Navient Cellphone Lawsuit Granted Class Action Status

An Indiana federal judge has given the green light to class action status of a Navient cellphone lawsuit.

A nationwide class of cellphone owners allege they received unsolicited, autodialed phone calls from Navient Solutions Inc., a student loan service company.

Navient tried to argue that individual circumstance of each call made the group unsuitable for class action status.

U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney said in his order that he disagreed with Navient’s argument that each call recipient’s identity would be too difficult to determine because of family or business calling plans.

Judge McKinney also addressed Navient’s objections to lead plaintiff Randy Johnson’s ability to sue and his position as lead plaintiff in the Navient cellphone lawsuit.

“There will undoubtedly be differences in the amount of damages claimed by class members, differences on users and habits of users, yet these matters can be efficiently addressed,” Judge McKinney wrote.

Navient Cellphone Lawsuit Filed in 2015

Lead plaintiff Randy Johnson filed a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) lawsuit in May 2015.  He claims he received repeated calls from Navient from September 2014 forward.

Upon answering, he was greeted with a recorded or artificial voice, but he finally was told that the company was looking for someone named Marie Bottoms, according to the lawsuit.

Despite repeatedly telling Navient that he was not Marie Bottoms, the calls persisted.

The judge certified the class with Johnson as lead plaintiff. Anyone Navient called at least once using an automated dialer to reach a cellphone number AFTER the recipient told Navient it had the wrong number between May 2011 and March 2016 is part of the certified Navient cellphone lawsuit.

The judge rejected Navient’s argument that someone had used Johnson’s cellphone and given the company permission to call it.

“The court’s view is that because the act prohibits automated calls to any cellphone number, once the user of that phone notifies the originating entity that there is a wrong number, those calls must stop,” he wrote. “If there is a question about the authenticity of the claim that a wrong number has been dialed, the attempt to reach the appropriate party must change.”

Why the Navient Cellphone Lawsuit is Important

The TCPA was enacted in 1991 to protect consumers from unwanted telemarketing phone calls and faxes. The Act is especially designed to prevent automated phone dialing systems from sending unsolicited phone calls.

At the time the TCPA was written, most cell phone plans charged by the phone call or by the minute, which means the recipient of such calls would be charged to receive them. This is still the case with some, but not all, cell phone plans today.

When a business such as Navient uses an automated dialing system to reach a consumer even after being informed it has reach the incorrect consumer, that business should be held accountable for violating the TCPA.

If you have been the victim of unwanted phone calls or text messages from Navient or any other business, you could have a legal claim.

The Navient Cellphone Lawsuit is Randy Johnson et al. v. Navient Solutions Inc., Case No. 1:15-cv-00716, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

UPDATE: The Navient TCPA class action settlement is now open! Click here to file a claim.

UPDATE 2: On Sept. 22, 2017, Top Class Actions viewers who filed valid claims for the Navient TCPA class action settlement started receiving checks in the mail worth as much as $510.27!

Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were contacted on your cell phone by a company via an unsolicited text message (text spam) or prerecorded voice message (robocall), you may be eligible for compensation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

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