When the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was enacted in 1991, most American consumers were using landline phones, and Congress could not begin to contemplate the evolution of the mobile phone. The TCPA defines Automatic Telephone Dialing System” (ATDS) as “equipment which has the capacity—(A) to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using … Continue Reading
Late last year, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic (No. 17-1705), addressing the issue of whether the Hobbs Act requires the district court to accept the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC’s) legal interpretation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In 1991, Congress passed the TCPA to … Continue Reading
Privacy and cybersecurity risks continue to emerge for organizations large and small. While by no means exhaustive, we briefly discuss some key issues that organizations may need to focus on in 2019 and beyond. Business Email Compromise (BEC)/Email Account Compromise (EAC) – BEC and EAC attacks are widespread and show no sign of slowing in the … Continue Reading
After two and a half years, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a highly anticipated ruling reviewing the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC” or “Commission”) July 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order (“2015 Order”) in which the FCC issued interpretative guidance on several aspects of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (”TCPA”). Over … Continue Reading
We are proud to once again announce that the Workplace Privacy Report has been nominated for The Expert Institute’s Best Legal Blog Competition. From a field of thousands of nominees, the Workplace Privacy Report has received enough nominations to join one of the largest competitions for legal blog writing online today. If you enjoy the Workplace … Continue Reading
Recently, the United States Court of Appeals was called upon to determine whether an unsolicited call that did not result in a charge to the consumer violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) and, if it did, was the harm sufficiently concrete to provide plaintiff with standing to sue. Susinno v. Work Out World, Inc. … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Blow v. Bijora upheld a lower court decision rejecting a plaintiff’s claim that she did not consent to receive text messages from the defendant retailer. Plaintiff brought this class action seeking $1.8 billion in damages by alleging that the company’s practice … Continue Reading
In honor of Data Privacy Day, we provide the following “Top 10 for 2017.” While the list is by no means exhaustive, it does provide some hot topics for organizations to consider in 2017. 1. Phishing Attacks and Ransomware – Phishing, as the name implies, is the attempt, usually via email, to obtain sensitive or personal … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, United States District Court Judge Peter Sheridan dismissed a class action brought against Work Out World (“WOW”) under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In doing so, Judge Sheridan relied on the recent decision by the United States Supreme Court in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins. The named plaintiff, Norreen Susinno, filed a … Continue Reading
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California recently granted Wilshire Consumer Capital’s (WCC) motion to deny class certification in a putative class action filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The named plaintiff, Alu Banarji, filed suit after receiving numerous telephone calls on her cell phone. According to the Court, Ms. Banarji’s … Continue Reading
In honor of Data Privacy Day, we provide the following “Top 10 for 2016.” While the list is by no means exhaustive, it does provide some hot topics for organizations to consider in 2016. EU/U.S. Data Transfer (status of Safe Harbor). On October 6, 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled … Continue Reading
Today, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez that an unaccepted settlement offer or offer of judgment does not moot a plaintiff’s case. As previously discussed, the Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari on May 18, 2015 and heard arguments in … Continue Reading
In a recent ruling, the Seventh Circuit abandoned its previous stance as to whether a complete offer of judgment prior to the filing of a class certification motion would moot a class action brought pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In 2009, the plaintiff, Arnold Chapman, brought a class action alleging First Index Inc. … Continue Reading
As we have previously discussed, the Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”) recently issued a Declaratory Ruling (“Declaratory Ruling”) that, among other things, likely exposes companies to even greater liability under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the “TCPA”). The TCPA regulates communications, from companies to their consumers, that utilize an automatic telephone dialing system (“ATDS”). Under the … Continue Reading
As anticipated, on July 10, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) Omnibus Declaratory Ruling which had previously been approved on June 18, 2015. The Declaratory Ruling takes effect immediately. In short, the Declaratory Ruling provides numerous rulings including: Dialing equipment that simply has the capacity to store or … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a package of declaratory ruling which is meant to provide clarity to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This ruling was previously proposed by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler on May 27, 2015. According to the FCC, the declaratory ruling is meant to protect consumers against unwanted robocalls and … Continue Reading
Last week, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler circulated proposed declaratory rulings to provide clarity for consumers and businesses regarding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The proposal addresses two dozen petitions that sought clarity on how the FCC enforced the TCPA. In addition to circulating his proposal to the other FCC commissioners for … Continue Reading
On May 18, 2015, the United States Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari to address (1) whether a case becomes moot when the plaintiff receives an offer of complete relief on his claim and (2) whether the answer to the first question is any different when the plaintiff has asserted a class … Continue Reading
Last week, New Jersey’s Governor, Chris Christie (R), signed a bill which will allow telemarketing companies to make sales calls to mobile devices when the call is made to a customer with whom an existing relationship exists or in response to the customer’s written request. While many companies focus on complying with the Telephone Consumer … Continue Reading
Complying with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a growing concern for employers and others. This is especially true given that suits under the TCPA have regularly resulted in damage awards of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. We have developed a comprehensive set of frequently asked questions concerning TCPA. If you are interested … Continue Reading
In what may be considered a blow to class action defense, this week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that an offer of judgment to the named plaintiffs did not moot a proposed class action. This was a case of first impression before the Eleventh Circuit. The putative class action, Stein v. Buccaneers LP, … Continue Reading
Many of us have likely received a notification from our bank or credit card company concerning suspected fraud or improper charges. However, the legality of those messages is not always clear. To this end, on October 14, 2014, the American Bankers Association (Association) filed a petition for exemption requesting that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) exempt … Continue Reading
One of the most complex issues under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is determining whether the technology utilized qualifies as an “automatic telephone dialing system” (ATDS) or “autodialer.” The TCPA prohibits using an ATDS to make calls to cell phone numbers, absent prior consent of the called party. An ATDS is generally define as … Continue Reading
In a recent ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit revived a claim against debt collector under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), finding that the recipient of the call never expressly consented to the calls. The plaintiff, Albert Nigro, called the power company to discontinue service at the home of his … Continue Reading
