By John R. Byrne
If you don't like getting unsolicited text messages, the Eleventh Circuit just invited you to federal court. In a unanimous, en banc decision, the Court held that receiving a single, unwanted illegal text message gives rise to Article III standing under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
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The opinion, authored by Judge Rosenbaum, noted that, when an intangible harm like receiving an unwanted text message is at issue, courts must ask whether that harm has a "close relationship to a harm that has traditionally been regarded as providing a basis for a lawsuit in English or American courts." The Court stressed that the "close relationship" inquiry must focus on whether the harm is similar "in kind"--not "in degree"--to the harm caused by the "traditional" cause of action.
The Court landed on the harm caused by the common-law tort of intrusion upon seclusion, holding the tort caused harm that was similar "in kind" to receiving an unwanted text.
Always notable when all the circuit judges agree on something.
Drazen v. Godaddy.com, LLC, No. 21-10199 (11th Cir. July 24, 2023) (en Banc) by John Byrne on Scribd
