A class action lawsuit has been filed against a collection law firm for allegedly violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act because it left two voicemail messages on the plaintiff’s phone, but the messages were an attempt to reach someone other than the plaintiff.
A copy of the complaint in the case of Morgan v. Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP can be accessed by clicking here.
The plaintiff — Linda Morgan — received two calls on her Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone. Her phone plan provided her with a pre-determined number of minutes every month. So every call or voicemail she received used up those minutes.
Two weeks apart, the plaintiff received two voicemail messages which started, “This is the collections department of Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson calling for Long, Susan.” The plaintiff said in her complaint that she has no idea who Susan Long is and has no business of any kind with the defendant.
The case was filed in the District Court for the District of Arizona, which places it in the Ninth Circuit, home to the ruing in Marks v. Crunch San Diego. Because the voicemail message was left using a pre-recorded voice, the complaint alleges the defendant used an automated telephone dialing system to make the call, and because the plaintiff never provided consent to be contacted, the messages thus violated the TCPA, the plaintiff claims.
The plaintiff is seeking to include anyone who received a call on his or her cell phone from the defendant’s ATDS that was intended for someone else as a participant in the class.
