As we previously reported, section 301(b) of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 permits an exception to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 for calls and text messages “made solely to collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the United States.” The TCPA generally prohibits calls made and text messages sent utilizing
Coalition of State Attorneys General Urges Passage of the HANGUP Act
As we previously reported, on November 4, 2015, U. S. Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.) introduced the Help Americans Never Get Unwanted Phone calls Act of 2015—or HANGUP Act for short. The legislation, which has 14 Democratic co-sponsors, would repeal section 301(b) of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, which
Toyota Resolves CFPB/DOJ Joint Action Alleging Discriminatory Loan Practices
On February 2, following a joint investigation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, Toyota Motor Credit Corporation, the financing arm and subsidiary of the Japanese auto giant, agreed to pay up to $21.9 million in restitution to thousands of minority borrowers who allegedly were charged
U.S. Supreme Court Wounds Important Defense to TCPA Class Actions, Raising Already High TCPA Risks
On January 20, 2016, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion that addresses a narrow procedural point with major implications for legal risks for companies under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez addresses whether a class action lawsuit under the TCPA can continue after the defendant makes the plaintiff an
TCPA Suit Involving Reassigned Phone Number Stayed Pending Appeal of FCC’s Order
On December 17, Judge Christina Snyder of the United States District Court for the Central District of California granted a motion to stay a lawsuit under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) by Defendant Time Warner Cable (“TWC”). The Court granted the motion pending the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in ACA
FCC Files Responsive Brief in D.C. Circuit Appeal in Support of Controversial TCPA Order
On January 15, the Federal Communications Commission defended its controversial July 10, 2015 Order (the “Order”) expansively interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) in a 110-page brief filed in ACA International et al. v. FCC et al., where several consolidated challenges to the Order by businesses and trade groups are being heard in
The FCC Continues to Expand the Scope of the TCPA
On January 11, in Club Texting, Inc.’s Petition for a Declaratory Ruling, the Federal Communications Commission issued an Order that has the potential of increasing the scope of senders who can be liable for unwanted text messages under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). In the process, the FCC doubled-down on its controversial July
DOJ Battles Facebook on Constitutionality of TCPA
On December 11, 2015, the United States Department of Justice filed an intervenor’s brief in support of the constitutionality of the “emergency calls exception” in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), a federal statute regulating the usage of automatic telephone dialer systems. The issue embroils the government in a consumer dispute with Facebook, which is
Coalition of Trade Groups Files Amicus Briefs in Support of TCPA Lawsuit Against FCC
We have previously reported on ACA International’s appeal from the Federal Communications Commission’s July 2015 Order interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”) in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, including the joint brief recently filed by petitioners on November 25.
In addition to that joint brief,
Petitioners File Joint Brief Seeking to Overturn FCC’s July 2015 TCPA Order
As we previously reported, several legal challenges to the Federal Communications Commission’s July 10, 2015 order (the “FCC Order”) interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”) were consolidated with the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals as ACA International, et al. v. Federal Communications Commission et al. The challengers believe the