One of the central issues that was before the D.C. Circuit in ACA International v. FCC was whether the term “called party” refers to the intended or the unintended recipient of a call. In its July 10, 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order, the FCC interpreted the term to be the current “subscriber” on the account to which the phone number is assigned or “the non-subscriber customary user of the phone.” Under this interpretation, businesses that try in good faith to contact consumers who have consented to receive such calls face significant liability with minimal recourse, when those calls reach someone else. The D.C. Circuit set aside the FCC’s “treatment of reassigned numbers as whole,” which includes its interpretation of called party. In light of the D.C. Circuit’s ruling, the FCC is currently seeking comment on critical TCPA issues with an eye toward taking a much broader view of the TCPA landscape than it did in its 2015 TCPA Order. In the meantime, one business involved in a TCPA action is seeking indemnification from the consumer it intended to reach in making the calls that form the basis of the TCPA action against it. Continue reading “TCPA Defendant Allowed to Seek Indemnification from Plaintiff’s Daughter, the Intended Recipient of its Debt-Related Calls”
Comments Filed in Reassigned Numbers and Post-ACA International Proceedings
Two important TCPA proceedings are underway at the FCC. The first proceeding addresses the potential creation of a reassigned number database and the second proceeding involves a host of key issues in the wake of the D.C. Circuit ruling in ACA International v. Federal Communications Commission, No. 15-1211 (D.C. Cir. March. 16, 2018), including reassigned number liability, revocation of consent and the definition of an “automatic telephone dialing system.” Cf. 47 U.S. Code § 227(a)(1). Continue reading “Comments Filed in Reassigned Numbers and Post-ACA International Proceedings”
District of Arizona Grants Summary Judgment on ATDS Issues in the Wake of ACA International v. FCC
The District of Arizona recently became one of the first courts in the country to address the definition of an ATDS in light of the D.C. Circuit’s blockbuster ruling in ACA International v. FCC, 885 F.3d 687 (D.C. Cir. 2018). Our previous client alert regarding ACA predicted that the decision would provide TCPA defendants with increased opportunities to defeat claims based on plaintiffs’ failure to prove the use of an ATDS. The Herrick v. GoDaddy.com, LLC case exemplifies how defendants can use the ACA decision to combat TCPA claims on this issue and hopefully foreshadows an emerging wave of favorable decisions. Continue reading “District of Arizona Grants Summary Judgment on ATDS Issues in the Wake of ACA International v. FCC”
Testimonial Evidence Sufficient to Defeat Class Certification: Court Denies Class Cert on Basis of Defendant’s Testimony Regarding Its Compliant Practices
The Southern District of Ohio recently denied class certification because the defendant’s unrebutted testimony—which established that its procedures ensured that faxes were only sent to those who had given their prior express permission—created individualized issues that predominated over any common ones. See Sawyer v. KRS Biotechnology, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8595 (S.D. Oh. May 30, 2018). Continue reading “Testimonial Evidence Sufficient to Defeat Class Certification: Court Denies Class Cert on Basis of Defendant’s Testimony Regarding Its Compliant Practices”