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
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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
Court Determines that Manually Dialed Call on a System With ATDS Capabilities May Violate the TCPA
A District Court issued a ruling that concludes that a manually dialed call may violate the TCPA just because it was placed from a system that has other modes with ATDS capabilities.
Verzion to Automatically Enroll Customers in Robocall Blocking Feature
Verizon announced this week that they would begin automatically enrolling some of their users in their Call Filter program, which blocks robocalls.
Eleventh Circuit Dismisses TCPA Class Action In Which Plaintiff Received A Single Text Message
The Eleventh Circuit Court dismissed a TCPA class action for lack of standing in a case where the plaintiff received only a single text message.
Advisory: Florida State of Emergency – Hurricane Dorian
Updated: Now includes Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Note: While there is no legal prohibition to solicitation calls to these states, we recommend you exercise caution before marketing to consumers in areas affected by the hurricane.
On Wednesday Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 26 Florida counties including all of South Florida, as Hurricane Dorian approaches. States of emergency have been subsequently declared in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.
2019 September Restricted Do Not Call Dates
Calls to these States on restricted Do Not Call (DNC) dates could result in a potential State violation:
State Restricted Do Not Call Dates
September 2, 2019 – Labor Day
- Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Utah
Canadian Restricted Do Not Call Dates
September 2, 2019 – Labour Day
- All provinces
Western District of Michigan Court Decision Produces Intrastate Split on What Constitutes an ATDS
Western District of Michigan split on what constitutes an Automatic Telephone Dialing System under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
Court Sides With Kroger In Beef Between Plaintiff And Grocery Store Over ATDS Calls About Beef
Grocery store chain Kroger uses plaintiff’s own evidence against him in a TCPA case that resulted from a beef over calls made using an ATDS.
Appeals Court Rules That TCPA Regulations Apply To Hybrid VoIP-Cellular Telephone Numbers
The First Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a ruling that has enormous consequences for TCPA compliance with regards to hybrid VoIP-Cellular services.