A status conference is set for Tuesday at 2 p.m. EST on plaintiff Catherine Migliano’s complaint that the right-leaning social media platform Parler violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, said a scheduling order signed Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Roy Altman for Southern Florida in Fort Lauderdale and posted Wednesday (docket 0:22-cv-61805). Counsel in Altman’s jurisdiction have the option of participating in person or virtually, his order said. A jury trial in the case is to open March 11, 2024 (see 2301130003). Parler denies Migliano’s assertions it waived its “contractual right” to arbitrate her dispute when it failed to renew its motion to compel after she filed her amended complaint.

A jury trial would open Feb. 12, 2024, on plaintiff Mabel Arredondo’s allegations that loanDepot violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, said a proposed scheduling order filed Thursday (docket 3:22-cv-00374) in U.S. District Court for Western Texas in El Paso. Arredondo alleges loanDepot inundated her with at least 18 unauthorized automated text messages to her personal cellphone from July 26 and until the day she filed her complaint Oct. 21 (see 2210250045). LoanDepot answered her complaint Dec. 19, alleging the TCPA, as interpreted by the FCC, violates the First Amendment “because such application relies upon content-based restrictions of protected speech” (see 2212200014). It also argued the statute is “unconstitutionally vague” because the restrictions imposed by the TCPA don't give a person of ordinary intelligence adequate notice of the conduct that's prohibited. The proposed scheduling order gives a Dec. 18 deadline for completing all discovery.

Plaintiff Mary Graehl and defendant Kohl’s propose July 28 as the deadline for completing discovery in Graehl’s Nov. 14 Telephone Consumer Protection Act complaint against the retail chain, said a joint Rule 26(f) planning report Thursday (docket 2:22-cv-01341) in U.S. District Court for Eastern Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Graehl alleges Kohl’s calls persisted even after she made “a verbal cease and desist request,” said the report. The retailer asserts Graehl gave her consent to be contacted in connection with her Kohl’s credit card when she applied for her account in May, it said. Kohl’s “has no record” of Graehl asking it to stop the calls, it said. Kohl’s “denies any liability” to Graehl in this case, it said: “This matter is in its infancy, and discovery is ongoing.” The company “reserves its rights to assert additional affirmative defenses,” it said. Kohl’s answered Graehl’s complaint this month, asserting the damages she seeks under the TCPA violate the 14th Amendment’s due process clause and constitute excessive fines in violation of the Eighth Amendment (see 2301090028). It made no mention of the constitutional challenges to the TCPA in the joint report.

The hotel where plaintiff Phillip Lendenbaum was general manager in 2020 used his cellphone number as the contact number for the hotel’s DoorDash deliveries, said his Telephone Consumer Protection Act complaint Wednesday (docket 3:23-cv-00370) in U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Francisco. But the “constant calls” to his cellphone with the same prerecorded messages persisted after he left the job nearly three years ago, it said. A Maryland resident, Lendenbaum “has repeatedly attempted to block the phone numbers generating these calls but has been unsuccessful in stopping them,” it said. He has spoken to “multiple” DoorDash supervisors who have repeatedly assured him that they would fix the issue, it said. Despite those assurances, Lendenbaum continues to receive “bothersome and harassing calls” to his cellphone every day, featuring the same prerecorded messages, it said. DoorDash didn’t comment Wednesday.

Plaintiff Lucas Horton voluntarily dismissed with prejudice his Dec. 29 complaint alleging End Citizens United engaged in unlawful telemarketing during the Georgia senatorial runoff campaign, said Horton’s notice Tuesday (docket 3:22-cv-02916) in U.S. District Court for Northern Texas in Dallas. Horton alleged the fundraising drive to support Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., in his Dec. 8 runoff against Republican Herschel Walker caused the Democratic-leaning campaign finance reform group to violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Texas Business and Commercial Code (see 2301030001). Horton of Richardson, Texas, has a nearly identical complaint in the same court still pending against the Democratic Victory Fund PAC (docket 3:22-cv-02913).

Diamond Resorts is “engaged in a scheme” to sell timeshares via “cold calls” to residential phone numbers listed on the protected federal do not call registry, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, alleged Orange County, California, resident Paul Sapan in a class action Tuesday (docket 8:23-cv-00147) in U.S. District Court for Central California in Santa Ana. Diamond “intentionally violated the TCPA in a so-far successful attempt to sell financial and/or mortgage packages for years,” said Sapan’s complaint. He asserts his number has been listed on the DNC registry since “at least” December 2007. His complaint alleges the resort company placed 10 calls to his line between October 2020 and February 2021, but doesn’t say why he waited to file his TCPA complaint until now. The complaint is unusual among other TCPA actions because Sapan kept a log of all the calls he received from Diamond by date and time. Diamond didn't respond to requests for comment.

Gerber Life hired an entity identifying itself as Legacy Quote to market insurance services through unsolicited telemarketing calls to individuals whose numbers were listed on the Do Not Call registry, alleged a Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action Monday (docket 7:23-cv-00552) in U.S. District Court for Southern New York. Roanoke, Virginia, resident Thomas Matthews received such calls on his personal residential cellphone despite having listed his number on the registry in August 2021, said his complaint. Because the calls were transmitted “using technology capable of generating thousands of similar calls per day,” Matthews sued “on behalf of a proposed nationwide class of other persons,” it said. Gerber Life “has knowingly and actively accepted business that originated through the telemarketing calls to individuals whose telephone numbers are listed” on the registry “and who did not consent in writing or otherwise to receive such calls,” it said. Despite having been sued at least once previously for TCPA violations due to the telemarketing activities of third parties, “Gerber Life continued to do business with third party lead generation providers,” it said. Gerber Life didn’t comment.

Health Advisors of America owner Michael Smith, defendant in the eight-state robocalling lawsuit (see 2212130001), filed a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Southern Florida, said his notice Thursday (docket 4:20-cv-02021) in U.S. District Court for Southern Texas in Houston where the robocalling case resides. “The automatic stay provisions of Section 362 of the Bankruptcy Code apply to these proceedings,” said the notice. Smith’s bankruptcy petition (case number 23-10373) lists total assets of $3.09 million and total liabilities of $2.27 million. Smith owes nearly $137,000 in credit card debt to American Express, Capital One and Discover, said the petition. The Small Business Administration is his largest unsecured creditor, with nearly $527,000 owed on an undated loan.

American Express unlawfully tried to collect a debt allegedly owed by San Diego County plaintiff Tracy Davis via the use of an automated telephone dialing system or artificial or prerecorded voice, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, alleged her complaint Tuesday (docket 3:23-cv-00088) in U.S. District Court for Southern California. Davis estimates American Express representatives called her cellphone more than 100 times, and said the calls continued even after she hired a lawyer who told them to stop. The attorney, Ahren Tiller, with the BLC Law Center in San Diego, represented another plaintiff who voluntarily dismissed his TCPA complaint against American Express just before New Year’s (see 2212300001).

LendingTree and its agents don’t check the federal Do Not Call Registry before making calls to sell its financial services, said a class action alleging violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (docket 8:23-cv-00071) in U.S. District Court for Central California in Santa Ana Friday. Plaintiff Paul Sapan, of Orange County, California, alleged he received 11 calls Jan. 17-March 6, 2019, from LendingTree representatives trying to sell its services. Sapan doesn’t have an established business relationship or personal relationship with LendingTree or people associated with the company, said the complaint. In the first call, LendingTree illegally blocked a caller ID name from appearing, and since he could not tell who was calling, Sapan answered the phone, the complaint said. The caller identified himself as being with National Mortgage Advantage, asking Sapan if he was looking to refinance his home. Sapan said he decided to “play along,” knowing such a company didn’t exist, saying he wanted to determine who the true caller was. Sapan said he didn’t request or agree to a callback but received one about five minutes after the call ended from a different number that also illegally blocked the caller ID name. The caller said he was a partner of LendingTree and connected Sapan to a LendingTree employee. LendingTree “knew or reasonably should have known” that its agents were making illegal calls to residential numbers on the Do Not Call registry, Sapan said. Plaintiffs seek an award of $500 for each violation of 47 Code 227, plus attorneys’ fees and court costs. LendingTree didn't comment.