Ride-sharing company Lyft was able to get part of a claim alleging it violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by sending using an automated telephone dialing system to send unauthorized text messages dismissed because the plaintiff failed to support his claim that an ATDS was used.
A copy of the ruling in Bodie v. Lyft can be accessed by clicking here.
John Raffeto, an associate at Goodwin Procter, pointed out that defendants “should consider” ensuring that plaintiffs do more than just “simply state that defendants used an ATDS” when making TCPA claims.
The plaintiff received two text messages from the defendant. Along with claiming that a commercial text messaging system was used to send the messages for Lyft’s benefit, that the messages were sent using an ATDS.
In granting the motion to dismiss the ATDS portion of the suit, the judge noted that the plaintiff “merely parrots statutory definition of an ATDS,” which “falls short of what is required for plausibility.”
Because the complaint was “devoid of any facts that could support a reasonable inference that Lyft used an ATDS to send the subject text messages,” the judge dismissed the claim. The judge did deny a motion to dismiss a second claim that Lyft should be held vicariously liable for the actions of the third party that sent the messages on the defendant’s behalf.
