Articles by :


Tenth Circuit Finds That Invitations to Town Halls Regarding Covid-19 Triggered the TCPA’s Emergency Purposes Exception; Declines to Determine Whether a Municipality is a “Person” Under the TCPA

In a case analyzing whether invitations to town hall meetings regarding COVID-19 were exempted from liability by the TCPA’s emergency purposes exception, the Tenth Circuit declined to address whether a municipality is a “person” under the TCPA.

The case, Silver v. City of Albuquerque, — F. 4th —, 2025 WL 1173558 (10th Cir. 2025) arose from plaintiff Gerald Silver’s filing of a putative class action lawsuit alleging that the City violated the TCPA by utilizing pre-recorded phone calls to invite residents to virtual town halls regarding COVID-19. The City moved to dismiss on two grounds: first, that it was not a “person” as defined by the TCPA, and second, that its calls would be exempted from the TCPA based on its exception for calls made for emergency purposes. The District Court granted the motion on the exception argument without reaching the question of whether a municipality is a “person.” In its opinion affirming the District Court’s decision, the Tenth Circuit did the same.

Continue reading “Tenth Circuit Finds That Invitations to Town Halls Regarding Covid-19 Triggered the TCPA’s Emergency Purposes Exception; Declines to Determine Whether a Municipality is a “Person” Under the TCPA”

Federal Court Dismisses Lawsuit, Finding Alleged Faxes Were Not Sent to a “Telephone Facsimile Machine”

The TCPA generally prohibits the transmission of an “unsolicited advertisement” to a “telephone facsimile machine.” 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(c). But is an “online fax service” a “telephone facsimile machine”? And can a plaintiff state a claim based on faxes that were sent to its “online fax service”? The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado recently answered both questions in the negative. See Astro Companies, LLC v. Westfax, Inc., et al., No. 1:23-cv-02328 (D. Colo. Feb. 12, 2025).

Plaintiff Astro Companies, LLC (Astro) alleged that it is an online fax service provider that uses a fax server to convert “traditional faxes” into readable formats (such as a PDF), which are then either emailed to the recipient or made available online to be viewed (and potentially printed) at the recipient’s convenience. Astro sued multiple companies, claiming it had received “junk” faxes in violation of the TCPA. Even accepting Astro’s well-pleaded factual allegations as true, the court granted a defendant’s motion to dismiss, found Astro failed to state a claim, and, ultimately, dismissed the action with prejudice.

Continue reading “Federal Court Dismisses Lawsuit, Finding Alleged Faxes Were Not Sent to a “Telephone Facsimile Machine””

District of Arizona Denies Certification of Claims Against Defendant That Had Defaulted

A TCPA defendant in Arizona federal court recently uncovered what appears to be a previously undiscovered silver-lining to a default judgment: a denial of class certification.

In Heidarpour v. Secured Mktg. Concepts Corp., 2025 WL 764287, at *1 (D. Ariz. Mar. 11, 2025), the plaintiff brought a putative TCPA class action for alleged telemarketing calls that were placed without the prior express written consent of call recipients. When the defendant failed to appear, the plaintiff moved simultaneously for default judgment and class certification. The court denied class certification, explaining that “even if permissible, certifying a class when a defendant is in default may not be prudent.” Id. at *2.

Continue reading “District of Arizona Denies Certification of Claims Against Defendant That Had Defaulted”