One thing I will NEVER understand is defendants who get sued and don’t even bother showing up or putting up a fight. I mean, why make it that easy for the plaintiff?
But in this case, Hygeia Health, Inc. was lucky to have a judge who looked beyond their absence! Despite failing to appear and having default entered against it, a California federal judge wasn’t about to hand the plaintiff a victory on a silver platter.
In Bravo v. Hygeia Health, Inc., No. 2:26-cv-08900-AH-(DSRx), 2026 WL 3313495 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 30, 2026), the Central District of California denied the Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment after finding that text messages offering free breast pump accessories covered by insurance did not constitute telephone solicitations under the TCPA.
So how did Hygeia manage to dodge a default judgment without even showing up? Let’s get into it.
Plaintiff Vivianna Bravo filed a putative class action against Hygeia Health, Inc., alleging that the company violated the TCPA by sending her unsolicited telemarketing text messages before 8 a.m. Specifically, Bravo alleged that she received two text messages on April 5 and April 8, 2026, at approximately 6:54 a.m. and 6:55 a.m.
Bravo alleged that messages were from “Becky” at Hygeia and informed her that her insurance covered a free set of breast pump accessories. Both messages directed Bravo to click a link to confirm her shipping address.
According to Bravo, the purpose of these messages was to advertise, promote, and encourage the purchase of Hygeia’s goods or services.
Hygeia never responded to the lawsuit and as a result, the Clerk entered default against them on September 24, 2026. Bravo subsequently moved for default judgment, seeking $1,000 in statutory damages and $565 in recoverable costs.
At that point, Bravo probably thought she had this one in the bag. After all, Hygeia hadn’t even bothered to try and defend itself! But the Court had other plans.
The Court first recognized that Bravo had satisfied the procedural requirements for obtaining default judgment. However, that alone wasn’t enough.
Even when a defendant defaults, the plaintiff must still establish that the allegations in the complaint state a legally sufficient claim. And here, Bravo failed to do exactly that.
The Court explained that Section 227(c)(5) of the TCPA requires a plaintiff to establish that she received more than one telephone call within a 12-month period, made by or on behalf of the same entity, in violation of regulations promulgated under that subsection. The Court further noted that a “telephone solicitation” must encourage the purchase, rental, or investment in property, goods, or services.
Hygeia’s messages, however, did not encourage Bravo to purchase anything. Instead Hygeia was offering FREE breast pump accessories covered by her insurance!
The Court pointed to several district courts that have held that communications offering free goods or services do not qualify as telephone solicitations where they do not encourage the recipient to make a purchase. For example, the Court relied on the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Hulce v. Zipongo Inc., 132 F.4th 493 (7th Cir. 2025), which held that a communication offering free services to a recipient does not constitute a telephone solicitation merely because the recipient’s insurance company may ultimately pay for those services.
Applying that reasoning, the Court found that Bravo failed to explain how messages offering her free products could have been intended to encourage her to make a purchase. Finally, the Court noted that mere advertising or promotion, without an accompanying encouragement to purchase, rent, or invest, is not enough to constitute a telephone solicitation.
Because Bravo’s claim depended on the messages qualifying as telephone solicitations, the Court concluded that her allegations were insufficient to establish a TCPA violation.
Accordingly, the Court denied her Motion for Default Judgment and ordered her to show cause within 14 days why the action should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim.
Not bad for a defendant that didn’t even show up!
As always, stay tuned for the latest TCPA developments!