Devin Rabbitt, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Rohrman Midwest Motors, Inc. d/b/a Arlington Acura

Summary

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois denied Rohrman Midwest Motors, Inc.'s motion to dismiss a putative class action alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The court held that 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5) applies to unsolicited telemarketing text messages and to cellular-phone subscribers participating in the national do-not-call registry. The court concluded that the plaintiff plausibly stated a TCPA claim and directed the defendant to answer.

Holdings

1. Section 227(c)(5)'s private right of action applies to text messages when they violate regulations promulgated under § 227(c)(1).
2. The TCPA's § 227(c) protections and private right of action apply to cellular-phone subscribers, including cellular numbers registered on the national do-not-call registry.
3. The complaint plausibly stated a TCPA claim because it alleged that defendant initiated multiple telephone solicitations to plaintiff and putative class members despite their registration on the national do-not-call registry.
4. The arbitrary-and-capricious standard under the Administrative Procedure Act did not govern because defendant was not asking the court to set aside FCC action under the APA, but merely asking the court not to defer to the FCC's interpretation.

Questions Presented

1. Whether 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5) authorizes a private right of action for violations involving unsolicited telemarketing text messages.
2. Whether the TCPA's protections for residential telephone subscribers under § 227(c) extend to cellular-phone subscribers.
3. Whether plaintiff plausibly stated a TCPA claim based on alleged unsolicited telemarketing messages sent despite registration on the national do-not-call registry.

Disposition

other