District Court Rules the Plaintiff Cannot Revoke Consent Through Strategies Such as the Use of a Fake British Accent

The plaintiff in Johnson v. Capital One Servs., No. 18-cv-62058, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159633 (S.D. Fla. Sept. 16, 2019) attempted a novel technique in order to provoke Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) violations from the defendant: trying to revoke consent by speaking with a fake British accent and telling the defendant’s agent that they were… Continue reading District Court Rules the Plaintiff Cannot Revoke Consent Through Strategies Such as the Use of a Fake British Accent

Two New District Court Rulings Apply Statutory Definition of ATDS

A year ago, the landmark Ninth Circuit decision in Marks v. Crunch San Diego, LLC broadened the definition of what constitutes an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Finding the statutory definition to be vague, the court disregarded the precedent of Dominguez v. Yahoo

FCC Delays Implementation of Recycled Number Database Until 2020

In December 2018, the FCC announced a plan to create a reassigned number database. Callers would be able to scrub their number lists against this database in order to remove any numbers that have been reassigned to new users, thus decreasing the possibility of incurring Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) violations by calling these new… Continue reading FCC Delays Implementation of Recycled Number Database Until 2020

New House Bill Changing Arbitration Rules Could Have TCPA Implications

As one of their first acts upon returning from the August recess, the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee passed the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act. This bill could have consequences for Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) lawsuits in the unlikely event that it becomes enacted into law. The bill is primarily designed to address… Continue reading New House Bill Changing Arbitration Rules Could Have TCPA Implications

California Jury Renders $267 Million TCPA Verdict Against a Debt Collector

A California-based debt collector received an astoundingly high amount of damages in a verdict rendered this week. The jury in McMillion v. Rash Curtis & Associates, 4:16-cv-03396 (N.D. Cal.) hit the defendant with a $267 million verdict for Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) violations on 534,000 calls. While many debt-collection TCPA cases are never even… Continue reading California Jury Renders $267 Million TCPA Verdict Against a Debt Collector

FTC Reaches Multimillion-Dollar Settlement for Violations Committed by Lead Generating Vendors

The FTC announced that it had reached a $30 million settlement to resolve charges against Career Education Corp (CEC)—an Illinois-based, for-profit education provider—resulting from unlawful tactics used by third-party lead generators. The FTC complaint alleges that CEC and its lead generators violated the agency’s requirements regarding “clear and conspicuous disclosures” in advertisements. The primary complaint… Continue reading FTC Reaches Multimillion-Dollar Settlement for Violations Committed by Lead Generating Vendors

Advisory: Extreme Weather in Texas

Note: While there is no legal prohibition to solicitation calls to Texas, we recommend you exercise caution before marketing to consumers in areas affected by the flooding.  On Tuesday Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency for the 18 counties overwhelmed with heavy rains that caused major flooding along key rivers and triggered the collapse… Continue reading Advisory: Extreme Weather in Texas