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.
Topic: 2015 Declaratory Ruling
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.