W.D. Texas Dismisses TCPA Claims at Pleading Stage for Failure to Adequately Allege Vicarious Liability

A federal court in Texas recently granted a motion to dismiss TCPA claims where the plaintiff failed to plausibly allege that unidentified third-party telemarketers were acting as agents of the defendant, a question that is more often tested at summary judgment than at the pleading stage.

In Ortega v. Powur, PBC, No. 5:25-cv-0864-JKP, 2026 WL 711813 (W.D. Tex. Mar. 13, 2026), the pro se plaintiff alleged that he received multiple unsolicited telemarketing calls in April 2025 marketing solar products, despite having registered his number with the National Do-Not-Call Registry in 2012 and making repeated requests that the calls stop. When the calls persisted, the plaintiff feigned interest in order to schedule an appointment and identify the caller. During that call, the telemarketer used a fictitious business name and provided a nonexistent website address. The following day, a man identifying himself as Jose Daniel Laveaga called, identified himself as being from Powur, PBC, and stated that the earlier calls had come from Powur's "marketing team."