Plumbers Overcome Spokeo-Based Standing Blockage In Putative TCPA Class Action

The Northern District of Illinois cleared the way for a plumbing company's putative TCPA class action against Allstate Insurance Company and Oh Insurance Agency by denying defendants' motions to dismiss, which were inspired by the Supreme Court's Spokeo v. Robins decision. The plumbing company alleged that the insurance companies committed TCPA violations when they placed two phone calls to it: one went to voicemail and another was answered by a company employee. The company's purported injuries were the statutory violation as well as business interruption, annoyance of the company's principal, and invasions of privacy. The defendants moved to dismiss on two grounds: lack of standing because the plumbing company had not alleged sufficiently concrete injuries under Spokeo, and mootness based on Campbell-Ewald v. Gomez because Allstate had offered a settlement and deposited the settlement funds into an escrow account.