Cranor v. 5 Star Nutrition, L.L.C.

Cranor v. 5 Star Nutrition, L.L.C.

Opinion

 [*688]  Andrew S. Oldham, Circuit Judge:

] Robocalls and robotexts are nuisances. Congress banned them in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 ("TCPA"). But as every American knows, there are companies—like the defendant in this case—who refuse to get that message while collectively sending millions of others. The question presented is whether one of the defendant's victims has an Article III injury sufficient to support standing for a claim under the TCPA. He does.

The TCPA prohibits four telemarketing practices. First, it prohibits using an "automatic telephone dialing system [("ATDS")] or an artificial or prerecorded voice" to call:

(i) an emergency telephone line;

(ii) a guest room or patient room of a hospital or other healthcare facility; or

(iii) any telephone number assigned to a paging service, cellular telephone [**2]  service, specialized mobile radio service, or other radio common carrier service, or any service for which the called party is charged for the call, unless such call is made solely to collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the United States.

47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A). ] Second, the Act proscribes using "an artificial or prerecorded voice to deliver a message" to "any residential telephone line" without prior consent. Id. § 227(b)(1)(B). Third, the Act prohibits sending certain unsolicited advertisements to fax machines. Id. § 227(b)(1)(C). Fourth and finally, the Act prohibits using an ATDS to tie up more than one business line simultaneously. Id. § 227(b)(1)(D).

] To enforce these provisions, the TCPA creates a private right of action. The act authorizes "[a] person" to bring "an action based on a violation of [the Act] or the regulations prescribed [thereunder]" to "enjoin such violation," to "recover for actual monetary loss from such a violation, to "receive $500 in damages for each such violation," or to seek both damages and injunctive relief. Id. § 227(b)(3).

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