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Courts Continue to Grapple with Article III Jurisdictional Questions in the Wake of Campbell-Ewald v. Gomez

Article III of the U.S. Constitution limits the jurisdiction of federal courts to “cases” and “controversies.” U.S. Const., Art. III, § 2. Accordingly, as the Supreme Court recently clarified, “[i]f an intervening circumstance deprives the plaintiff of a personal stake in the outcome of the lawsuit, at any point during litigation, the action can no longer proceed and must be dismissed as moot.” Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, 136 S. Ct. 663, 669 (2016). In the long-awaited decision, the Campbell-Ewald majority held that an unaccepted offer of complete relief under Rule 68, alone, does not moot a claim and thus does not deprive a court of Article III jurisdiction over the action. However, in so ruling, the majority emphasized that the fact that the offer was unaccepted was critical to its decision, thus leaving unanswered a host of scenarios in which a defendant makes an actual full payment or an unconditional tender to the plaintiff, and the court enters judgment for the plaintiff in that amount. Continue reading “Courts Continue to Grapple with Article III Jurisdictional Questions in the Wake of Campbell-Ewald v. Gomez”

FCC Holds Webinar On “How to Deal with Robocalls”

Yesterday, the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau held an informational webinar titled “How to Deal with Robocalls.” Kristi Thornton (Associate Division Chief, Consumer Policy Division) began by providing background on the TCPA and robocalls, as well as recent FCC actions pertaining to federal debt collection calls and the emergency purposes exception as it relates to calls placed by schools and utility companies. We previously reported on these actions here and here. Continue reading “FCC Holds Webinar On “How to Deal with Robocalls””

FTC Issues Annual National DNC Registry Data Book

On December 9th, the Federal Trade Commission released its annual National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for Fiscal Year 2016, which spans from October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2016. The Data Book contains statistical information regarding the number of telephone numbers registered on the Do Not Call Registry, the number of entities that access phone numbers on the Do Not Call Registry, and the number of complaints submitted to the FTC about companies allegedly violating the do-not-call rules. Statistics regarding numbers registered and complaints submitted are also categorized by state and area code in the appendix. Some highlights from the Data Book include:

  • There were 226,001,288 telephone numbers on the Do Not Call Registry compared to 222,841,484 telephone numbers the year before;
  • There were 5,340,234 consumer complaints compared to 3,578,711 consumer complaints the year before; and
  • There were 2,353 entities who paid fees to access the Do Not Call Registry, 17,634 entities who accessed five or fewer area codes from the Do Not Call Registry at no charge, and 503 exempt entities that engaged in calls that either did not involve the sale of goods or services or were directed to persons whom they have an established business relationship with or whom they have obtained express written agreement to call.

This is the eighth year that the FTC has released a National Do Not Call Registry Data Book.

Technology for Effective TCPA Defense: What You Need to Know

TCPA Blog contributor Michael Stortz will co-present a LiveVox webinar on “Technology for Effective TCPA Defense: What You Need to Know” on Wednesday, November 30, 2016. This webinar will provide an in-depth look at how to effectively utilize technology as part of a multifaceted TCPA defense strategy. Panelists will discuss best practices for the initial technology assessment; managing the ongoing assessment of technology; and leveraging technology in defending a TCPA claim. The webinar will also examine the technology behind TCPA suits, including how to assess what is—and is not—an automatic telephone dialing system, and how courts are responding to the use of technology.

Registration for the webinar can be found at the LiveVox website.

Court Finds Plaintiff-Initiated Text Communication Does Not Constitute Express Written Consent

The Eastern District of California recently denied a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, despite the plaintiff having voluntarily initiated the text exchange at issue and having ignored immediately received opt-out notices. Larson v. Harman Mgmt. Corp., No. 16-0219, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149267 (E.D. Cal. Oct. 27, 2016). Continue reading “Court Finds Plaintiff-Initiated Text Communication Does Not Constitute Express Written Consent”

FCC Denies Petition by Mortgage Bankers Association to Exempt Certain Mortgage Servicing Calls from Prior Express Consent Requirement

On November 15, the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau denied a petition by Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)[1] that sought an exemption from the FCC’s prior express consent requirement for non-telemarketing residential mortgage servicing calls to wireless numbers. In its Order, the Bureau concluded that MBA had failed to show (1) that the calls om question would be free of charge to consumers; and (2) that the parties seeking relief should be able to send non-time-sensitive calls to consumers without their consent.[2]

The Bureau’s Order explained that the TCPA “reflects Congress’ recognition of the potential costs and privacy risks imposed on wireless consumers from the use of autodialer equipment, which can generate large numbers of unwanted calls,” and accordingly, the FCC has generally attempted to balance and accommodate the legitimate business interests of callers in addition to recognized consumer privacy interests.[3]

Continue reading “FCC Denies Petition by Mortgage Bankers Association to Exempt Certain Mortgage Servicing Calls from Prior Express Consent Requirement”

District Court Declines to Exercise Supplemental Jurisdiction and Dismisses State Law Claims

On November 7, 2016, a Southern District of Florida court sua sponte declined to exercise its supplemental authority and dismissed a plaintiff’s state law claims in a TCPA action. In Travis v. Residential Credit Solutions, Inc., the plaintiff alleges that defendant placed hundreds of calls to his cellular phone using an ATDS in an effort to collect a debt. From these allegations, the plaintiff filed an individual complaint consisting of three claims: two claims asserting violations of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (“FCCPA”) and one claim asserting a violation of the TCPA. Continue reading “District Court Declines to Exercise Supplemental Jurisdiction and Dismisses State Law Claims”

FCC to Hold Webinar on How to Deal with Robocalls

On December 14th, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST, the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau will be hosting a free webinar for consumers entitled “How to Deal with Robocalls.” The purpose of the webinar is to provide information about consumers’ rights, the FCC’s role in addressing the issue of unwanted telemarketing robocalls, and the steps consumers can take to protect themselves from and/or decrease the amount of robocalls they receive. Individuals may participate via WebEx (audio and video) or by conference call. A detailed agenda is scheduled to be released in advance of the webinar. We will report back with observations and statements.

D.C. Circuit Hears Oral Argument in Cross Appeals of Fax Waiver Order

On November 8, 2016, a three judge panel (Judges Brett M. Kavanaugh, Cornelia T.L. Pillard, and A. Raymond Randolph) of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral argument in Bais Yaakov of Spring Valley v. FCC, No. 14-1234. The argument (which lasted ninety minutes) was divided into two portions: argument regarding whether the FCC had authority to require the inclusion of opt-out notices on solicited faxes, and argument regarding whether the FCC was authorized to grant retroactive waivers of that requirement. Our prior posts on the appeal can be found here, here, and here. The audio recording of the argument is available here. Continue reading “D.C. Circuit Hears Oral Argument in Cross Appeals of Fax Waiver Order”

TCPA Blog Nominated As A Best Legal Blog of 2016

For more than three years, our team has been providing you with breaking news and important information about litigation and regulation under the TCPA. We hope that you have enjoyed reading our blog as much as we have enjoyed writing it. If you have, we invite you to consider supporting our blog by voting for it in this year’s Best Legal Blog Contest.  To do so, please click here and cast your vote. Thank you for your support!