Serial Filer of Class Action Suits Against Tele-Marketers Draws Attention of District Judge

Sonya Winner’s commentary was included in a Bay City News article covering a decision by U.S. Chief District Judge Richard Seeborg that signaled weariness with a serial filer of class action cases brought to address unwanted marketing calls. The issue arose in a lawsuit brought by Abante Rooter and Plumbing Inc. under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA, with Seeborg saying in his decision that Abante was “a prolific filer of putative class actions” under the TCPA.

Sonya comments that Seeborg’s use the term “putative” to describe Abante’s class actions is because “when a complaint is filed that says ‘class action complaint’ on it, it actually isn’t a class action. It doesn’t actually become a class “until and unless you get to the point in the case where the court certifies it as a class,” she said.