A federal class-action complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Jan. 16 accuses MC James Mortgage Corp, doing business as Liberty Financial, of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by placing unsolicited prerecorded calls promoting loan products.
The suit, brought by Illinois-based David Torres on behalf of himself and all similarly situated consumers, alleges that Liberty Financial placed prerecorded voice calls to Torres’s mobile phone on May 22, 2025, without prior consent. According to the complaint, the calls identified the lender and promoted loan offer opportunities using a pre-recorded, generic voice.
“Telemarketing calls are intrusive,” the complaint states, noting that such communications “interfere with their lives, tie up their phone lines and cause confusion and disruption on phone records.”
TCPA violation claims
The lawsuit cites three federal violations under the TCPA:
- Making prerecorded phone calls to cellular telephones without prior express consent or for emergency purposes
- Initiating any telephone call…using an…artificial or prerecorded voice to any telephone number assigned to…any service for which the called party is charged for the call
- Telemarketing and advertising calls using prerecorded or artificial voices, unless made with prior express written consent
According to the complaint, Torres received more than one prerecorded call on May 22, 2025, from two separate phone numbers. He alleges to have never provided Liberty Financial with authorization to contact him via prerecorded message.
Class scale and damages
The proposed class includes “All persons in the United States who, within four years prior to the filing of this action through the date of class certification, received a prerecorded voice call on their cellular telephone, from defendant, regarding or related to defendant’s property, goods and/or services.”
The complaint alleges that the defendant has placed automated and prerecorded calls “to at least 50 consumers throughout the United States without their consent,” suggesting the class could be substantially larger.
Under the TCPA, each violation can result in statutory damages of $500 to $1,500 per call if the violation is willful or knowing. The complaint asserts that Liberty Financial’s violations were willful because the company “knew that it did not have consent to make these calls and knew, or should have known, that it was using prerecorded messages.”
