TCPA Autodialer Lawsuit Avoids Lyft’s Bid for Dismissal

The popular ridesharing service Lyft attempted to have a TCPA autodialer lawsuit it was facing dismissed. However, a California federal court judge has tossed the company’s bid for dismissal.

The TCPA autodialer lawsuit alleges that Lyft violated the rules of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by using an autodialer to send unsolicited text messages to consumers.

Lyft bid to have this lawsuit dismissed on February 19 on the grounds that the ridesharing app did not use an autodialer. However, U.S. District Judge M. James Lorenz denied the bid, noting that the 2018 Ninth Circuit ruling in Marks v. Crunch San Diego LLC defined an automatic telephone dialing system in broader terms that include any equipment that can store numbers to be called, or that can use a number generator to produce these numbers and call them.

This, the judge found, included Lyft’s use of the messaging platform Twilio to send texts to consumers.

The lawsuit was originally filed after the plaintiff, James B., received two text messages from Lyft on October 10, 2016, first encouraging him to download the Lyft mobile app and the second including a link to the page where he could download the app. According to the lawsuit, James never gave his express consent to be contacted by Lyft.

James filed his lawsuit as a class action, including himself and all others across the country who received texts from Lyft using an autodialer in the four years preceding the lawsuit’s filing. In January 2017, the suit was put on hold as both parties waited for a decision in the ACA International v. Federal Communications Commission lawsuit, which could have an impact on this suit as well.

In March 2018, the scope of the TCPA itself was expanded by the appeals court, which nixed the FCC’s definition of an autodialer and upheld the expansive leeway allowed consumers for revoking consent.

What is the TCPA?

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a set of rules introduced back in 1991 to counteract the rise of unwanted solicitation using technology. As technology has shifted over time, so too has the TCPA expanded to include these new technologies. Now, the TCPA includes things from robocalls to spam texts.

Consumers can report spam calls and texts with the FCC and also sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry, but more and more people are choosing to also file litigation under the terms of the TCPA.

Filing a TCPA Lawsuit

If you, like countless other consumers across the United States, have been targeted with spam texts or phone calls or messages placed with an autodialer, you may be able to file a TCPA lawsuit and pursue compensation.

Filing a lawsuit helps enforce the regulations laid out in the TCPA, as well as fight back against the ever-growing number of spam calls and texts being sent. Litigation can also help you recover financial compensation.

The TCPA Autodialer Lawsuit is Case No. 3:16-cv-02558, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

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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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.