Plaintiff Voluntarily Dismisses His TCPA Claims vs. ex-GOP Candidate Ramaswamy

Thomas Grant is voluntarily dismissing without prejudice his Telephone Consumer Protection Act claims against former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, with each party to bear its own attorneys’ fees and costs, said Grant’s notice Thursday (docket 2:24-cv-00281) in U.S. District Court for Southern Ohio in Columbus. The plaintiff’s dismissal rendered moot Friday’s briefing deadline on whether aspects of his dispute with Ramaswamy over TCPA exemptions should be referred to the FCC under the primary jurisdiction doctrine (see 2405100024). Grant had alleged that Ramaswamy, who suspended his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination Jan. 15, placed prerecorded calls to consumers’ cellphones to promote his telephonic town hall events without first obtaining their prior express consent (see 2401240002). The plaintiff filed similar allegations May 26 against Ryan Binkley, who suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination Feb. 27 (see 2405280002). Attorney Avi Kaufman, who represents Grant in both actions, didn’t respond to emails seeking comment about the conditions of Grant’s voluntary dismissal of the claims against Ramaswamy.