Today marks ten years and counting of the FCC’s revised TCPA rules—and, not coincidentally, of this blog. Over the last decade, more than 50 contributors have shared more than 500 posts about the statute’s restrictions, the FCC’s rules and regulations, the states’ enactment of so-called “mini” TCPAs, and the many twists and turns in the seemingly endless stream of litigation—much of it concocted by a colorful cast of recurring characters—arising under all of them. We have enjoyed sharing our insights and meeting our readers, and we can’t wait to see what the next ten years will bring.
Category - "General"
Join Us This Week — The TCPA: The Year Behind and Year Ahead
Please join us for a lively roundup of recent developments and hot topics hosted by Faegre Drinker’s TCPA team. Our attorneys will convene government and industry professionals to offer insight and perspective on a variety of issues, including the definition of an autodialer, trends in defending and settling TCPA cases, and the regulatory implications of the election and pandemic, among other much-buzzed-about subjects. In addition to members of Faegre Drinker’s TCPA team, our three panels will feature these guest speakers:
Continue reading “Join Us This Week — The TCPA: The Year Behind and Year Ahead”
Pending TCPA Petitions
The FCC’s TCPA dockets can be among the agency’s most active, with intermittent waves of petitions filed, followed by releases of public notices seeking comments on petitions for declaratory rulings or clarifications of FCC rules. It can be difficult to track down TCPA items in the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System. But fear not: the Drinker Biddle TCPA team has put together this tracker chart to help our readers locate pending TCPA petitions and associated public notices. The chart is organized by issue and contains brief summaries of the requests made by petitioners. It does not include petitions for reconsideration of the FCC’s July 2015 omnibus order.
The TCPA in 2018: There and Back Again
As a follow-up to our initial reminder to mark your calendars for our half-day conference on November 14, 2018, in Washington, D.C., we are pleased to share the agenda.
Distinguished panelists hailing from government, retail, finance, health, and technology will join Drinker Biddle attorneys for an afternoon of discussion about the past, present and future of the TCPA and related litigation and enforcement.
We hope to see you there!
Save the Date! Drinker Biddle’s TCPA Team to Host TCPA Conference on November 14th
Please join our TCPA Team and distinguished panelists in our Washington, D.C. office on the afternoon of November 14th to discuss the evolving regulatory landscape, best practices for mitigating risk, and strategies for defending suits brought under the TCPA. The FCC regulations that added fuel to the TCPA fire—and, perhaps not coincidentally, this blog—will soon enjoy their fifth anniversary. And yet class actions and compliance questions continue to mount. Our experienced regulatory and class action counsel will discuss these and other important issues with a number of special guests, including:
- Peggy Daley, Berkley Research Group
- Robert DeWitte, Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC
- Mary Ellen Kleiman, National Association of Chain Drug Stores
- William Maxson, Federal Trade Commission
- Joseph Wender, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey
- Hassan Zavareei, Tycko & Zavareei LLP
CLE credits will be available and a cocktail reception will be held after the conference. If you would like to attend, please contact us at TCPAteam@dbr.com.
Texas Federal Court Compels Arbitration of TCPA Claims, Grants Motion of Nonsignatory to Agreement
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas recently granted a defendant debt collection agency’s motion to compel arbitration in a TCPA case. See Bow v. Ad Astra Recovery Servs., Inc., No. 18-0510-G, 2018 WL 3455510 (N.D. Tex. July 18, 2018) (available here). In doing so, the court enforced an arbitration agreement that the debt collection agency had never signed, on the ground that the agreement expressly referenced the agency as an “affiliate” of the two lenders that had signed the agreement. The court’s decision provides helpful guidance for enforcing arbitration agreements, particularly in the context of a loan agreement that may lead to debt collection efforts—and potential TCPA exposure. Continue reading “Texas Federal Court Compels Arbitration of TCPA Claims, Grants Motion of Nonsignatory to Agreement”
Senate Judiciary Holds Hearing on Abusive Lawsuits
As we previously reported, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary recently held a hearing entitled “The Impact of Lawsuit Abuse on American Small Businesses and Job Creators.” Although the TCPA was not the sole focus of the hearing, concerns about abusive lawsuits are highly applicable in the TCPA context.
Continue reading “Senate Judiciary Holds Hearing on Abusive Lawsuits”
U.S. Senate Votes for More Pai
On Tuesday, October 3, 2017, the Senate confirmed Chairman Ajit Pai to a second term at the FCC, enabling him to potentially stay on as chairman until the end of 2021. Originally appointed by President Obama in 2012, Chairman Pai was a member of the Republican minority on the Commission until early 2017, when former Chairman Tom Wheeler resigned and President Trump elevated Pai to the chairmanship. While Pai’s term technically ended in 2016, FCC rules allowed him to keep serving until the end of 2017 while the Senate considered his re-nomination. Continue reading “U.S. Senate Votes for More Pai”
The TCPA and Its Implications for Credit Unions
TCPA Blog contributor Michael Stortz and TCPA Blog editor Michael Daly will discuss the TCPA at the Regulatory Compliance Seminar of the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) on October 10, 2017. This discussion will provide an overview of the statute, including recent regulatory developments at the FCC and recent judicial interpretations of the statute’s applicability and requirements. It will also explore the potential risks that credit unions face and best practices for proactively managing them.
For more information about the seminar, please visit the NAFCU website.
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!