Kristensen v. Credit Payment Services, No. 16-15823 (9th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment for defendants in a class action under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. 227. In this case, plaintiff received a text message from AC Referral, a non-party, that violated the TCPA. Plaintiff claimed that three lenders and two marketing companies ratified the unlawful text messages. The panel held that, although one of the marketing companies, Click Media, had an agency relationship with AC Referral, it was not bound by AC Referral's acts because it lacked knowledge that AC Referral was violating the TCPA and did not have knowledge of facts that would have led a reasonable person to investigate further. Therefore, Click Media could not be deemed to have ratified AC Referral's actions and was not vicariously liable.
Court Description: Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The panel affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants in a class action under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The plaintiff received from AC Referral, a non-party, a text message that violated the TCPA. The panel held that the defendants, three lenders and two marketing companies, were not vicariously liable for AC Referral’s acts. Because AC Referral was neither the agent nor purported agent of four of the defendants, they could not have ratified AC Referral’s acts. Although one of the marketing companies had an agency relationship with AC Referral, it was not bound by AC Referral’s acts because it lacked knowledge that AC Referral was violating the TCPA and did not have knowledge of facts that would have led a reasonable person to investigate further. KRISTENSEN V. CREDIT PAYMENT SERVS. 3
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