Category - "Consolidated Appeal"

Human Intervention After The FCC’s Declaratory Ruling

A recent decision illustrates the uncertainties wrought by the “case-by-case” approach of the FCC’s July 2015 Declaratory Ruling when applied in litigation. In Sherman v. Yahoo, Inc., the plaintiff challenged Yahoo’s messenger service, which converted instant messages submitted by Yahoo users from their computers to text messages that would be received on mobile devices. Plaintiff claimed that the Yahoo service sent her mobile device an unsolicited welcome message using automated dialing technology in violation of the TCPA. Yahoo moved for summary judgment, arguing that its service was not an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) as defined by the TCPA because messages could not be sent without human intervention.

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NACDS Files Amicus Brief in Support of Petitioner Rite Aid in Consolidated Appeal of FCC’s TCPA Order

On December 2nd, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Inc. (“NACDS”) submitted an amicus brief in support of member organization and petitioner Rite Aid in the consolidated appeal of the FCC’s July 10, 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order (the “Order”) in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. See ACA Int’l, et al. v. FCC, No. 15-1211 (D.C. Cir.). We reported earlier that Rite Aid filed its opening brief focusing on the healthcare-related portions of the Order on November 25th, the same day the joint petitioners filed their opening brief. The NACDS notes that it also supports the joint petitioners’ arguments related to reassigned numbers, automatic telephone dialing systems, and revocation of consent but submitted a separate amicus brief to address the impact of the Order on critical patient healthcare notifications. Brief at 2 n.1.

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Rite Aid Files Opening Brief in Consolidated Appeal of FCC’s TCPA Order

On November 25th, petitioner Rite Aid Hdqrtrs. Corp. (“Rite Aid”) filed its opening brief in the consolidated appeal of the FCC’s July 10, 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order (the “Order”) in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. See ACA Int’l, et al. v. FCC, No. 15-1211 (D.C. Cir.). Although Rite Aid supports the opening brief filed by the joint petitioners on the same day, it obtained permission to file a short separate brief focusing on the healthcare-related portions of the Order. (Whereas the joint petitioners’ opening brief was limited to 14,000 words, Rite Aid’s opening brief was limited to 2,500 words.)

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Joint Petitioners File Initial Brief in Consolidated Appeal of FCC’s TCPA Order

On November 25th, joint petitioners ACA International, Sirius XM, PACE, salesforce.com, ExactTarget, Consumer Bankers Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Vibes Media, and Portfolio Recovery Associates (“Petitioners”), filed their opening brief in the consolidated appeal of the FCC’s July 10, 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order (the “Order”) in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.  See ACA Int’l, et al. v. FCC, No. 15-1211 (D.C. Cir. Nov. 25, 2015).  Rite Aid filed a separate opening brief that we will address in a subsequent post

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Why Everyone Is Upset About The Third Circuit’s Recent TCPA Decisions … And A Few Reasons Why They Shouldn’t Be: Part II

This is the second of two posts discussing the Third Circuit’s recent TCPA decisions. This one, Dominguez v. Yahoo, Inc., No. 14-1751 (3d Cir.), concerns the proper interpretation of the term “automatic telephone dialing system” (“ATDS”), which is front and center in the consolidated appeal from the FCC’s July 10th Declaratory Ruling and Order.

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Wisconsin District Court Stays TCPA Suit Pending Review of the FCC’s July 10 Order

On October 20, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin granted defendant Performant Technologies, Inc.’s (“Performant”) motion to continue a stay pending judicial review of the FCC’s July 10 TCPA order (previously discussed here) “in the interest of judicial economy.” Gensel v. Performant Technologies, Inc., No. 13-C-1196 (E.D. Wis. Oct. 20, 2015).

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Petitioners Coordinate Efforts in Consolidated Appeal of the FCC’s July 10, 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order

On September 21, 2015, petitioners ACA International, Sirius XM Radio, Inc., Professional Association for Customer Engagement, Inc., salesforce.com inc. and ExactTarget, Inc., Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, Consumer Bankers Association, Vibes Media, LLC, Rite Aid Hdqtrs. Corp., and Portfolio Recovery Associates (collectively “Petitioners”) filed an unopposed joint motion for briefing format and schedule in their consolidated appeal of the FCC’s July 10, 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order. See ACA Int’l v. FCC, No. 15-1211 (D.C. Cir. filed Sept. 21, 2015).

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Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC Joins the Consolidated Appeal of the FCC’s July 10, 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order

On September 8, 2015, Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC (“PRA”) filed its own petition for review of the FCC’s July 10, 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. PRA states that it participated in the underlying proceedings by submitting comments to ACA International’s Petition for Rulemaking. Id. at 3. PRA contends that while the purpose of the underlying proceedings was to provide clarity to previous interpretations of various TPCA provisions, the Order disregards the TCPA’s language and intent while unlawfully holding callers to unreasonable standards. Id. Specifically, PRA challenges the Order’s: (1) assertion that “equipment can be an ATDS even if it has none of the statutorily required features,” (2) provision allowing a called party to revoke consent at any time through any reasonable means while callers are prohibited from establishing methods for revocation, and (3) provision imposing strict liability for calls made to reassigned numbers after the first call regardless of whether the caller is aware that the number has been reassigned. Id. As relief, PRA asks the DC Circuit to vacate or reverse the unlawful parts of the Order and remand those parts to the FCC for further action consistent with the court’s findings. Id. at 4.

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Parties Continue to Challenge the FCC’s July 10, 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order

On September 4, 2015, both Vibes Media, LLC and Rite Aid Hdqrtrs. Corporation filed petitions for review of the FCC’s July 10, 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. See Vibes Media, LLC v. FCC, No. 15-1311 (D.C. Cir. filed Sept. 4, 2015); see also Rite Aid Hdqtrs. Corp. v. FCC (D.C. Cir. filed Sept. 4, 2015). Both petitions have been added to the consolidated appeal.

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CodeBroker, LLC Filed Consent Motion for Voluntary Dismissal of its Petition for Review

Earlier, we reported that CodeBroker, LLC filed a petition for review of the FCC’s July 10, 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.  On September 3, 2015, CodeBroker, LLC filed a motion for voluntary dismissal of its pending petition for review. See CodeBroker, LLC Mot. for Voluntary Dismissal, No. 15-1278 (D.C. Cir. filed Sept. 3, 2015).