SACRAMENTO — A California man is suing a debt collector, alleging violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
Donald Higgins filed a complaint Feb. 14 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California Sacramento Division against BillMeLater Inc. and Does 1-100, alleging they violated the TCPA through intrusive and unwanted phone calls.
According to the complaint, Higgins suffered from abuse and harassment, including stress, anxiety, embarrassment, distress and aggravation. The suit says this was caused by BillMeLater's barrage of phone calls using an auto dialer and prerecorded voice to collect on the plaintiff's alleged debt, without Higgins' prior express consent.
The plaintiff alleges the defendants called him with such frequency as to mean to abuse or harass, contacted Higgins without prior express consent and unlawfully utilized an automatic dialer and automated voice.
Higgins 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. He is represented by attorneys Scott J. Sagaria and Elliot W. Gale, of Sagaria Law in Roseville, California.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California Sacramento Division case number 18-cv-357