Judge Hands Defeat to TCPA Litigant Who ‘Invites,’ Records Robocalls
U.S. District Chief Judge John McConnell for Rhode Island granted summary judgment Wednesday (docket 1:21-cv-00240) for the International Union of Police Associations (IUPA) against the allegations of pro se plaintiff Christopher Laccinole that the union violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Rhode Island Right to Privacy Act. Rhode Island court dockets list Laccinole as the plaintiff in many dozens of TCPA complaints dating to 2014.
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The IUPA moved for summary judgment on all claims, arguing that Laccinole is not a consumer under the terms of the TCPA because he runs a business purchasing “burner phones,” welcomes the solicitous calls and records them to build evidence for lawsuits he pursues for profit. Before the court is Laccinole’s testimony in another similar TCPA case about his “phone habits,” said the judge’s memorandum and order.
The “undisputed” facts are that Laccinole pays for unlimited talk and text for a cellphone from T-Mobile that he uses to converse with family and friends, said the order. He also has a work cellphone and a landline at home, it said: “He has not alleged that the IUPA called him on any of these phone numbers.” Laccinole does not give out his burner phone numbers to family and friends, it said: “He records any calls that come in on the burner phones and admitted that he does so to create evidence to support his TCPA lawsuits, as he found having a recording made it easier to prove his claims.”
The court believes that summary judgment is “appropriate,” because Laccinole’s opposition to the IUPA’s motion “relies solely on his self-serving statements,” said McConnell’s order. He cites “no evidence of disputed issues of material fact and merely argues his point of view,” it said. “Even taken in the light most favorable to Mr. Laccinole, the record shows that it is undisputed that Mr. Laccinole invites these phone calls and uses burner phones and the calls he records from them to file lawsuits.”
Eight years “and hundreds of lawsuits later, Mr. Laccinole’s status as a pro se litigant falls flat” in the IUPA case, said the judge’s order. “While he may not have graduated law school or passed the bar exam, he is far more sophisticated in matters of litigation than many new practitioners.” Laccinole didn’t respond Thursday to emailed queries seeking comment.