Dead on Arrival

After noting at oral argument that the plaintiff’s TCPA claim was one of the “silliest” the court had ever encountered, the Ninth Circuit issued an order affirming dismissal of the plaintiff’s suit. Roberts v. Paypal, Inc., No. 13-16304, 2015 WL 6524840 (9th Cir. Oct. 29, 2015). The plaintiff claimed that PayPal sent him a welcoming text message without his consent, thereby violating the TCPA. The panel disagreed, finding that under the FCC’s 1992 interpretation of “prior express consent” under the TCPA, in providing PayPal with his cellphone number, the plaintiff expressly consented to receive calls from PayPal. The court also rejected the plaintiff’s argument that the FCC’s interpretation of “prior express consent” was limited to “normal business communications,” but noted that, even if it adopted this position, nothing suggested that PayPal’s message was anything but “normal.” The panel accordingly affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of PayPal.