On August 11, the Federal Communications Commission handed down a $2.96 million fine against Travel Club Marketing Inc., related entities, and owner Olen Miller (collectively “Travel Club”), the largest fine in FCC history related to autodialed calls. The fine stems from allegations that the companies violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act in their telemarketing efforts,
On August 3, to the relief of car dealerships and auto finance companies, the California Supreme Court upheld a standard arbitration clause from an automotive purchase agreement by a 6-1 majority decision in Sanchez v. Valencia Holding Co., LLC, which reversed both the trial court and Court of Appeal’s rulings invalidating the entire arbitration
On July 29, the Consumer Federation of America and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators released their annual survey of consumer complaint data from state and local consumer agencies, which is based on 280,000 claims to thirty-seven agencies from twenty-one states and the District of Columbia.
Just as in 2013, the most common complaints arose
As Troutman Sanders LLP previously reported, earlier this month the Federal Communications Commission issued a sweeping 147-page Declaratory Ruling and Order expanding the definition of an automatic telephone dialer system (ATDS), clarifying revocation of consent, and providing limited exceptions for reassigned numbers, health care, and financial calls and text messages. Since then, three entities
On Friday, July 10, the Federal Communications Commission enacted major changes and clarifications to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”). Approved on a contentious 3-2 vote by the FCC commissioners, the FCC released its Declaratory Ruling and Order (FCC 15-72) formally stating its interpretation of numerous provisions of TCPA.
The TCPA
On June 29, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had reached settlements with two Las Vegas auto dealerships, Planet Hyundai and Planet Nissan, over claims that they violated the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 by advertising large discounts not available to the general public.
The allegations against Planet Hyundai and Planet Nissan involved
On June 18, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) voted 3-2 to approve an order that promises to have major and negative impacts on companies who use modern telephone technology to text and call consumers.
The stark increase in the number of lawsuits that were filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) has been
In a matter of first impression, a New Jersey appellate court found that whether a class is ascertainable – a factor that is commonly analyzed in federal court – played no role in its consideration of a “low-value” consumer class action. In Daniels v. Hollister Co., the court determined that ascertainability is not
In Modica v. Green Tree Servicing, LLC, the Northern District of Illinois limited the scope of what constitutes an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Judge Zagel found that a system requiring an agent to manually access a consumer’s telephone number from a computer server and then “click” to
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is modifying its complaint database so that consumers can post narratives about their experiences with financial service providers. According to the CFPB’s release, available at http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb-finalizes-policy-to-give-consumers-the-opportunity-to-voice-publicly-complaints-about-financial-companies/, the purpose of the database enhancement is to help consumers make informed choices and identify market trends. But the implementation could result