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On November 17, 2021, on its review en banc of its prior decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit changed its course in Maddox v. The Bank Of New York Trust Company, N.A., docket number 19-1774, and held that the plaintiffs’ allegations “fail to support their Article III standing, and

On April 1, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its highly anticipated decision in the Facebook Inc. v. Duguid matter.  In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Court addressed a hotly debated issue of statutory construction regarding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), and reversed the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision holding that Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) used a text-message notification system that met the TCPA’s definition of an “autodialer.”  In short, the Court held that Facebook’s notification equipment did not meet the definition of an autodialer because it does not use a random or sequential number generator.  The Court rejected Plaintiff Noah Duguid’s more broad interpretation of the statute, noting that if an autodialer were any device that had the capacity to dial random numbers, the TCPA would encompass any equipment that stores and dials telephone numbers, such as a modern smartphone.
Continue Reading SCOTUS Issues Anticipated Decision in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid And Unanimously Reverses Ninth Circuit, Holding Facebook’s Text Notification System Did Not Meet the TCPA’s Definition of An Autodialer Because It Did Not Use A Random Or Sequential Number Generator

In Curiale v. Hyundai Capital America, Inc., No. A-5565-18T3 (N.J. Sup. Ct. App. Div. Apr. 27, 2020), a two-judge panel of the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, reversed a trial court order denying Defendant Hyundai Capital America, Inc.’s (“Defendant”) application to compel arbitration against Plaintiffs Christopher D. Curiale and Jerome C. Curiale (“Plaintiffs”).  The Appellate Division held that the Defendant, as an assignee of a lease, could enforce an arbitration provision and class-action waiver contained in the motor vehicle retail order that was executed by Plaintiffs and the dealership.  The Appellate Division further held that the arbitration provision and class waiver were not ambiguous.
Continue Reading Auto Leasing Companies Can Enforce Arbitration Agreements from the Dealership’s Retail Order Forms