Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY—S.D. Ind.: Consumer presses on with TCPA claims against loan management company, (Dec 17, 2015)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

A consumer could proceed with allegations that a loan management company violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by using an automatic telephone dialing system, or an artificial prerecorded voice, to place non-emergency calls to his cell phone without his permission. The federal district court in Indianapolis denied the loan management company’s motion to stay, finding that the delay would unduly prejudice the consumer because a pending U.S. Supreme Court decision would not affect his entitlement to relief for the alleged harm to his privacy rights (Johnson v. Navient Solutions, Inc., December 15, 2015, McKinney, L.).

The consumer brought his TCPA claims against Navient Solutions, Inc., formerly known as Sallie Mae, Inc. The case was before the court on Navient’s motion to stay pending a ruling by the Supreme Court in Robins v. Spokeo, Inc. (Dkt. 13-1339). Specifically, Navient argued that the consumer abandoned his claim for actual damages and that he now seeks statutory damages alone, which, depending on the ruling in Robins, he might not have standing to bring suit.

The court denied the motion to stay, finding that it was not persuaded by Navient’s argument that the consumer had abandoned his claim for actual damages. Although he would need proof of monetary and/or compensatory damages to recover them at trial, according to the court, discovery was not over and it was evident that the consumer could prove some harm to his privacy. The court therefore concluded that the consumer would be unduly prejudiced if the action was stayed pending the decision in Robins, because that decision would not affect his entitlement to relief for the harm to his privacy rights he claimed were caused by Navient’s alleged violation of the TCPA.

The case is No. 1:15-cv-00716-LJM-MJD.

Attorneys: Aaron David Radbil (Greenwald Davidson Radbil PLLC) for Randy Johnson. David M. Cummings (Vedder Price, PC) for Navient Solutions, Inc.

Companies: Navient Solutions, Inc.

Cases: Privacy IndianaNews