DEFAULT DEBATE: Court Orders Class Discovery Against Defaulted Defendant And This Is Why You Need a Good Lawyer

I remember a while back somebody told me the optimal strategy for defending a TCPA class action was just to not appear in the case. Without the participation of the defendant–the argument goes– the Plaintiff cannot obtain class records and the case is doomed to be defeated.

This strategy is so obviously wrong that I really never talk about it, but the case of Bland v. Sprintfone, 2025 WL 2841010 (N.D.N.Y. Oct. 7, 2025) shows why.

In Bland the defendant did not hire an attorney and a default was entered against it.

Rather than accept an individual judgment, however, Bland–represented by Perrong— filed a motion to seek class discovery against the defendant (yes, even though it was in default.) And the court granted the motion:

Here, Bland has established good cause and reasonableness for the requested relief. “[D]istrict courts in numerous circuits have authorized discovery against a non appearing defendant in support of a class certification investigation.” Katz v. Curis Pharmacy, LLC, No. 22-CV-644, 2023 WL 5769499, at *6 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 7, 2023); see also Katz v. Prof’l Billing Collections, LLC, No. 20-CV-3043, 2021 WL 2418387 (S.D.N.Y. 2021) (granting motion for discovery to obtain information related to class members in TCPA action where defendant failed to appear and Clerk entered a certificate of default); Bais Yaakov of Spring Valley v. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers, Inc., 36 F. Supp. 3d 417, 421 (S.D.N.Y. 2014) (“[T]here can be no doubt that it is proper for a district court, prior to certification of a class, to allow discovery … to determine whether the prerequisites of Rule 23 are satisfied.” (quoting Sirota v. Solitron Devices, Inc., 673 F.2d 566, 571 (2d Cir. 1982))); Williams v. Goldman & Steinberg, Inc., No. 03-CV- 2132, 2006 WL 2053715, at *9-10 (E.D.N.Y. July 21, 2006) (permitting such discovery after defendants’ default).

The Complaint appears to sufficiently state a claim under the TCPA, and Bland has sufficiently alleged that Defendant’s purported violation of the statute results affects members of the proposed class. “Accordingly, there exists good cause for limited discovery to identify class members … and to determine damages.” De Henriques, 2023 WL 5671559, at *2

Pretty straightforward.

A defaulting TCPA defendant does not benefit from being in default– they lose the ability to defend themselves and the plaintiff can cakewalk to a massive class judgment.

So, probably get yourself a lawyer. And one that knows what they’re doing– I’m seeing some truly awful lawyering in TCPA class actions lately, but I can’t save everyone (although I can try.)

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Chat soon.