d 578 (Ammons v. Ally Fin., Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.