SACRAMENTO — A California woman is suing a debt collector, alleging violation of the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (RFDCPA) and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
Christina Martinez filed a complaint Jan. 23 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California against Mid America Bank and Trust and Does 1-100, alleging violation of the TCPA through intrusive and unwanted phone calls.
According to the complaint, starting in March 2017, Martinez has suffered from abuse and harassment, stress and anxiety, including invasion of privacy and intrusion on her seclusion. The suit says this has been caused by Mid America's barrage of calls in an attempt to collect on an alleged debt from an unknown third party while illegally utilizing an automatic telephone dialing system or a prerecorded voice.
The plaintiff alleges the defendants engaged in an unlawful practice of using an autodialer to place calls on Martinez's telephone and without prior express consent from the plaintiff to place the calls.
Martinez seeks trial by jury, actual damages, statutory damages of $1,000, costs of litigation, attorney fees, statutory damages of $1,500 for every violation, and injunctive relief. She is represented by attorneys Scott J. Sagaria and Elliot W. Gale of Sagaria Law PC in Roseville, California.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California case number 18-cv-151