DirecTV, Plaintiffs Clash Over Class-Action Status of TCPA Suit

DirecTV and people suing it for its telemarketing practices disagree about class certification being sought by the plaintiffs in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) complaint. The plaintiffs told the U.S. District Court in Wheeling, West Virginia, their case is almost identical to litigation brought against Dish Network, with that suit's class action status certified by a unanimous 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel, last week in a reply in support of their class certification motion (docket 5:17-cv-00179). It said issues like "class ascertainability and standing" can be established using the same expert testimony that went through that 4th Circuit decision. DirecTV in its opposition to the class certification motion said the Wheeling court lacks jurisdiction over claims brought by non-West Virginia class members and shouldn't certify a class that includes them. It said the plaintiffs haven't shown that common issues predominate, and determining whether particular calls violated TCPA would require individualized inquiries.