Mais v. Gulf Coast Collection Bureau, Inc.

Summarized by Jeffrey Snyder , Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod, LLP
11 years 5 months ago

Citation:

--- F.3d ----, 2014 WL 4802457, No. 13-14008 (11th Cir. Sept. 29, 2014)

Tag(s):

Ruling:

Reversed and remanded for entry of summary judgment in favor of debt collector defendant based on prior express consent defense. Calls by medical debt collector to cellular phone where cellular telephone number was provided to hospital on admissions forms fall within prior express consent exception to Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 provision prohibiting autodialed or prerecorded calls to cellular phone pursuant to prior Federal Communications Commission ruling interpreting such provision. District Court lacked jurisdiction to review, suspend, annul, or enjoin Federal Communications Commission ruling because court of appeals has exclusive jurisdiction under Hobbs Act (28 U.S.C. s. 2342) to determine validity of FCC rulings and orders.

Procedural context:

Interlocutory appeal of District Court order granting partial summary judgment in favor of plaintiff and against debt collector prior to District Court consideration of potential class certification. District Court had held that providing cellular phone number to creditor on admissions forms is not "express" consent to receive pre-recorded and autodialed calls, but rather "implied" consent which is not an exception to the prohibition on such calls in Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. The District Court had also held that the medical debt at issue fell outside of the FCC ruling and plaintiff's suit was not attempting to challenge validity of FCC ruling such that exclusive jurisdiction would rest with the court of appeals.

Facts:

Plaintiff/patient, through his wife, provided cellular telephone number to hospital on admissions forms which included, among other things, HIPAA release that consented to release of such information to medical service providers, insurers, bill collectors, etc. Hospital provided such information to radiology group that had provided services to patient which, in turn, referred unpaid undisputed radiology bill to collection agency defendant that employed predictive autodialer to call patient's cellular telephone between 15 and 30 times and left 4 messages.

Judge(s):

HULL, MARCUS and HILL, Circuit Judges

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