LOS ANGELES–The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has denied a motion for preliminary approval of a class action settlement in a lawsuit against Navy Federal Credit Union over an alleged breach of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
Judge Josephine L. Staton denied the motion for preliminary approval of class action, citing “a notable deficiency as to the scope of the proposed release” of claims in the case of Munday v. Navy Federal Credit Union. The court ruled the release language was overly broad and wasn't limited to the plaintiff's claims in the complaint.
The plaintiffs are alleging that Navy Federal Credit Union used an automated telephone dialing system to place calls to their mobile phones without express consent in violation of the TCPA, 47 U.S.C. § 227. In March, the parties involved in the suit filed a notice of preliminary settlement of $2.75 million.
The judge ruled that the release included a “without limitation clause” that made the notice “unclear whether there is any real limitation on the release of claims of any and every kind against the defendant.