CASE STUDY
FOCUS: Commercial & Business Litigation
Successful Challenge to Scope of a Class Action Yields Huge Win
CHALLENGE: Our client, who administered automobile warranties sold by a third-party company, was named in a suit filed by a plaintiff claiming to represent a class of parties nationwide who were injured by robocalls that violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). One of our client’s subcontractors, which was hired to market warranties, allegedly wrongfully used automatic dialing systems to call potential customers. The plaintiff sought actual and statutory damages on behalf of everyone in the United States who could have received such a call, as well as attorneys’ fees. We estimated that our client’s exposure was in the tens of millions of dollars.
OUR STRATEGY: Through the use of written discovery and the effective use of motion practice GCT first obtained an Order from the federal district court limiting the plaintiff’s class members to just Illinois residents. This substantially reduced our client’s exposure to liability. We then methodically brought motions to quash multiple nationwide subpoenas issued by the plaintiff in which we asserted that the subpoenas interfered with our client’s business relationships with third parties. The court granted our motion and nullified six third-party subpoenas on those grounds.
RESULTS: By successfully slicing off pieces of the plaintiff’s case, GCT was able to secure a settlement agreement total of $37,500.00.