On Tuesday, the District of Maryland preliminarily approved a settlement reached with a Maryland consumer and Citrix Systems Inc. for alleged Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Maryland Telephone Consumer Protection Act violations. The non-reversionary settlement of $2.75 million is expected to provide between $30 and $60 in relief per member of the nationwide class.
The opinion recounts that the plaintiff filed suit in 2019, alleging that Citrix, a Florida-based multinational cloud computing and virtualization technology company, initiated automated telemarketing calls to the plaintiff and other putative class members without their prior consent.
In particular, the plaintiff received automated telephone dialing system (ATDS) calls from Citrix representatives promoting Citrix products and services. Although the plaintiff’s name and number was listed on the National Do Not Call Registry, Citrix dialed him anyway. The calls continued despite the plaintiffs’ efforts to place himself on an internal do-not-call list.
In addition to being temporarily deprived of legitimate use of his phone, the calls injured the plaintiff because they were “frustrating, obnoxious, annoying, [] a nuisance, and disturbed [his] solitude,” the pleading argued.
After Citrix answered the complaint, the parties began informal discovery. They reached a settlement agreement without engaging in dispositive motion practice, which in this week’s order, the court deemed fair, reasonable, and adequate.
Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby opined that the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure factors were met based on the existence of common questions of fact and law, the adequacy of the named plaintiff and settlement class counsel, Paronich Law P.C., and because the resolution was reached via arm’s length negotiations by experienced counsel.
The opinion also said that the method for distributing relief to class members is fair and reasonable, noting that payments will be calculated and apportioned based upon a pro rata share of the net settlement fund.
Citrix is represented by Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo P.C.
