Indefinite Stay Ordered for Settlement Talks in Pa. Robocall Lawsuit
U.S. District Judge Nicholas Ranjan for Western Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh signed an order Wednesday staying the defendants’ deadline to answer or otherwise respond to Pennsylvania’s Nov. 2 robocalling complaint “while the parties pursue settlement discussions,” said a text-only entry (docket…
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2:22-cv-01551). The stay will remain in effect until further order of the court, it said. Ranjan ordered the parties to file a joint status report by May 8 updating the court on the status of the settlement talks. The report should address whether a settlement agreement has been reached, “and, if not, whether the parties have a mutual interest in engaging in private mediation,” said the order. The complaint, filed by then-Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D), alleged that five telemarketing entities operating out of the same lower Manhattan address are responsible for causing hundreds of thousands of unwanted robocalls to be placed to Pennsylvania consumers (see 2211030056). The complaint alleges violations of the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule, plus state and federal unfair competition laws, but not the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, because the five entities are not alleged to have placed the calls themselves. The defendants, through unopposed motions, were granted five deadline extensions before Wednesday's stay to respond to the complaint, most recently on March 14. Shapiro was sworn in Jan. 17 as Pennsylvania’s 48th governor. Michelle Henry (D) is his AG successor.