On March 11, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania granted summary judgment in favor of a consumer and a class of similarly situated individuals, finding that a debt collection company violated the FDCPA by continuing to send debt collection text messages after recipients replied “STOP.” The court found that the defendant, which identified itself as a debt collector, began sending debt collection text messages through a messaging vendor in December 2020. The messages advised recipients to reply “STOP” to cease receiving texts. The court stated that the plaintiff and 4,984 unique phone numbers responded with “STOP,” which the defendant allegedly received and documented, but continued to send subsequent text messages. The defendant’s CEO admitted in a deposition that the company continued texting consumers after they opted out, attributing the failure to a purported “computer bug.” The defendant also allegedly never communicated with its texting vendor regarding compliance with “STOP” requests.

The court deemed the plaintiff’s motion unopposed after the defendant failed to file a brief in opposition or a statement of material facts, despite the court granting two extensions of time. Citing 3rd Circuit precedent, the court held that the plaintiff satisfied all four elements necessary for a valid FDCPA claim: (i) she qualified as a consumer with an obligation to pay (i.e., a municipal water bill); (ii) the defendant was a debt collector; (iii) the defendant’s text messages constituted an attempt to collect a debt; and (iv) the defendant violated the FDCPA’s cease-communication provision by texting consumers after receiving “STOP” requests via text message, which the court found satisfies the FDCPA’s requirement that a consumer notify a debt collector “in writing” to cease communications. The court also rejected the defendant’s bona fide error defense, finding the undisputed record showed the defendant never implemented procedures to ensure its vendor complied with opt-out requests.