|
|
|
Four Year Statute of Limitations for Violations of Telephone Consumer Protection Act
(September 2009) By Tamiya N. Wilkes, Associate.
For more information, contact Paul Farquharson.
Worsham v. Fairfield Resorts, Inc., No. 1058 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. – September 2009)
Paul Worsham ("Worsham") filed a Complaint in the Circuit
Court for Montgomery County, alleging that he had received a telephone
solicitor’s call that violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act of
1991 ("TCPA"), as set forth in 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(B). Specifically, Worsham
alleged that telemarketers promoting Fairfield Resorts ("Fairfield") had
unlawfully called his home using automated dialing equipment – both the
telemarketing company and Fairfield Resorts, Inc. were named as defendants in
the lawsuit. Worsham’s Complaint further alleged that the telemarketer’s
prerecorded solicitation failed to provide the true name of the individual
caller, in violation of 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(e)(2)(iv). Worsham sought statutory
damages in the amount of $500 for each violation and an injunction prohibiting
further automated calls to any residential telephone lines.
Fairfield filed a Motion to Dismiss the Complaint, pursuant
to Md. Rule 2-322(b)(2). In its motion, Fairfield argued that Worsham’s claims
were barred by Maryland’s three-year statute of limitations. Fairfield also
argued that the federal statutes did not provide a private cause of action.
The Circuit Court determined that the four-year statute of
limitations established by 28 U.S.C. § 1658(a) was not applicable to private
rights of action filed pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3); and Maryland’s three
year statute of limitations applied. The Circuit Court dismissed Worsham’s
Complaint, holding that the Complaint was barred by limitations. Worsham
appealed the dismissal.
The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland found that the
federal statutes, in fact, explicitly provided for a private cause of action. As
to the issue of limitations, the Court of Special Appeals held that the right to
pursue a private cause of action for violations of the federal statutes was
governed by the four year federal "catch all" limitation period set forth in 28
U.S.C. § 1658(a).
The Court of Special Appeals vacated the decision of the
Circuit Court and remanded the matter, holding that Worsham’s Complaint was not
barred by Maryland’s three year statute of limitations, and should not have been
dismissed on that basis.
|
|
|
Top
