Debt collector Atlas Credit continues placing “harassing” calls to Jessica Garcia, despite her demands that the calls stop and despite her “explicitly telling” the company of her inability to pay back her loan, alleged Garcia’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act complaint Friday (docket 7:24-cv-00053) in U.S. District Court for Southern Texas in McAllen. Garcia, a Rio Grande, Texas, consumer, entered into a personal loan agreement with Atlas in February 2023, and began making monthly repayments, said the complaint. In November, due to “unforeseen financial hardship,” Garcia was unable to continue making her monthly payments, thus incurring a debt totaling about $1,600, it said. The collection calls from Atlas began almost immediately and have persisted to the present day, it said. Garcia’s multiple demands that the calls stop “fell on deaf ears,” said her complaint. Atlas’ “harassing phone calls and conduct” have severely disrupted Garcia’s “everyday life and overall well-being,” it said. The complaint also alleges violations of the Texas Debt Collection Act.
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John Does stole an Apple email account that Keyvan Samini had controlled and used for more than 12 years, alleged his complaint Tuesday (docket 8:24-cv-00249) against Apple and John Does 1-10 in U.S. District Court for Central California in Santa Ana. Samini alleges Apple has contributed to the harm he has suffered by not doing what it could within its "technological ability" to rectify the harm.
Ganiyu Jaiyeola, the former Apple metallurgist whose appeal seeks injunctive relief to block Apple, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon from advertising the iPhone 15 Pro as a titanium device (see 2401080002), “is a pro se serial litigant who has been sanctioned in multiple jurisdictions across the country for repeatedly filing baseless petitions,” said AT&T’s answering brief Monday (docket 23-4027) in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This appeal “is similarly meritless and abusive,” it said.
Because a former Amazon third-party seller and its counsel don’t and can’t articulate any “non-frivolous basis” for the seller’s unsuccessful motion to remand its vacatur petition to New York Supreme Court, U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon for Southern New York in Manhattan should impose sanctions against Julie Guo and her JS Law Office for violating Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b), said Amazon’s reply brief Thursday (docket 1:23-cv-03334) in support of its Jan. 15 motion for sanctions (see 2401120032). Amazon contends it’s entitled to monetary sanctions equaling the attorneys’ fees and court costs it incurred in defending against Shenzhen Zongheng Domain Network Co.'s remand motion. Zongheng sought to vacate an arbitration award in Amazon’s favor and to recover the $508,000 in sales proceeds that Amazon seized, and the arbitrator let it keep, when it deactivated the seller’s account for manipulating customer product reviews. Rochon rejected the remand motion and ultimately denied the vacatur petition itself. Zongheng’s motion for reconsideration of that denial is pending.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Major for Southern California in San Diego signed an order Monday (docket 3:23-cv-00199) confirming plaintiff Matilde Cowen’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act settlement with Kohl’s and directing the parties to file their joint motion for dismissal of the case by April 1. If the signed joint motion for dismissal is timely filed, the parties and attorneys aren’t required to make any further appearances, said the order. If the joint motion isn’t filed by April 1, then all counsel of record are required to appear in person for an April 4 settlement disposition conference, it said. If anyone fails to appear at the conference, or the parties fail to timely file the joint motion for dismissal, the judge will issue an order to show cause why sanctions shouldn’t be imposed for failing to comply with the order, it said. Cowen alleged she had to fend off calls from Kohl’s debt collection agents as often as twice a day, sometimes every day, in violation of the TCPA and also California’s Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (see 2302030043). Cowen estimates Kohl’s called her more than 150 times in total, after receiving written notice from her lawyers revoking any prior consent to call.
The counsel for a former Amazon third-party seller urged the U.S. District Court for Southern New York in Manhattan to deny Amazon’s Jan. 11 motion for Rule 11 monetary sanctions against her for submitting legal arguments she knew to be frivolous (see 2401120032), said her opposition Friday (docket 1:23-cv-03334).
DOJ informed Alpha and Omega Semiconductor on Jan. 19 that it has closed, without bring criminal charges, its three-year investigation into the company’s compliance with export control regulations against Huawei and its subsidiaries, said the chipmaker Thursday. The company “is pleased with this decision” and intends to continue cooperating with the Commerce Department’s ongoing Huawei civil investigation, it said. At Commerce’s request, Alpha and Omega Semiconductor hasn't shipped product to Huawei since December 2019, it said.
Here are Communications Litigation Today's top stories from last week, in case you missed them. Each can be found by searching on its title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Valle for Southern Florida in Fort Lauderdale directed plaintiff Kristy Beckwith and defendant Northeastern Health Group to agree on a mediator and to file notice of the selection of that mediator by Jan. 31, as is required under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16 and Local Rule 16.2, said the judge’s order, signed Wednesday and posted Thursday (docket 0:23-cv-62387). The notice will specify the place, date and time of mediation, said the order. If there’s no agreement on a mediator, the clerk will designate one “on a blind rotation basis,” it said. If mediation isn’t conducted, the case “may be stricken from the trial calendar, and other sanctions may be imposed,” it said. Beckwith’s Dec. 21 class action alleges Northeastern, a health insurance company, made telemarketing calls to residential phone numbers listed on the national do not call registry, in prohibition of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (see 2312220017).