REPEAT LITIGATOR CAUTIONED: Court Suggests Anton Ewing Engaged In “Uncivil Aspersions” And Stays Discovery in His TCPA Case

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Anton Ewing is a favored son of TCPAWorld.

So many cases he has filed, and so many entertaining stories arise.

It seems he always finds a way to clash with his opponents, which I suppose is the point of litigation–but only to a degree.

In this latest dust up, the Court in Ewing v. Premium Merchant Funding One, LLC 2023 WL 5154520 (S.D. Cal. Aug. 10, 2023) granted his opponent’s motion to stay discovery and denied sanctions Ewing had requested.

Apparently the Defendant in the case had sent an email of some kind to the Court’s chambers and also allegedly made “derogatory and unprofessional remarks” about Ewing. And that wasn’t very nice.

So Ewing sought sanctions against the Defense counsel, but the Court said “no” citing Ewing’s own “uncivil aspersions.”

The Court ultimately cautions both Ewing and the defense counsel to behave themselves: “Mr. Ewing and Mr. Frampton are both further cautioned that any uncivil or ad hominem statements directed toward the other must stop immediately.”

Be good fellas and stop fighting.

The Court also stayed discovery in light of a pending motion to dismiss. TCPA litigants should often seek to stay discovery where a pending motion might be dispositive of a suit. Many times a Plaintiff will even stipulate to such a stay to preserve resources–although Ewing apparently did not do so in this case.

Last–Mr. Ewing and I know you read my blog with some regularity (and passion) would love to have you on the podcast sometime. Everybody loves the new format and I am sure folks would love to hear from you. Plus, the Czar always treats all of his guests fairly. So you can say your piece as well.

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Published by Eric J. Troutman

The Czar of TCPAWorld Eric Troutman is one of the country’s prominent class action defense lawyers and is nationally recognized in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation and compliance. He has served as lead defense counsel in more than 70 national TCPA class actions and has litigated nearly a thousand individual TCPA cases in his role as national strategic litigation counsel for major banks and finance companies. He also helps industry participants build TCPA-compliant processes, policies, and systems. Eric has built a national litigation practice based upon deep experience, rigorous analysis and extraordinary responsiveness. Eric and his team feel equally at home litigating multibillion dollar telecommunications class actions in federal court as they do developing and executing national litigation strategies for institutions facing an onslaught of individual TCPA matters. They thrive in each of these roles – delivering consistently excellent results – while never losing sight of the client experience. While many firms now tout TCPA expertise, Eric has been there from the beginning. He built one of the country’s first TCPA-only defense teams and began serving as national TCPA counsel for his clients nearly a decade ago. This perspective allows him to swiftly develop the right litigation strategies for dealing with recurring problems, without wasting time on tactics that are bound to fail. Eric’s rich historical perspective and encyclopedic knowledge of the TCPA landscape also make him an invaluable resource to institutional compliance teams struggling to comply with the shifting regulatory landscape. No task is too small – or too big. Indeed, Eric and his team have helped build TCPA-compliant systems and processes for some of the largest and most complex corporate entities in the country. He commonly works with in-house compliance counsel to build and implement enterprise and business-line specific TCPA solutions, performs TCPA audits and drafts and reviews proposed TCPA policies and procedures. He and his team also have the technical expertise necessary to assist call centers seeking to develop TCPA-resistant call path architecture or to modify existing telephony and software integration to better insulate from potential TCPA exposure. Eric has built a reputation for thought leadership. An avid blogger and speaker, he has been at the forefront of the industry’s effort to push for clarity and a return to sanity for the TCPA for years. He was selected to advocate for the financial services industry on important TCPA issues before the Federal Communications Commission and co-authored the nation’s only comprehensive practice guide on TCPA defense. In his spare time, Eric leads defense teams representing banks and other financial services companies in consumer finance litigation matters. He has experience representing clients in UCC, TILA, RESPA FCRA, CCRA, CLRA, FDCPA, RFDCPA and FCCPA claims, as well as in fraud and bank operations issues.

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