TCPA class action targets Loanstream over 272K spam calls

A class action lawsuit against a multichannel lender over spam calls could include over 50,000 members, a plaintiff claims.

Southern California-based Loanstream allegedly made 272,092 calls to 53,726 unique telephone numbers on the National Do Not Call registry over a 10-month stretch, according to a new case filing. Texas resident Kimberly Hudson-Bryant is seeking class certification in her Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuit against the wholesale lender, an arm of OCMBC.

Monday's motion, which plaintiffs are asking to discuss before the court in June, suggests potentially large damages for affected consumers, although the filing didn't weigh a specific payout. TCPA infractions, in which a consumer on the DNC registry is called two times or more, may cost the calling company $500 per infraction, or $1,500 for knowing or willful violations. 

Attorneys for Hudson-Bryant wrote Monday their lawsuit lacks issues that plague other TCPA cases, as they have deposed Loanstream employees and allege the company "took no meaningful steps to prevent the calls." 

"LoanStream's vicarious liability is the single common question that drives this case, and the record answers it," wrote attorneys for Hudson-Bryant. 

Neither Loanstream nor the attorneys for the parties responded to requests for comment Tuesday. Monday's motion for class certification came just over two years from when the suit was filed in January 2024. 

How the plaintiff says the calls happened

Monday's filing included a detailed description of how the alleged spam call business plan unfolded between 2021 and 2022. The purported scheme involved a Loanstream branch manager tapping her husband's marketing business to set up a supply of leads. The Resmo Lending marketing firm in turn hired companies to supply leads and serve as a call center.

The redacted portions of the filing appear to explain the business rationale behind the effort. An attorney for the plaintiff in a separate filing explained that blacked-out text across the motion contains confidential information including profit and loss data.

Hudson-Bryant contests that LoanStream made no inquiry into the call center expenses, and has not provided evidence that it had an alleged internal telemarketing ban in place. Her attorneys hired a telecommunications industry expert to analyze the company's call data, resulting in the finding of over 272,000 calls to consumers on the DNC list.

Attorneys also say there are inconsistencies across the depositions of Loanstream leaders. Those interviews under oath included Serene Vernon, the former OCMBC president who was arrested on charges of murder and driving under the influence last February following a fatal traffic accident. Vernon pleaded not guilty to the charges last year and was released on a $1 million bond as the case remains pending, according to local court records. 

Barring any agreement between the sides to end the suit, plaintiffs still face a long path toward a resolution, including if, and when, Loanstream files an opposition to the class certification. It's still however a significant step for a TCPA suit against a mortgage lender, as many other complaints within the industry have either stalled, been dismissed, or less frequently been settled in recent years.