McMillion et al v. Rash Curtis & Associates
Filing
199
ORDER by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denying 189 Motion for Reconsideration. (ygrlc2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/18/2018)
Case 4:16-cv-03396-YGR Document 199 Filed 06/18/18 Page 1 of 8
1
2
3
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
4
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
5
6
SANDRA MCMILLION, ET AL.,
Plaintiffs,
7
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR
RECONSIDERATION
vs.
8
9
CASE NO. 16-cv-03396-YGR
RASH CURTIS & ASSOCIATES,
Re: Dkt. No. 189
Defendant.
10
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
12
Plaintiffs Sandra McMillion, Jessica Adekoya, and Ignacio Perez bring this class action
13
against defendant Rash Curtis & Associates (“Rash Curtis”) alleging that defendant called
14
plaintiffs and class members without consent in violation of several laws, including the Telephone
15
Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. Sections 227, eq seq. (the “TCPA”). Relevant to the instant
16
motion, on February 2, 2018, the Court ruled on parties’ motions for summary judgment. (Dkt.
17
18
No. 167 (“SJ Order”).) In its order, the Court granted plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary
judgment regarding the dialer systems1 defendant used to make the alleged phone calls and held
19
20
that those Dialers constitute Automatic Telephone Dialing Systems (“ATDSs”) within the
21
meaning of the TCPA. (Id. at 2.) The Court also granted plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary
22
judgment on the issue of prior express consent with regard to Perez and held that Rash Curtis
23
never possessed prior express consent to call Perez. (Id. at 3, 11, 12.) Now, Rash Curtis moves
24
25
that the Court reconsider the parties’ motions for summary judgment in light of the recent outcome
in ACA International v. Federal Communications Commission, 2018 WL 1352922 (D.C. Cir.
26
27
28
1
Plaintiffs offer evidence that to make the alleged calls, defendant employed three dialers:
(i) DAKCS/VIC Software System (“DAKCS/VIC”), (ii) Global Connect system (“Global
Connect”), and (iii) TCN (collectively, “Dialers”). (Dkt. No. 46-6 at 55-56.)
Case 4:16-cv-03396-YGR Document 199 Filed 06/18/18 Page 2 of 8
1
March 16, 2018). (Dkt. No. 189 (“Motion”).) Specifically, Rash Curtis asks the Court to
2
reconsider whether (i) defendant’s Dialers constitute ATDSs under the TCPA; (ii) the defendant
3
used an artificial or pre-recorded voice during any of the calls made without plaintiffs’ prior
4
express consent; and (iii) the defendant reasonably relied on a third party’s prior express consent
5
in calling Perez. 2 (Id. at 1.) Alternatively, Rash Curtis requests that the Court reconsider its
6
motion to stay this action pending the outcome of Marks v. Crunch San Diego, LLC, Case No. 14-
7
56834 (9th Cir. December 14, 2106). (Id. at 25.)
8
9
Having carefully reviewed the pleadings and the papers submitted, and for the reasons set
forth more fully below, the Court DENIES Rash Curtis’ motion to reconsider the parties’ motions
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
10
for summary judgment or, in the alternative, stay the case.
12
I.
13
14
BACKGROUND
A.
Use of an ATDS
Plaintiffs allege that Rash Curtis repeatedly called them on their cell phones using an
15
16
17
ATDS and/or an artificial or prerecorded voice. (Dkt. No. 1 (“Compl.”) ¶¶ 2, 4, 6.) Regarding the
Dialers that Rash Curtis allegedly used, plaintiffs assert that the DAKCS/VIC dialer can dial
18
eighty phone numbers per minute and the Global Connect dialer can dial approximately 60,000
19
phone numbers in a twelve-hour period. (Dkt. No. 46-6 at 99-100.) Plaintiffs also offer testimony
20
of Rash Curtis executives who state that DAKCS/VIC and TCN are predictive dialers. (Dkt. No.
21
139-2 at 23 and 90.) With regard to Global Connect, plaintiffs proffer that Global Connect offers
22
23
2
24
25
26
27
28
Rash Curtis also requests that the Court “Grant Partial Summary Judgment to Rash
Curtis on the issue of whether Rash Curtis’ three dialers do not constitute ATDSs” as well as “the
issue of TCPA liability based on the fact that none of the calls which were placed without prior
express consent were done so using an ATDS or a pre-recorded or artificial voice[.]” (Motion at
24.) These requests were not a part of Rash Curtis’ motion for summary judgment and are,
therefore, not appropriate for reconsideration. (See Dkt. No. 140). Additionally, the Court notes
that its Standing Order requires that “no motion for summary judgment . . . may be filed without
prior leave of the court” and permits only one summary judgment motion per side. Standing
Order in Civil Cases at 3-4. For these reasons, the Court DENIES Rash Curtis’ motion for partial
summary judgment as to the aforementioned issues.
2
Case 4:16-cv-03396-YGR Document 199 Filed 06/18/18 Page 3 of 8
1
2
3
“predictive” functionality and enables defendant to make ten simultaneous calls per agent to reach
“thousands of contacts within minutes.” (Dkt. No. 46-4 ¶ 39; Dkt. No. 139-2 at ECF 179.)
Plaintiffs sought partial summary judgment on the issue of whether Rash Curtis’ Dialers
4
constitute ATDSs within the meaning of the TCPA. (SJ Order at 2.) Plaintiffs argued that the
5
Dialers were ATDSs because they possessed “predictive dialing” capabilities which allowed them
6
to operate without human intervention. (See Dkt. No. 139 at 6-11.) Rash Curtis argued that in
7
8
9
light of the Ninth Circuit’s decision to defer submission on the issue of whether a predictive dialer
constitutes an ATDS in Marks v. Crunch San Diego, LLC, Case No. 14-56834 (9th Cir. 2016)
pending the D.C. Circuit’s decision in ACA International, the Court should stay the instant case.
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
10
(Dkt. 152 at 16.) Rash Curtis further contended that its Dialers were not ATDSs because they
12
could not either store or produce phone numbers to be called by using a random or sequential
13
number generator. (Id. at 1.) The Court granted the plaintiffs’ motion and held that Rash Curtis’
14
Dialers were ATDSs within the meaning of the TCPA. (SJ Order at 6-7.) Additionally, the Court
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
declined to stay the case and noted that the mere deferral of a case does not displace the existing
law on the issue of whether predictive dialers constituted ATDSs. (Id. at 7.)
B.
Prior Express Consent as to Perez
Ignacio Perez alleges that Rash Curtis called his cell phone, a number ending in 5193, four
times in 2016. (Compl. ¶ 7.) During the fourth and final phone call, Rash Curtis learned that the
number ending in 5193 belonged to Perez, not the individual that the defendant was attempting to
22
contact, Daniel Reynoso. (Dkt. No. 140 at 8.) Reynoso had previously provided the cell phone
23
24
number ending in 5193 in connection with a hospital visit that resulted in the debt about which
25
Rash Curtis was attempting speak with Reynoso when the defendant called Perez. (Id. at 7.)
26
Perez also provided the number ending in 5193 to the same hospital in connection with medical
27
28
3
Case 4:16-cv-03396-YGR Document 199 Filed 06/18/18 Page 4 of 8
1
treatment received by individuals under his care.3 (Id. at 8.)
Plaintiffs sought partial summary judgment on the issue of whether Rash Curtis had prior
2
3
consent to call the named plaintiffs, including Perez. (Dkt. No. 139 at 12-14.) Plaintiffs argued
4
that Rash Curtis did not provide any evidence of prior express consent by Perez. (Id. at 13.)
5
Instead, Rash Curtis argued that because Perez previously provided consent regarding an unrelated
6
hospital visit, the defendant had prior express consent to contact Perez even though Perez was not
7
8
9
the intended recipient of defendant’s phone call. (Dkt. No. 140 at 14.) The Court held that Rash
Curtis did not possess prior express consent to call Perez. (SJ Order 11-12.) The Court further
found that Rash Curtis was (i) attempting to reach a different individual when it called Perez’s cell
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
10
phone number and (ii) did not call Perez in connection with a particular debt owned by Perez.
12
(Id.)
13
14
II.
DISCUSSION
A. Motion to Reconsider Motion Order on Parties’ Motions for Summary Judgment
15
16
17
Rash Curtis argues that because the Court’s order on the motions for summary judgment
relied “solely” on the Dialer’s “capability to ‘predictively’ dial phone numbers ‘without human
18
intervention,’” the Court should reconsider its order in light of the D.C. Circuit’s holding in ACA
19
International which “remove[s] ‘predictive dialers’ as well as dialers which ‘operate without
20
human intervention,’ from the list of telephone dial equipment which constitute ATDSs.” (Motion
21
at 11.) Reconsideration is “an extraordinary remedy, to be used sparingly in the interests of
22
finality and conservation of judicial resources.” Kona Enters, Inc. v. Estate of Bishop, 229 F.3d
23
24
877, 890 (9th Cir. 2000) (internal citations omitted). Absent highly unusual circumstances, a court
25
should not grant a motion for reconsideration unless the court “is presented with newly discovered
26
evidence, committed a clear error, or if there is an intervening change in the controlling law.” Id.
27
28
3
At the time, Perez worked as a personal care-taker. (Dkt. No. 139 at 12.)
4
Case 4:16-cv-03396-YGR Document 199 Filed 06/18/18 Page 5 of 8
1
(internal citations omitted) (emphasis supplied). Here, Rash Curtis does not point to newly
2
discovered evidence or argue that the Court committed a clear error, instead the defendant argues
3
that the Court should reconsider its order in light of a recent decision that does not constitute
4
controlling law. (See Motion.)
5
6
The D.C. Circuit’s decision in ACA International may influence a future ruling by the
Ninth Circuit regarding the TCPA, but it does not itself constitute a change in the controlling law.
7
8
9
First, ACA International invalidated only the 2015 FCC Order—the court discusses but does not
rule on the validity of the 2003 FCC Order or the 2008 FCC Order. See ACA International, 885
F.3d at 703 (finding that the FCC’s 2015 ruling, in describing the functions a device must perform
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
10
to qualify as an autodialer, fails to satisfy the requirement of reasoned decisionmaking and noting
12
that it may be permissible for the FCC to adopt either interpretation).4 Second, even if the D.C.
13
14
Circuit had vacated the 2003 and 2008 FCC Orders, ACA International has no bearing on preexisting Ninth Circuit precedent. In 2009, the Ninth Circuit held that for a dialing system to be an
15
16
17
ATDS it “need not actually store, produce, or call randomly or sequentially generated telephone
numbers, it need only have the capacity to do it.” Satterfield v. Simon & Schuster, Inc., 569 F.3d
18
946, 951 (9th Ci. 2009). In 2012, the court held that “capacity” is not limited to present ability
19
and that “predictive dialers fall squarely within the FCC’s definition of ‘automatic telephone
20
dialing system.’” Meyer v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., 707 F.3d 1036, 1043 (9th Cir. 2012).
21
Rash Curtis also argues that because the D.C. Circuit in ACA International “confirmed the
22
Commission’s embraces of an interpretation of the statutory phrase prior express consent
23
24
25
grounded in conceptions of reasonable reliance,” the Court should reconsider whether the
defendant reasonably relied on prior express consent provided by the Reynoso, who previously
26
27
28
4
See also Reyes v. BCA Financial Services, Inc., 2018 WL 2220417, at *11 (S.D. Fla.
May 14, 2018) (finding that both the 2003 and the 2008 FCC Opinions remain valid following
ACA International); Swaney v. Regions Bank, 2018 WL 2316452, at *1 (N.D. Ala. May 22, 2018).
5
Case 4:16-cv-03396-YGR Document 199 Filed 06/18/18 Page 6 of 8
1
owned Perez’s phone number.5 (Motion at 21-22.) As noted above, the decision in ACA
2
International may influence a future ruling, but it does not itself constitute a change in the
3
controlling law. Additionally, even if ACA International did constitute controlling law, it does not
4
change the Ninth Circuit’s finding in Meyer that “prior express consent is consent to call a
5
particular telephone number in connection with a particular debt that is given before the call in
6
question is placed.” See Meyer, 707 F.3d at 1042 (emphasis supplied).
7
8
9
10
Accordingly, because the D.C. Circuit’s ruling in ACA International does not constitute
controlling law this circuit, the Court finds that parties’ motions for summary judgment are not
appropriate for reconsideration.
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
B. Motion to Stay
12
Now that the D.C. Circuit has issued its opinion in ACA International, Rash Curtis requests
13
14
that the Court reconsider its motion to stay the instant case pending the Ninth Circuit’s decision in
Marks.6 (Motion at 25.) A stay pending the resolution of an appeal in another case is appropriate
15
16
17
only in “rare circumstances.” Landis v. North American Company, 299 U.S. 248, 255 (1936).
Those circumstances include whether (i) a final result is imminently forthcoming; (ii) the
18
impending decision would have an impact on the issues raised in the instant matter; (iii) the
19
moving party demonstrates hardship in moving forwarding; and (iv) a stay will prejudice the non-
20
moving party. See Glick v. Performant Fin. Corp., 2017 WL 786293 at *2 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 27,
21
2017) (denying defendant’s motion to stay the case pending decisions in ACA International and
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
5
The Court notes that Rash Curtis’ original motion for summary judgment did not assert
that the defendant had prior express consent to call Perez as a result of consent provided by
Reynoso. Instead, defendant’s motion asserted that Perez had given his cell phone number in
connection with medical treatment provided to individuals in his care, he had given prior express
consent to receive calls regarding medical billing. (Dkt. No. 140 at 17.)
6
The Court notes that Rash Curtis’ original motion to stay the case requested a stay
pending the outcome of ACA International, not Marks. (Dkt. No. 156 at 1.) Therefore, the Court
will treat Rash Curtis’ motion as a motion to stay rather than a motion for reconsideration of a
motion to stay.
6
Case 4:16-cv-03396-YGR Document 199 Filed 06/18/18 Page 7 of 8
1
2
Marks); Edwards v. Oportun, Inc., 193 F.Supp.3d 1096, 1100-1102 (N.D. Cal. 2016).
Given the recent decision in ACA International, the pending resolution of which was the
3
Ninth Circuit’s express reasoning for sua sponte ordering a stay in Marks, a final result in Marks
4
may be forthcoming. The impending decision in Marks will constitute controlling law and will
5
likely clarify the Ninth Circuit’s position on the type of device or system that qualifies as an
6
ATDS within the meaning of the TCPA. However, plaintiffs’ TCPA claims are not limited to
7
8
9
Rash Curtis’ use of an ATDS. They also concern defendant’s use of an artificial or prerecorded
voice system. (Opp. at 19.); see Mendez v. Optio Solutions, LLC, 239 F.Supp.3d 1229, 1233 (S.D.
Cal. 2017) (holding that stay of a case pending the D.C. Circuit’s decision in ACA International is
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
10
inappropriate where plaintiff’s TCPA claims are not limited to defendant’s use of an ATDS but
12
also concern defendants use of an artificial or prerecorded voice system).7
13
14
Although a decision may be forthcoming in Marks that would likely have some impact on
the issues raised in the instant matter, it is unclear whether a resolution of Marks will “have a
15
16
17
direct impact on the issues before the court, or substantially simplify the issues presented.” Id.
“Even if the outcome [in Marks] was relevant to these proceedings and favorable to the
18
[d]efendant, other issues would remain ripe for consideration, discovery, and resolution.” Id.
19
Therefore, the Court is open to considering bifurcation of the case as between those alleged calls
20
involving ATDSs and those involving artificial or prerecorded voice systems. However, the Court
21
finds that a stay pending the resolution of Marks is not appropriate in the instant case.
22
III. CONCLUSION
23
24
25
For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES Rash Curtis’ motion to reconsider the parties’
motions for summary judgment or, in the alternative, to stay the case.
26
27
28
7
Additionally, Rash Curtis has not demonstrated hardship in moving forward, however
the plaintiffs have not shown that a stay would create the potential for prejudice. See Glick, 2017
WL 786293 at *2.
7
Case 4:16-cv-03396-YGR Document 199 Filed 06/18/18 Page 8 of 8
1
2
This Order terminates Docket Number 189.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
3
4
Dated: June 18, 2018
YVONNE GONZALEZ ROGERS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE
5
6
7
8
9
10
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
8
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?