BENAVIDES, Circuit Judge:
Plaintiff Jose Gomez appeals adverse summary judgment on personal and putative class claims brought pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA"), 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii) (2012). Gomez alleges that the Campbell-Ewald Company instructed or allowed a third-party vendor to send unsolicited text messages on behalf of the United States Navy, with whom Campbell-Ewald had a marketing contract. Because we conclude that Campbell-Ewald is not entitled to immunity, and because we find no alternate basis upon which to grant its motion for summary judgment, we vacate the judgment and remand to the district court.
The facts with respect to Gomez's personal claim are largely undisputed. On May 11, 2006, Gomez received an unsolicited text message stating:
The message was the result of collaboration between the Navy and the Campbell-Ewald Company,
Gomez contends that he did not consent to receipt of the text message. He also notes that he was 40 years old at the time he received the message, well outside of the Navy's target market. It is undisputed that a text message constitutes a call for the purposes of this section. See Satterfield v. Simon & Schuster, Inc., 569 F.3d 946, 952 (9th Cir.2009) ("[W]e hold that a text message is a `call' within the meaning of the TCPA."). In addition to seeking compensation for the alleged violation of the TCPA, Gomez also sought to represent a putative class of other unconsenting recipients of the Navy's recruiting text messages.
After a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss was denied, Campbell-Ewald tried to settle the case. Campbell-Ewald offered Gomez $1503.00 per violation, plus reasonable costs, but Gomez rejected the offer by allowing it to lapse in accordance with its own terms.
Campbell-Ewald then moved to dismiss the case under Rule 12(b)(1), arguing that Gomez's rejection of the offer mooted the personal and putative class claims. After the court denied the motion, Campbell-Ewald moved for summary judgment, seeking derivative immunity under Yearsley v. W.A. Ross Construction Co., 309 U.S. 18, 60 S.Ct. 413, 84 L.Ed. 554 (1940). In opposition to the summary judgment motion, Gomez presented evidence that the Navy intended the messages to be sent only to individuals who had consented or "opted in" to receive messages like the recruiting text. A Navy representative testified that Campbell-Ewald was not authorized to send texts to individuals who had not opted in. The district court ultimately granted the motion, holding that Campbell-Ewald is "immune from liability under the doctrine of derivative sovereign immunity." Gomez v. Campbell-Ewald Co., No. CV 10-2007 DMG CWX, 2013 WL 655237, at *6 (C.D.Cal. Feb. 22, 2013). Gomez filed a timely appeal, arguing that the Yearsley doctrine is inapplicable.
This Court reviews summary judgment de novo, affirming only where there exists no genuine dispute of material fact. Satterfield, 569 F.3d at 950; see also FED. R.CIV.P. 56(a). We are free to affirm "on any basis supported by the record." Gordon v. Virtumundo, Inc., 575 F.3d 1040, 1047 (9th Cir.2009).
We begin with jurisdiction. Upon Gomez's timely appeal, Campbell-Ewald filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, arguing that the personal and putative class claims were mooted by Gomez's refusal to accept the settlement offer. We denied that motion without prejudice, and now reject Campbell-Ewald's argument on the merits.
Gomez's individual claim is not moot. Campbell-Ewald argues that "whether or not the class action here is moot," the individual claim was mooted by Gomez's rejection of the offer. The company is mistaken. Although this issue was
Similarly, the putative class claims are not moot. We have already explained that "an unaccepted Rule 68 offer of judgment — for the full amount of the named plaintiff's individual claim and made before the named plaintiff files a motion for class certification — does not moot a class action." Pitts v. Terrible Herbst, Inc., 653 F.3d 1081, 1091-92 (9th Cir.2011). Like the Pitts plaintiff, Gomez rejected the offer before he moved for class certification. Gomez's rejection therefore does not affect any class claims.
Campbell-Ewald recognizes that it is asking this panel to depart from these precedents. Yet it is well settled that we are bound by our prior decisions. Miller v. Gammie, 335 F.3d 889, 900 (9th Cir. 2003) (en banc). Although there is an exception for precedents that have been overruled, that exception applies only where "the relevant court of last resort [has] undercut the theory or reasoning underlying the prior circuit precedent in such a way that the cases are clearly irreconcilable." Ibid. Campbell-Ewald argues that Pitts and Diaz are clearly irreconcilable with the Supreme Court's recent decision in Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, ___ U.S. ___, 133 S.Ct. 1523, 185 L.Ed.2d 636 (2013). Campbell-Ewald overstates the relevance of that case, which involved a collective action brought pursuant to § 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Id. at 1526-27. The defendant argued that the case was mooted by the plaintiff's rejection of a settlement offer of complete relief. Id. at 1528. The Supreme Court ultimately agreed, first accepting the lower court's conclusion that the personal claim was moot, and then holding that the named plaintiff had "no personal interest in representing putative, unnamed claimants, nor any other continuing interest that would preserve her suit from mootness." Id. at 1532.
Campbell-Ewald correctly observes that Genesis undermined some of the reasoning employed in Pitts and Diaz. For example, the Pitts opinion referred to the risk that a defendant might "pick off" named plaintiffs in order to evade class litigation. 653 F.3d at 1091 (quoting Weiss v. Regal Collections, 385 F.3d 337, 344 (3d Cir.2004)). The Genesis Court distanced itself from such reasoning, pointing out that the argument had only been used once by the high Court, and only "in dicta." 133 S.Ct. at 1532 (referring to Deposit Guar. Nat'l Bank, Jackson, Miss. v. Roper, 445 U.S. 326, 339, 100 S.Ct. 1166, 63 L.Ed.2d 427 (1980)). Nevertheless, courts have universally concluded that the Genesis discussion does not apply to class actions.
Campbell-Ewald's constitutional challenge is equally unavailing. The company argues that the statute is unconstitutional either facially or as applied, but its argument relies upon a flawed application of First Amendment principles. Although the district court did not ultimately reach this issue, the record confirms that the challenge was properly raised below.
We have already affirmed the constitutionality of this section of the TCPA. Moser v. FCC, 46 F.3d 970, 973-74 (9th Cir.1995). The government may impose reasonable restrictions on the time, place, or manner of protected speech, provided that the restrictions "are justified without reference to the content of the restricted speech, that they are narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest, and that they leave open ample alternative channels for communication of the information." Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781, 791, 109 S.Ct. 2746, 105 L.Ed.2d 661 (1989) (quoting Clark v. Cmty. for Creative Non-Violence, 468 U.S. 288, 293, 104 S.Ct. 3065, 82 L.Ed.2d 221 (1984) (other citations omitted)). In analyzing the section, the Moser Court focused on the content-neutral statutory language. "Because nothing in the statute requires the [Federal Communications Commission] to distinguish between commercial and noncommercial speech, we conclude that the statute should be analyzed as a content-neutral time, place, and manner restriction."
Campbell-Ewald does not contest our reasoning in Moser. Instead, Campbell-Ewald argues that the government's interest only extends to the protection of residential privacy, and that therefore the statute is not narrowly tailored to the extent that it applies to cellular text messages. The argument fails. First, this Court already applies the TCPA to text messages. Satterfield, 569 F.3d at 951-52. Second, there is no evidence that the government's interest in privacy ends at home — the fact that the statute reaches fax machines suggests otherwise. See 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(C). Third, to whatever extent the government's significant interest lies exclusively in residential privacy, the nature of cell phones renders the restriction of unsolicited text messaging all the more necessary to ensure that privacy. After all, it seems safe to assume that most cellular users have their phones with them when they are at home. Campbell-Ewald itself notes that in many households a cell phone is the home phone. In fact, recent statistics suggest that over 40% of American households now rely exclusively
Nor does the government speech doctrine provide Campbell-Ewald with a meritorious constitutional challenge. Campbell-Ewald argues that military recruiting messages are a form of government speech afforded greater protection by the First Amendment. Campbell-Ewald mischaracterizes the doctrine. The government speech doctrine is a jurisprudential theory by which the federal government can regulate its own communication "without the constraint of viewpoint neutrality." Downs v. L.A. Unified Sch. Dist., 228 F.3d 1003, 1017 (9th Cir.2000), cert. denied, 532 U.S. 994, 121 S.Ct. 1653, 149 L.Ed.2d 636 (2001). For example, the First Amendment does not require the federal government to fund messages both for and against abortion. Cf. Rust v. Sullivan, 500 U.S. 173, 203, 111 S.Ct. 1759, 114 L.Ed.2d 233 (1991) (upholding, under the government speech doctrine, regulations forbidding certain publicly funded doctors from endorsing abortion). Similarly, in this context, the doctrine would preclude Campbell-Ewald from demanding that the Navy create an advertising campaign that discourages military participation. The government speech doctrine is simply immaterial to the present dispute, in which the plaintiff is not advocating for viewpoint neutrality, but is instead challenging the regulation of a particular means of communication.
Campbell-Ewald nevertheless argues that it cannot be held liable for TCPA violations because it outsourced the dialing and did not actually make any calls on behalf of its client. See 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii) (rendering it unlawful "to make any call" using an automated dialing system). Gomez, in fact, concedes that a third party transmitted the disputed messages. Even so, Campbell-Ewald's argument is not persuasive.
Although Campbell-Ewald did not send any text messages, it might be vicariously liable for the messages sent by Mindmatics. The statute itself is silent as to vicarious liability. We therefore assume that Congress intended to incorporate "ordinary tort-related vicarious liability rules." Meyer v. Holley, 537 U.S. 280, 285, 123 S.Ct. 824, 154 L.Ed.2d 753 (2003). Accordingly, "[a]bsent a clear expression of Congressional intent to apply another standard, the Court must presume that Congress intended to apply the traditional standards of vicarious liability...." Thomas v. Taco Bell Corp., 879 F.Supp.2d 1079, 1084 (C.D.Cal.2012), aff'd, ___ Fed.Appx. ___, 2014 WL 2959160 (9th Cir. July 2, 2014) (per curiam). Although we have never expressly reached this question, several of our district courts have already concluded that the TCPA imposes vicarious liability where an agency relationship, as defined by federal common law, is established between the defendant and a third-party caller.
Campbell-Ewald concedes that the FCC already recognizes vicarious liability in this context, but argues that vicarious liability only extends to the merchant whose goods or services are being promoted by the telemarketing campaign. Yet the statutory language suggests otherwise, as § 227(b) simply imposes liability upon "any person" — not "any merchant." See Ali v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 552 U.S. 214, 221, 128 S.Ct. 831, 169 L.Ed.2d 680 (2008) (interpreting the use of "any" as "all-encompassing"); 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200 (interpreting the phrase "any person" to reach individuals and entities). And although the FCC's 2013 ruling may emphasize vicarious liability on the part of merchants, the FCC has never stated that vicarious liability is only applicable to these entities.
Given Campbell-Ewald's concession that a merchant can be held liable for outsourced telemarketing, it is unclear why a third-party marketing consultant shouldn't be subject to that same liability. As a
Moreover, our own precedent belies any argument that liability is not possible. In our seminal case regarding text messages and the TCPA, we allowed a case to proceed against an analogous marketing consultant who was not "responsible for the actual transmission of the text messages." See Satterfield, 569 F.3d at 951. In Satterfield, a publisher had instructed a marketing consultant to create a text message campaign advertising a new Stephen King novel. Id. at 949. The consultant in turn outsourced the recipient selection and message transmission to two other subcontractors. Id. A recipient sued both the publisher and the marketing consultant for alleged violations of the TCPA. Id. at 950. The district court entered summary judgment in favor of both defendants, holding that the cellular user had consented to receive advertisements when it signed its cellular service contract. Id. We ultimately reversed and remanded the case, holding (inter alia) that the cellular service agreement did not constitute "express consent" to receive the advertisement in dispute. Id. at 955. So although we did not explain the basis of the defendants' potential liability, we implicitly acknowledged the existence of that basis. The present case affords an opportunity to clarify that a defendant may be held vicariously liable for TCPA violations where the plaintiff establishes an agency relationship, as defined by federal common law, between the defendant and a third-party caller.
Before moving on, we should note that Gomez asks us to endorse another potential source of liability by holding that direct liability applies where a third party is "closely involved" in the placing of the calls. Because the facts are not yet developed, the present case does not require such a determination. We therefore leave that question for another day. See United States v. Manning, 527 F.3d 828, 837 n. 8 (9th Cir.2008) ("[W]e simply express no view on issues unnecessary to this [decision]." (citation omitted)).
Finally, we turn to the legal theory underlying the district court's decision. The court entered summary judgment after concluding that Campbell-Ewald is exempt from liability under Yearsley, 309 U.S. 18, 60 S.Ct. 413. Gomez contends that Yearsley is outdated and inapposite, and that the district court should have applied the standard articulated in Boyle v. United Technologies Corp., 487 U.S. 500, 108 S.Ct. 2510, 101 L.Ed.2d 442 (1988). The availability of these defenses is a question of law that we review de novo. In re Hanford Nuclear Reservation Litig., 534 F.3d 986, 1000 (9th Cir. 2008).
After reviewing the relevant law, we agree with Gomez that Yearsley is not applicable. Yearsley established a narrow rule regarding claims arising out of property damage caused by public works projects. The dispute involved erosion caused by efforts to render the Missouri River more navigable. Yearsley, 309 U.S. at 19, 60 S.Ct. 413. The Court reasoned that if — as alleged — the contractor's work was in accordance with express Congressional
It seems clear that the reasoning employed by the Yearsley Court is not relevant here. Gomez's claims do not implicate a constitutional "promise to compensate" injured plaintiffs such that an alternate remedy exists. Nor does the case belong in some other venue. Cf. Myers v. United States, 323 F.2d 580, 583 (9th Cir.1963) (remanding under Yearsley for transfer to Court of Claims). Instead, Congress has expressly created a federal cause of action affording individuals like Gomez standing to seek compensation for violations of the TCPA. In the seventy-year history of the Yearsley doctrine, it has apparently never been invoked to preclude litigation of a dispute like the one before us. This Court, in particular, has rarely allowed use of the defense, and only in the context of property damage resulting from public works projects.
In its brief discussion, the district court did not explain its decision to apply Yearsley to the facts and issues at bar. The cases cited by the court do not support such an interpretation.
Nor does the Boyle pre-emption doctrine provide Campbell-Ewald with a relevant defense. The doctrine precludes state claims where the imposition of liability would undermine or frustrate federal interests. See Nielsen v. George Diamond Vogel Paint Co., 892 F.2d 1450, 1454 (9th Cir.1990) (explaining that the Boyle standard is used to determine when "federal law should displace state law"). Boyle involved a wrongful death action brought under Virginia law against a government contractor that had supplied a helicopter to the United States military. See 487 U.S. at 502, 108 S.Ct. 2510. After a jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs, the Fourth Circuit reversed, holding that liability was precluded in part by the federal interest inherent in military decisions. Id. at 503, 510, 108 S.Ct. 2510. The Supreme Court agreed, explaining that when "an area of uniquely federal interest" is implicated by a federal purchase, state law is displaced where "a significant conflict exists between an identifiable federal policy
Although Boyle in effect created a defense for some government contractors, it is fundamentally a pre-emption case. The Boyle Court established two related rules: (1) a general rule whereby state claims may be pre-empted by federal law, and (2) a specific rule whereby certain military contractors may be exempt from state tort liability in furtherance of that pre-emption. 487 U.S. at 507-08, 512, 108 S.Ct. 2510. In arguing that Boyle governs here, Gomez overlooks the pre-emption predicate, assuming that Boyle represents a general grant of immunity for government contractors. Yet Boyle itself includes footnotes emphasizing the displacement question and indicating that it should not be construed as broad immunity precedent. Id. at 505 n. 1, 508 n. 3, 108 S.Ct. 2510. We have already clarified this point, explaining that Boyle "is directed toward deciding the extent to which federal law should displace state law with respect to the liability of a military contractor." Nielsen, 892 F.2d at 1454. Accordingly, although Boyle may apply more broadly than to the facts of that case alone, that broader applicability is rooted in pre-emption principles and not in any widely available immunity or defense.
Returning to the present case, Gomez brings a claim under federal law, so pre-emption is simply not an issue. The Boyle doctrine is thus rendered inapposite. Even Campbell-Ewald — notwithstanding a vested interest in maintaining every possible means of exoneration — admits that a Boyle defense is not permissible here. Because the defendant does not assert a Boyle defense, we need not belabor the present discussion — we accept Campbell-Ewald's concession that Boyle is not relevant.
Campbell-Ewald contends that a new immunity for service contractors was espoused by the Supreme Court in Filarsky v. Delia, ___ U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. 1657, 182 L.Ed.2d 662 (2012). Yet the Court did not establish any new theory, and although the Filarsky discussion does include a broad reading of the qualified immunity doctrine, id. at 1667-68, that doctrine is not implicated by this case. Filarsky involved alleged constitutional violations brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See id. at 1661. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve a dispute as to whether one of the defendants — an attorney contracted by municipal government — was eligible for the qualified immunity afforded to his city-employed colleagues. Id. at 1660-61. To determine the scope of the doctrine, the Court examined "the `general principles of tort immunities and defenses' applicable at common law." Id. at 1662 (quoting Imbler v. Pachtman, 424 U.S. 409, 418, 96 S.Ct. 984, 47 L.Ed.2d 128 (1976)). When the examination revealed that part-time and lay officials had been granted immunity throughout the nineteenth century, id. at 1665, the Court concluded that the contractor was properly entitled to the same qualified immunity enjoyed by his publicly employed counterparts.
Filarsky has little to offer Campbell-Ewald. The decision is applicable only in the context of § 1983 qualified immunity from personal tort liability. See, e.g., ibid. ("[I]mmunity under § 1983 should not vary depending on whether an individual working for the government does so as a
Nor are we persuaded that we should establish the novel immunity asserted by defendants. As the Supreme Court has recognized, immunity "comes at a great cost." Westfall v. Erwin, 484 U.S. 292, 295, 108 S.Ct. 580, 98 L.Ed.2d 619 (1988), superseded by statute on other grounds, Pub.L. No. 100-694, 102 Stat. 4563 (1988), codified at 28 U.S.C. § 2679(d), as recognized in Adams v. United States, 420 F.3d 1049, 1052 (9th Cir.2005). Where immunity lies, "[a]n injured party with an otherwise meritorious tort claim is denied compensation," which "contravenes the basic tenet that individuals be held accountable for their wrongful conduct." Westfall, 484 U.S. at 295, 108 S.Ct. 580. Accordingly, immunity must be extended with the utmost care. The record contains sufficient evidence that the text messages were contrary to the Navy's policy permitting texts only to persons who had opted in to receive them. Consequently, we decline the invitation to craft a new immunity doctrine or extend an existing one.
As explained herein, Campbell-Ewald's four arguments in support of summary judgment each fail. And because the motion was based on pure questions of law, we were not briefed on the factual predicates of liability. Campbell-Ewald has therefore not carried its burden to demonstrate an absence of material fact or to show that it is otherwise "entitled to judgment as a matter of law." FED.R.CIV.P. 56(a). Accordingly, we VACATE the district court's order and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
The costs shall be taxed against the Defendant-Appellee.