A recent ruling in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action illustrates how the TCPA risks incurred by political campaigns can be spread to the platforms that those campaigns use to send their messages. The case—Klueh v. Vallas, Case No. 19-cv-00249, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152979 (N.D. Ill. August 24, 2020)—centers on text messages… Continue reading Court Rules Against Texting Platform in Mayoral Campaign TCPA Class Action
Author: stefen
Court Allows One Call TCPA Class Action to Proceed
If there is one constancy in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation, it is its inconsistency. Differing jurisdictional precedents; differing interpretations of dialing technology; and evolving, sometimes contradictory Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rulemaking combine with the usual idiosyncrasies and vagaries of the court system to produce a legal ecosystem in which one court can rule… Continue reading Court Allows One Call TCPA Class Action to Proceed
District Court Rules That Texts Responding to Customer Inquiries Do Not Violate TCPA
When the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was passed into law in 1991, one of its primary purposes was regulating the then-current practice of sending junk faxes. In the intervening 29 years, telecommunications technologies have dramatically changed (several times over) but the law that is the centerpiece of federal telemarketing regulations has remained largely the… Continue reading District Court Rules That Texts Responding to Customer Inquiries Do Not Violate TCPA
Recent Court Decisions Highlight How Costly the TCPA Can Be
As we find ourselves in limbo between the anticlimactic Barr Supreme Court case and the potentially momentous Facebook case, Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation continue apace. Two recent court decisions illustrate just how expensive TCPA class actions can be for defendants and how lucrative they can be for plaintiffs attorneys. Last week, the Eleventh… Continue reading Recent Court Decisions Highlight How Costly the TCPA Can Be
Quicken Loses in Attempt to Compel Arbitration in TCPA Class Action
Mortgage lending giant Quicken Loans lost a motion to compel arbitration in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action. The details of the case demonstrate that a TCPA compliance program is of little use without proper understanding of how the compliance technology works. At initial glance, the case—Hill v. Quicken Loans, Case No. ED… Continue reading Quicken Loses in Attempt to Compel Arbitration in TCPA Class Action
Double Trouble: Dual-Purpose Phone Lines Present Significant Risks to Callers
Litigators and professional plaintiffs employ a variety of tricks in order to entrap callers into Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and Do Not Call (DNC) list violations. One of the most dangerous ploys is also one of the simplest: the dual-purpose phone line. Sometimes referred to as “mixed-use” lines, the deal-purpose line gambit works as… Continue reading Double Trouble: Dual-Purpose Phone Lines Present Significant Risks to Callers
Who Needs a SAN?
Any company who is calling or texting is required by law to suppress phone numbers against the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry. A SAN (Subscription Account Number) must be purchased and renewed annually in order to download the DNC registry. Many callers find the rules relating to and process for acquiring a SAN to… Continue reading Who Needs a SAN?
FCC Clarifies COVID-19 TCPA Emergency Purposes Declaratory Ruling
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a public notice yesterday clarifying the scope of the commission’s March 20, 2020 Declaratory Ruling about the “emergency purposes” exemption to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) as it pertains to the COVID-19 pandemic. The clarification is in regards to calls about plasma donation. In the March 20 declaration,… Continue reading FCC Clarifies COVID-19 TCPA Emergency Purposes Declaratory Ruling
TCPA Risks for Political Campaigns
Some callers may be under the mistaken impression that political calls are exempt from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This is not true. However, because political calls are not regulated in the same way as marketing calls it is important to understand the distinct character of TCPA regulations for political campaigns. This article outlines the regulations and requirements that govern this unique form of telephone solicitation.
Georgia Congressional Candidate Faces TCPA Lawsuit Over Campaign Texts
A Georgia state legislator faces a class action for alleged Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) violations committed in service of her campaign for a congressional seat. The suit demonstrates that political campaigns are a target for TCPA litigation, even ones that have a lower profile than presidential campaigns. The lawsuit—Bowman v. Unterman—centers on two text… Continue reading Georgia Congressional Candidate Faces TCPA Lawsuit Over Campaign Texts