LEONARD D. WEXLER, District Judge.
This is an action brought pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA") and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA) for damages, and declaratory and injunctive relief as a result of telephone calls made by Defendant to Plaintiff as part of Defendant's effort to collect an unpaid debt. Before the Court is Defendant's motion for summary judgment, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. Plaintiff opposes the motion. For the following reasons, Defendant's motion is granted in its entirety.
On June 29, 2012, Plaintiff, Alberto Reyes, Jr. ("Plaintiff" or "Reyes"), leased a new 2012 Lincoln MKZ luxury sedan through Defendant Ford Motor Credit Company LLC ("Ford Credit"), sued herein as Lincoln Automotive Financial Services. (Def. Local Civ. R. 56.1 Statement ("Def. 56.1") ¶ 1.)
As part of the Lease Contract, Plaintiff expressly consented to receive telephone calls from Ford Credit, "includ[ing] but not limited to, contact by manual calling methods, prerecorded or artificial voice messages, text messages, emails, and/or automatic telephone dialing systems." (Def. R. 56.1 ¶ 3; Lease Contract ¶ 43.) Plaintiff further consented to Ford Credit using "any telephone number" provided by Plaintiff in order to contact him, "including a number for a cellular phone or other wireless device, regardless of whether [Plaintiff] incur[s] charges as a result." (Def. R. 56.1 ¶ 4; Lease Contract ¶ 43.)
Plaintiff failed to make several payments under the Lease Contract when due, thereby defaulting on his obligation. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 5; Pl. Dep. 69-71.) Thereafter, Ford Credit began telephoning Plaintiff at the phone number provided by Plaintiff in the Lease Contract in an effort to cure Plaintiffs default. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 6.) Plaintiff failed to cure his default and Ford Credit repossessed the vehicle. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 7; Pl. Dep. 69.)
Plaintiff commenced the within action on February 6, 2015, alleging violations of both the TCPA and the FDCPA. Plaintiff requests damages in the amount of $720,000.
Summary judgment is appropriate when "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The burden is on the moving party to establish the lack of any factual issues.
The inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts are to be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party.
When considering a motion for summary judgment, the district court "must also be `mindful of the underlying standards and burdens of proof . . . because the evidentiary burdens that the respective parties will bear at trial guide district courts in their determination of summary judgment motions."
Defendant moves for summary judgment with respect to Plaintiffs FDCPA claim on the grounds that the statute is inapplicable to Ford Credit since it is a creditor, not a debt collector. (Def. Mem. of Law 5-6.) Plaintiff failed to offer any argument in opposition to Defendant's contention and, in fact, there is no mention of his FDCPA claim whatsoever in his opposition to the within motion.
"Federal courts may deem a claim abandoned when a party moves for summary judgment on one ground and the party opposing summary judgment fails to address the argument in any way."
"The TCPA prohibits any person from calling a cell phone number `using any automatic dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice' unless that person has `prior express consent of the called party.'"
The Second Circuit has yet to rule on whether a plaintiff may revoke prior express consent under the TCPA. Relying on a Third Circuit case and a July 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order issued by the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC"), Plaintiff argues that although he did provide prior express consent to be contacted on his cellular telephone, he revoked that consent by letter dated June 14, 2013. (Zelman Decl., Ex. B.) However, a review of the letter (the "Letter") Plaintiff purports to have sent Defendant reveals that it is merely addressed to "Lincoln Credit," with nothing more, and it is not signed by Plaintiff. During his deposition, Plaintiff testified that the Letter is a form letter, that he does not recall the address that he mailed the Letter to, and that he has no record that the Letter was actually sent to Defendant. (Pl. Dep. 44, 48-49.) Moreover, when shown a response letter from Ford Credit, dated December 1, 2014, Plaintiff confirmed that the response letter stated that Defendant never received Plaintiffs June 14, 2013 Letter. (Pl. Dep. 59-62.) The foregoing is insufficient to demonstrate that Plaintiff revoked his consent to receive telephone calls from Ford Credit on his cellular telephone.
In addition, the Third Circuit case on which Plaintiff relies,
The instant action differs from Gager in that Plaintiff provided contractual consent in the Lease Contract to receive telephone calls from Ford Credit, "includ[ing] but not limited to, contact by manual calling methods, prerecorded or artificial voice messages, text messages, emails, and/or automatic telephone dialing systems." (Lease Contract ¶ 43.) Plaintiff further contractually consented to Ford Credit using "any telephone number" provided by Plaintiff in order to contact him, "including a number for a cellular phone or other wireless device, regardless of whether [Plaintiff] incur[s] charges as a result." (Lease Contract ¶ 43.) Put simply, Plaintiff entered into a contract with Ford Credit that provided for the very contact that he now seeks to challenge. The credit application in
For the foregoing reasons, Defendant's motion for summary judgment is granted in its entirety. Plaintiffs Complaint is dismissed and judgment as a matter of law is granted in favor of Defendant.