Litigation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) generally targets companies, whether that means telemarketing companies or the sellers that hire them. But there is a legal precedent for TCPA complaints—and the potentially expensive penalties that go with them—to be filed against employees and corporate officers under a theory of individual liability.
Tag: Litigation
Top Ten Telemarketing Compliance Stories of 2021
2021 was an eventful year in the world of telemarketing regulations. Here are the most important events and stories from the past year.
30 Years of the TCPA
Today is the 30 year anniversary of President George H.W. Bush signing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) into law. It is fitting that this anniversary is somewhat overlooked as, for the first two decades of its existence, the TCPA served its intended, modest purpose as a statute allowing individual consumers to bring lawsuits in… Continue reading 30 Years of the TCPA
Wrong Numbers Are a TCPA Risk
Wrong numbers sometimes take a backseat to reassigned numbers when discussing Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) risks. But they represent a similar sort of risk without counterbalancing features like the Reassigned Numbers Database (RND) and its associated safe harbor. Understanding why wrong numbers serve as a source of TCPA risk and implementing measures to mitigate that risk are essential parts of TCPA compliance.
Just the Fax, Ma’am
30 years after the passage of the TCPA, fax machines might not be used as often as they once were but faxes remain a source of TCPA litigation. Here are some notable TCPA fax cases from this year.
Autumn Telemarketing Regulations: A Cornucopia of Enforcement and Litigation
Thanksgiving is coming up soon and marketers may well find themselves thankful that they are not in regulatory hot water like the callers in the following cases. PAC Sued for TCPA Violations The Law Enforcement for a Safer America Political Action Committee has been sued for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).… Continue reading Autumn Telemarketing Regulations: A Cornucopia of Enforcement and Litigation
Six Months After Facebook, the ATDS Landscape Begins to Take Shape
SCOTUS’s decision in Facebook v. Duguid was six months ago. Let’s look at how things stand.
Plaintiff Attorney Files Multiple Lawsuits Against a Single Defendant Totaling $10 Billion
Two of our points of emphasis for Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) compliance are: 1) litigators can be extremely tricky; and 2) the TCPA can be very expensive. A series of recent lawsuits against a single defendant all by a single plaintiff’s attorney illustrate these points. The litigator used some very unusual methods to gather… Continue reading Plaintiff Attorney Files Multiple Lawsuits Against a Single Defendant Totaling $10 Billion
Court Finds Insurance Company Can Be Held Liable for TCPA Violations Committed by Lead Generator
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a ruling in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) lawsuit that sets a potentially dangerous precedent with regards to sellers being held vicariously liable for the actions of lead generators. The case—Bilek v. Federal Insurance Company—involves an insurance company that hired a marketer to promote its insurance… Continue reading Court Finds Insurance Company Can Be Held Liable for TCPA Violations Committed by Lead Generator
Arbitrator Rules That Plaintiffs in Manufactured TCPA Lawsuit Must Pay Defendants $286,000
In a reversal from how these things usually go, an arbitrator has ruled that the plaintiff in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) lawsuit must pay the defendant $286,064.62. The arbitrator determined that this serial plaintiff had perpetrated a scheme in which he induced the defendant to call him over 600 times in order to… Continue reading Arbitrator Rules That Plaintiffs in Manufactured TCPA Lawsuit Must Pay Defendants $286,000