Aquilar v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC

289 F. Supp. 3d 1000
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maine
DecidedJanuary 30, 2018
DocketCase No. 17–cv–1530 (WMW/TNL)
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 289 F. Supp. 3d 1000 (Aquilar v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aquilar v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, 289 F. Supp. 3d 1000 (D. Me. 2018).

Opinion

Wilhelmina M. Wright, United States District Judge

In this case involving alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Defendant Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC (Ocwen), moves to dismiss Plaintiff Israel Aquilar's amended complaint or, in the alternative, to stay the proceedings pending a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in ACA International v. FCC , No. 15-1211 (D.C. Cir.). (Dkts. 8, 25.) For the reasons addressed below, the Court grants in part and denies in part Ocwen's motion to dismiss and denies Ocwen's motion to stay the proceedings.

BACKGROUND

Aquilar alleges in his amended complaint that, beginning on April 13, 2012, and continuing at least through December 15, 2015, Ocwen made more than 1,000 unsolicited calls to Aquilar's cellular telephone to collect a consumer debt Aquilar allegedly owed. Aquilar claims that Ocwen placed these calls using an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) "and/or using an artificial or prerecorded voice," in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. §§ 227 et seq. Aquilar alleges that he "clearly revoked any type of prior express consent" that he had given Ocwen, "if prior express consent ever existed to begin with." But the calls allegedly continued despite this revocation of consent. Aquilar commenced this lawsuit against Ocwen on May 9, 2017, seeking statutory damages, actual damages, and injunctive relief for negligent violations of the TCPA (Count I), for "knowing and/or willful violations" of the TCPA (Count II), and for common-law negligence (Count III).

Ocwen now moves to dismiss Aquilar's amended complaint for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted. Alternatively, Ocwen seeks to stay the proceedings pending a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in ACA International v. FCC , No. 15-1211 (D.C. Cir.). The petitioners in ACA International have challenged the validity of a July 2015 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Order (2015 FCC Order) in which the FCC interpreted the definition of the statutory term "automatic telephone dialing system," a term that is at issue here. The D.C. Circuit heard oral argument in ACA International on October 19, 2016.

ANALYSIS

I. Ocwen's Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim

A complaint must allege sufficient facts such that, when accepted as true, a facially plausible claim for relief is stated. Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ; see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). When applying this pleading standard, a district court accepts as true the factual allegations in the complaint and draws all reasonable inferences *1004in the plaintiff's favor. Blankenship v. USA Truck, Inc. , 601 F.3d 852, 853 (8th Cir. 2010). The factual allegations need not be detailed, but they must be sufficient to "raise a right to relief above the speculative level" and "state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A plaintiff must do more than offer "labels and conclusions" or a "formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action." Id. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. A court may disregard legal conclusions that are couched as factual allegations. See Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678-79, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

Ocwen moves to dismiss Aquilar's amended complaint on the ground that it does not state a plausible claim for relief under the TCPA or the common law of negligence. Aquilar opposes dismissal and counters that the amended complaint alleges sufficient facts to support his TCPA claims and common-law negligence claim.

A. TCPA Claims

Ocwen asserts that Aquilar's TCPA claims must be dismissed for two reasons-first, they are time-barred; and second, Aquilar fails to sufficiently plead revocation of consent to receive calls as required under the TCPA.

1. Time-Barred Claims Under the TCPA

Ocwen argues that Aquilar's TCPA claims are time-barred because Aquilar alleges that some of the calls occurred outside the TCPA's four-year statute of limitations. Aquilar counters that the statute of limitations was tolled and the claims are not timebarred under the TCPA.

A statute-of-limitations defense is "typically an affirmative defense, which the defendant must plead and prove." Jessie v. Potter , 516 F.3d 709, 713 n.2 (8th Cir. 2008). Unless the complaint itself establishes the statute-of-limitations defense, the possible existence of such a defense is not a basis for relief under Rule 12(b)(6). Joyce v. Armstrong Teasdale, LLP , 635 F.3d 364, 367 (8th Cir. 2011) ; see also Hile v. Jimmy Johns Highway 55, Golden Valley , 899 F.Supp.2d 843, 847 n.6 (D. Minn.

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289 F. Supp. 3d 1000, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aquilar-v-ocwen-loan-servicing-llc-med-2018.