Quick one for you this Friday.

Donna Marie Conner filed a TCPA suit recently naming about half the country in a bizarre alleged scheme.

I will spare you most of the details but here is who she sued:

 CT Corporation System, the registered agent for Xfinity, Plaintiff’s internet provider; Assurance Wireless, Plaintiff’s phone provider; multiple government officials, including U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, Jason S. Miyares, the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and Jennifer McClellan, a Virginia state Senator; and multiple government entities, including the Petersburg, Colonial Height, and York County Police Departments and the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Health Professions

At least some number of these individuals allegedly called Plaintiff’s cell phone without consent, maybe even using prerecorded calls. But, as the Court points out, the complaint was too messy to discern exactly what she was claiming.

Nonetheless the Plaintiff demanded $50MM dollars in damages.

The Court granted the Defendants’ motion to dismiss recently, concluding the allegations do not specify which entity made the calls and whether the calls were made using regulated technology.

The court also found that the unhinged demand for $50MM was entirely unrelated to any harm caused by the conduct and should be separately dismissed.

The case is Conner v. Xfinity, et al. 2024 WL 635323 (E.D. Va. Jan. 30, 2024).

Many of you out there dread the shakedown lawsuits that are so commonly filed by seemingly professional-litigants, but remember there is a whole different echelon of wild pro pers out there that aren’t seeking the thoughtful $5k money grab–but to sink an entire enterprise with fantastic demands.

Not sure which one is worse, but at least one court was willing to put a stop to the madness early on in a case.

Chat soon.