Slow Going in Wells Fargo TCPA Arbitration, Says Joint Status Report

Little progress has been made since attorneys for plaintiff Mario Vega and defendant Wells Fargo Bank signed a joint stipulation Dec. 21 sending their Telephone Consumer Protection Act dispute to binding arbitration through the American Arbitration Association (see 2212230002), said the parties’ joint status report Monday (docket 3:22-cv-01697) in U.S. District Court for Southern California in San Diego. Arbitration was initiated around Jan. 24, said the report. Wells Fargo submitted its answer in arbitration around Feb. 17, but “no arbitrator has yet been appointed and no final arbitration hearing has yet been set,” it said. Vega’s Nov. 1 complaint alleged Wells Fargo continued to “willfully call” him more than 75 times to collect a debt after his lawyer sent the bank a cease and desist letter May 5 revoking Vega’s prior consent to be contacted.