In Johnson v. Yahoo!, Inc., No. 14-2028 (N.D. Ill.), the plaintiff alleged that Yahoo! violated the TCPA by automatically texting her after pulling her number from a database of stored numbers. The trial court initially denied Yahoo!’s motion for summary judgment because—based on FCC decisions from 2003, 2008 and 2012—it believed that there were genuine issues of material fact regarding whether the dialing equipment qualified as an ATDS. During the pendency of the case, however, the FCC issued its 2015 Declaratory Ruling & Order, which, as our regular readers well know, was appealed to and eventually rejected by the D.C. Circuit. Continue reading “Courts Continue to Reject FCC’s Pre-2015 ATDS Rulings in Light of ACA International“
FCC Adopts Order Creating a Centralized Reassigned Number Database
After several proceedings and requests for comment, the FCC has approved the creation of a single, centralized reassigned numbers database—a new resource to identify and avoid calling reassigned numbers. Ideally, the proposed database will help businesses in identifying numbers that are being recycled before they are called, thus helping to cut down on the number of calls consumers receive by mistake. This alert outlines the framework of the new database, including access, administration, types of information collected, usage, and potential costs and benefits.
Court Denies “Individualized Challenges” to Class Members’ Right to Recover
The Northern District of Illinois recently issued an order that denied defendants an opportunity to present “individualized challenges” to the members of a certified class in a TCPA fax case. The court determined that the defendants waived their right to challenge whether certain members of the class were entitled to recover because defendants did not assert their objections at the time the court approved the initial class notice. Continue reading “Court Denies “Individualized Challenges” to Class Members’ Right to Recover”
Second Circuit Follows Seventh Circuit, Finds that Rule 67 Tender Does Not Moot Claims
Nearly three years ago, in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, the Supreme Court held that claims are not mooted by unaccepted offers of complete relief under Rule 68 because they create neither an “obligation” to provide nor an “entitlement” to receive any relief. But the Court expressly left open the possibility that depositing the full amount of a plaintiff’s individual claim in an account payable to the plaintiff might be enough. Continue reading “Second Circuit Follows Seventh Circuit, Finds that Rule 67 Tender Does Not Moot Claims”
Supreme Court Could Set Boundaries on Scope of FCC Guidance
The Supreme Court granted certiorari in PDR Network LLC v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic Inc., to determine whether the Hobbs Act required the district court in this case to accept the FCC’s legal interpretation of the TCPA. Matt noted that the ruling is expected to have a “profound impact” on TCPA litigation going forward “because it will determine whether or not courts can give an independent interpretation of the statute” or if they have to defer to the FCC’s interpretation. Continue reading “Supreme Court Could Set Boundaries on Scope of FCC Guidance”
District Court Grants Summary Judgment for Defendant, Finding its Dialing System Is Not an ATDS
As consumers and businesses await clarity from the FCC regarding the definition of “automatic telephone dialing system” (“ATDS”), district courts throughout the country continue to grapple with competing appellate decisions in order to resolve pending cases within this uncertain and fast-changing legal landscape. A recent decision, Roark v. Credit One Bank, N.A., No. 16-173, 2018 WL 5921652 (D. Minn. Nov. 13, 2018) (available here), provides an illustration of this current climate, as a Minnesota federal judge had to address four appellate cases concerning the ATDS definition from this year alone, including the seminal ACA International decision. The decision is also notable because the court concluded that the defendant’s “predictive dialing systems” did not violate the TCPA. Continue reading “District Court Grants Summary Judgment for Defendant, Finding its Dialing System Is Not an ATDS”
Court Dismisses Case for Failure to Plausibly Allege That Text Messages Constituted Telemarketing
The Southern District of New York recently granted a motion to dismiss in a putative TCPA class action because plaintiff failed to plausibly allege that the texts at issue constituted telemarketing or contained advertising material, thus requiring plaintiff’s prior express written consent. The decision highlights the importance of pleading the specific content of the communication at issue in a TCPA case, which directly impacts the type of consent that is required. Continue reading “Court Dismisses Case for Failure to Plausibly Allege That Text Messages Constituted Telemarketing”
As the 115th Congress Winds Down, a New Senate Bill Proposes Stiffer Penalties for Illegal Robocalling
Reflecting the nearly universal sense by constituents that call spoofing and other illegal forms of robocalls are annoying and unwelcome, on November 15, a bipartisan team of United States senators, Senators Markey, Thune and Wicker, introduced a bill titled the “Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act” also known as the TRACED Act. The bill is designed to provide the FCC and other federal agencies acting in concert with the FCC with additional tools to combat spoofing and other illegal robocalling operations by amending Section 227 of the Communications Act to provide for enhanced civil penalties for violation of TCPA rules. Specifically, the bill would provide the FCC going forward with forfeiture authority to assess civil penalties of up to $10,000 per illegal robocall violation and extend the current FCC statute of limitations to investigate TCPA violations from the current one year to three years. The bill also creates new criminal fines of up to $10,000 per violation that can be trebled if the activity was intentional. The FCC would have 270 days following enactment to develop implementing regulations. The bill does not introduce any changes to the current private right of action provisions of Section 227 of the Act. Continue reading “As the 115th Congress Winds Down, a New Senate Bill Proposes Stiffer Penalties for Illegal Robocalling”
One Court Declines to Rule that Pharmacy Prescription Calls are Per Se Protected by the Emergency Purposes Exception, Rejecting Cases Holding Otherwise
Last week, in Smith v. Rite Aid Corporation, 2018 WL 5828693 (W.D.N.Y. Nov. 7, 2018), a court rejected the argument – supported by previous cases – that pharmacy prescription reminder calls categorically come within the TCPA’s statutory emergency purposes exception. This decision creates uncertainty for all pharmacies and may chill their ability to provide important health care notifications to their patients. Continue reading “One Court Declines to Rule that Pharmacy Prescription Calls are Per Se Protected by the Emergency Purposes Exception, Rejecting Cases Holding Otherwise”
High Court May Upend TCPA Litigation Landscape
TCPA Blog contributor Justin Kay is quoted in a Law360 article entitled “High Court May Upend TCPA Litigation Landscape” addressing the Supreme Court’s decision to grant the defendant’s petition for certiorari in PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic, Inc.—a TCPA fax case. Continue reading “High Court May Upend TCPA Litigation Landscape”