Los Angeles partners Calvin Davis and Aaron Rudin, with assistance from senior counsel Candice Nam, successfully opposed a motion for class certification in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) action. The plaintiff claimed that our client, one of the largest real estate brokerages in the world, was engaged in cold calling to individuals listed on Do Not Call registries as well as using pre-recorded voices, all violations of the TCPA.
Federal Judge Nathaniel Cousins of the Northern District of California found that the expert declaration used by the plaintiff to demonstrate the class was sufficiently numerous suffered from a seriously flawed methodology. In addition, the court found that the question of the brokerage’s vicarious liability for the actions of its independent contractor agents was not subject to common answers as the level of supervisory control can vary greatly by agent. This ruling sounds the death knell for any effort on the part of the plaintiff to re-assert these claims in class form.
Gordon & Rees is representing this client in two other TCPA class action cases. This ruling will be of great assistance in those matters as well as for the real estate brokerage industry in general.