Dorsey’s TCPA litigation team continues to thrive on the cutting edge. In a first of its kind ruling, a Pennsylvania District Court ruled today that plaintiffs who manufacture Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) lawsuits are no longer welcome in Federal Court.  The Court granted a motion for summary judgment filed by Dorsey’s TCPA litigation team against a plaintiff who admitted purchasing and monitoring over 35 cell phones for the sole purpose of receiving calls from unwitting creditors and suing under the TCPA.

Citing Spokeo, Judge Kim Gibson held the plaintiff lacked constitutional standing to assert a claim under the TCPA.  The Court concluded that the plaintiff’s privacy interests were not violated when she received calls because her “only purpose in using her cell phones [was] to file TCPA lawsuits.”  Her economic interests were not violated because the “only purpose in purchase her phones and minutes [was] to receive more calls, thus enabling her to file TCPA lawsuits…”

The Court additionally concluded that the plaintiff lacked prudential standing because her “interests are not within the zone of interests intended to be protected by the TCPA.”  Purchasing cell phones “with the hope of receiving calls from creditors for the sole purpose of collecting statutory damages, are not ‘among the sorts of interests [the TCPA was] specifically designed to protect.’”

The transcript of the deposition of the plaintiff – taken by Dorsey’s own Divya Gupta – figured prominently in the order.  The Court seemed to appreciate the methodical, step by step, factual foundation Ms. Gupta created and presented in support of the motion.

A copy of the ruling can be viewed by clicking here.