ATKINSON v. CHOICE HOME WARRANTY

CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedJanuary 11, 2023
Docket2:22-cv-04464
StatusUnknown

This text of ATKINSON v. CHOICE HOME WARRANTY (ATKINSON v. CHOICE HOME WARRANTY) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
ATKINSON v. CHOICE HOME WARRANTY, (D.N.J. 2023).

Opinion

Not for Publication

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

TRACY ATKINSON,

Plaintiff, Civil Action No. 22-04464 v. OPINION CHOICE HOME WARRANTY

Defendant.

John Michael Vazquez, U.S.D.J. This matter arises out of an alleged series of unwanted telephone solicitations. Plaintiff Tracy Atkinson claims that Defendant Choice Home Warranty (“CHW”) placed at least seven calls to her cell phone attempting to sell her a home warranty in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227, et seq. (“TCPA”) and the Texas Business and Commerce Code § 302.101. Defendant filed the present motion, seeking dismissal of the Complaint for failure to state a claim and dismissal of Plaintiff’s request for injunctive relief for lack of standing. D.E. 8. The Court reviewed the parties’ submissions1 and decided the motion without oral argument pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 78(b) and L. Civ. R. 78.1(b). For the following reasons, Defendant’s motion is DENIED.

1 The submissions consist of CHW’s motion to dismiss, D.E. 8 (“Br.”); Plaintiff’s opposition, D.E. 10 (“Opp.”); and CHW’s reply, D.E. 11 (“Reply”). I. BACKGROUND? Plaintiff had a cell phone which she “primarily used . . . for residential purposes.” D.E. 1. (“Compl.”) Jf 12-13. Plaintiff “registered that cell phone number on the Do Not Call Registry on or around December 2, 2008.” Jd. § 14. Nevertheless, “[b]eginning on or around October 13, 2021, Defendant began calling Ms. Atkinson on her cellular telephone to sell Plaintiff a home warranty plan.” /d. § 16. Plaintiff did not consent to these calls. /d. § 18. The Complaint alleges that “Defendant placed at least 7 calls to Plaintiff,” and includes the following chart of the calls:

October 13, 2021 9:09 am 210-712-1299 October 18, 2021 4:33 pm 210-712-1299 October 22, 2021 1:16 pr 210-712-1299 October 27, 2021 3:12 pm 210-712-1299 October 27, 2021 3:18 pm 817-406-9994 October 28, 2021 12:05 prr 210-714-5061 November 1, 2021 5:10 pm 210-712-1299

Id. 21-22. During the October 27, 2021, 3:12 pm call, Plaintiff “asked if the company making the calls had a website.” Jd. § 24. Plaintiff alleges that the person on the phone “provided ‘ChoiceHomeWarranty.com’ as the website associated with the party making the calls.” /d. During that same call, Plaintiff requested to be removed from the company’s call list. /d. [¥ 26- 27. However, Plaintiff continued to receive calls from Defendant. /d. 9 28, 30, 32. Plaintiff informed the caller on two subsequent calls that she had requested to be removed from the call list. Id. 9§ 29, 31. Plaintiff alleges that CHW “directly placed the subject calls,” but that “[i]f in fact, during the course of discovery, Plaintiff learns [CHW] engaged a third-party vendor to place the

? The factual background is taken from Plaintiff's Complaint. D.E. 1.

subject calls, [CHW] would be vicariously liable for such calls.” Id. ¶¶ 35-36. Moreover, Plaintiff alleges that the calls were placed with “malicious, intentional, willful, reckless, wanton, and negligent disregard for Plaintiff’s rights under the law and with the purpose of harassing Plaintiff.” Id. ¶ 40. Plaintiff also alleges that CHW “sought the business of Plaintiff at her Texas phone number while she was a Texas resident.” Id. ¶ 34. Plaintiff claims, however, that CHW did not

“register as a telephone solicitor with the Texas Secretary of State” as required by Texas law. Id. ¶¶ 34, 45. Plaintiff’s Complaint seeks actual and statutory damages under the TCPA and Texas law as well as injunctive relief. Id. The present motion followed. D.E. 8. II. STANDARD OF REVIEW CHW moves to dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). To withstand a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), a plaintiff must allege “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). A complaint is plausible on its face when there is enough

factual content “that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). Although the plausibility standard “does not impose a probability requirement, it does require a pleading to show more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Connelly v. Lane Constr. Corp., 809 F.3d 780, 786 (3d Cir. 2016) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). As a result, a plaintiff must “allege sufficient facts to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will uncover proof of her claims.” Id. at 789. In evaluating the sufficiency of a complaint, a district court must accept all well-pleaded factual allegations in the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff. Phillips v. Cnty. of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 231 (3d Cir. 2008) (citation omitted). A court, however, is “not compelled to accept unwarranted inferences, unsupported conclusions or legal conclusions disguised as factual allegations.” Baraka v. McGreevey, 481 F.3d 187, 211 (3d Cir. 2007) (citation omitted). If, after viewing the allegations in the complaint in the manner most favorable to the plaintiff, it appears that no relief could be granted under any set of facts consistent

with the allegations, a court may dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim. DeFazio v. Leading Edge Recovery Sols., LLC, No. 10-2945, 2010 WL 5146765, at *1 (D.N.J. Dec. 13, 2010). “[T]he defendant bears the burden of showing that the plaintiff has not stated a claim.” United States ex rel. Moore & Co., P.A. v. Majestic Blue Fisheries, LLC, 812 F.3d 294, 299 n.4 (3d Cir. 2016) (citing Gould Elecs. Inc. v. United States, 220 F.3d 169, 178 (3d Cir. 2000)). CHW also seeks to dismiss Plaintiff’s request for injunctive relief pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. To decide such a motion, a court must first determine whether the party presents a facial or factual attack against a complaint. A facial attack contests “subject matter jurisdiction without disputing the facts alleged in the complaint, and it

requires the court to ‘consider the allegations of the complaint as true.’” Davis v. Wells Fargo, 824 F.3d 333, 346 (3d Cir. 2016) (quoting Petruska v. Gannon Univ., 462 F.3d 294, 302 n.3 (3d Cir. 2006)). A factual attack challenges “the factual allegations underlying the complaint’s assertion of jurisdiction, either through the filing of an answer or ‘otherwise presenting competing facts.’” Davis, 824 F.3d at 346 (quoting Const. Party of Pa. v. Aichele, 757 F.3d 347, 358 (3d Cir. 2014)).

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ATKINSON v. CHOICE HOME WARRANTY, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/atkinson-v-choice-home-warranty-njd-2023.