Class Action

Class Action Defense Cases–Gene & Gene v. BioPay: Fifth Circuit Reverses Class Action Certification Of TCPA Class Action Holding Plaintiff Failed To Establish Class-Wide Proof Existed As To Issue Of Consent To Receive Fax Advertisements

By Michael J. Hassen

Class Action Alleging Violation of Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) Improperly Certified as Class Action because Issue of Consent to Receipt of Fax Advertisements not Susceptible to Class-Wide Proof Fifth Circuit Holds

Plaintiff filed a class action against BioPay alleging violations of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. § 227; The class action complaint alleged that BioPay, through a third-party contractor, sent more than 4000 fax advertisements over a four-year period to potential clients in Louisiana. Gene & Gene LLC v. BioPay LLC, 541 F.3d 318, 322 (5th Cir. 2008). The allegations underlying the class action were that the Bank decided to “implement[] a plan to consolidate the trust management activities of other banks it had acquired” and led class members to believe that “their assets were being managed on an individualized basis, when in fact the assets were being invested in shares of the Nations Funds mutual fund, managed by an investment company substantially owned by the Bank.” Id. The class action alleged further that “higher-yielding and better-managed mutual funds were available in the marketplace,” but the Bank directed customers to Nations Funds for the Bank’s economic benefit and that the Bank accomplished this by sending “misleading letters” to trustees and beneficiaries that, in part, threatened “adverse tax consequences” if they went elsewhere. Id. Defense attorneys moved to dismiss the federal claims on the merits, and moved to dismiss the state-law claims as preempted by SLUSA (Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1998). Id. In part, the defense argued that the class action should be dismissed on the grounds of judge shopping because plaintiffs’ counsel “had already filed at least five class actions in various jurisdictions seeking redress for the same alleged injuries.” Id., at 1125. The district court granted the defense motion in its entirety, and denied plaintiffs’ request for leave to file an amended class action complaint. Id., at 1125. Defense attorneys filed an interlocutory appeal under Rule 23(f) arguing (1) the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the class action, and (2) the district court erred in certifying the litigation as a class action. Id., at 321-22. The Fifth Circuit held that the district court had subject matter jurisdiction by virtue of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA), but reversed the class action certification order.

By way of background, the TCPA prohibits sending “unsolicited advertisements” from one fax machines to another; a fax is deemed to be an “unsolicited advertisement” if it advertises “the commercial availability or quality of any property, goods, or services” and is sent without “prior express invitation or permission.” BioPay , at 322 (citation omitted). In this regard, Federal Communications Commission rules adopted to implement the TCPA provide that advertisements “from persons or entities who have an established business relationship with the recipient can be deemed to be invited or permitted by the recipient.” In re Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, 7 F.C.C.R. 8752, 8779 n.87 (1992). (The TCPA was amended by the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005, but this case involves acts that predate those amendments.) The TCPA authorizes private rights of action by recipients of unsolicited fax advertisements “to enjoin future violations of the TCPA and/or to recover the greater of his actual damages or $500 for each such violation,” and “[t]he monetary award may be trebled if the court finds that a violation was willful or knowing.” BioPay, at 322 (citation omitted).

Full post as published by Class Action Defense Blog on October 21, 2008 (boomark / email).