Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss TCPA Claims, Says Wrongdoing Was Willful

U.S. District Judge Julien Neals for New Jersey in Newark signed an opinion Monday (docket 2:21-cv-10814) denying the motion of credit repair services company Credit Pros to dismiss plaintiff Joshua Champion’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act complaint. Champion alleges Credit Pros sent 56 text message solicitations between October 2020 and January 2021 to a number he had listed on the national do not call registry since July 2019. There are “sufficient factual allegations” to show Credit Pros violated the TCPA by contacting a number on the DNC registry and by failing to identify the sender of the text messages, said Neals’ opinion. There also are sufficient allegations to show Credit Pros used an automatic telephone dialing system in sending Champion the texts, also in violation of the TCPA, it said. The judge said Champion stated a claim for treble damages because the TCPA violations were knowing and willful, it said. The 56 text messages came from 56 different phone numbers because Credit Pros sought to avoid getting blocked, said the opinion. The alleged text messages included misspelled words, which further indicates Credit Pros “sought to appear legitimate,” it said. The company went to great lengths to hide its identity in the text messages to avoid liability under the TCPA, it said: “Plainly, these factual allegations suggest awareness of wrongdoing.”