The U.S. Supreme Court has held that a class action can continue after the defendant offers the lead plaintiff everything requested and the plaintiff rejects the offer. Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Jose Gomez, No. 14-857 (U.S., order entered January 20, 2016). The claim at issue stemmed from an alleged violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by Campbell-Ewald Co. after the U.S. Navy contracted the company to create a multimedia recruiting campaign. Campbell-Ewald offered the plaintiff costs plus $1,503 per unwanted text message received, but the plaintiff let the settlement offer expire without response. The company then moved to dismiss the case on the grounds that no case or controversy existed because its offer had mooted the plaintiff’s claim by providing him with complete relief. The district court denied the motion’s argument and the Ninth Circuit later agreed, but other federal appeals courts had decided the issue differently. The Supreme Court…
Tag Archives TCPA
Class representatives in litigation against Papa John’s International have filed an unopposed motion for preliminary approval of a class action settlement in a case involving claims that the company’s franchisees sent unlawful commercial text messages through OnTime4U to some 220,000 individuals without their express consent. Agne v. Papa John’s Int’l, Inc., No. 10-1139 (W.D. Wash., filed May 17, 2013). Details about the court’s grant of class certification appear in Issue 463 of this Update. Under the proposed agreement, class members who are provided notice will automatically receive a merchandise certificate for a free Papa John’s pizza—a $13 retail value with a collective value of $2.86 million. Class members who submit claims and whose phone numbers are verified will also receive $50 each at an aggregate value of $11 million. Attorney’s fees and costs will add $2.45 million to the settlement fund, and $25,000 in incentives for the named plaintiffs will…
