This week the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed its highest financial penalty against lobbyist and political consultant group, John M. Burkman, Jacob Alexander Wohl, and J.M. Burkman & Associates LLC (the Group), for allegedly making over 1,000 robocalls to voters without obtaining prior express consent as required by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The
TCPA
Eleventh Circuit Says Invasion-of-Privacy Exclusion Bars Coverage of Class Action Settlement
Last week, the Eleventh Circuit held that an invasion-of-privacy exclusion in an insured’s policy barred coverage and that Liberty Insurance Underwriters Inc. did not have to cover the $60.4 million settlement of a class action against the insured, iCan Benefit Group LLC (iCan), for sending robotexts in alleged violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.…
Supreme Court’s Decision in Facebook Litigation Narrows the Scope of the TCPA
At the beginning of April 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Facebook in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, reversing the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals , holding: “To qualify as an ‘automatic telephone dialing system’ under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a device must have the capacity…
FCC Ruling Carves Out Exception for Certain Clinical Trial Calls Under the TCPA
Recently, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) clarified that a call made using artificial or pre-recorded voice to a residential telephone line for the SOLE purpose of identifying individuals to participate in a clinical trial is exempt from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) “prior express written consent” requirement, provided that:
- The call does not include
…
ViSalus to Pay $925 Million Award for Alleged TCPA Violations
Last month, an Oregon federal judge refused ViSalus’ request to decrease the $925 million jury award against it for its alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). ViSalus, a health supplement maker, allegedly made approximately 1.8 million unsolicited robocalls. This award came after ViSalus decided not to settle the class action and face…
Judge Rejects $4 Million TCPA Settlement
This week, a Pennsylvania federal judge refused to approve a proposed $4 million settlement for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) because it would provide the 67,000 class members with only $35 each. In the 50-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson said that Flagship Credit Acceptance LLC (Flagship) ought to be able…
Privacy Tip #192 – Combating Robocallers: California AG Hits Scam Telemarketers with $1.5M in Judgments
Like many of you, I don’t answer my cell phone unless the number pops up as someone I know, because a majority of the calls I get are spam or robocalls. It’s so frustrating.
Although these calls are probably a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – the…
Plaintiff Argues GoDaddy Texting Campaign Used an Autodialer
Lead plaintiff, John Herrick, in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action lawsuit against GoDaddy.com LLC (GoDaddy.com) opposed an Arizona federal judge’s May 2018 decision to grant summary judgment in favor of GoDaddy.com. The court granted summary judgment on the grounds that the platform used to send the text messages did not qualify as…
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act
Many companies’ sales and marketing department have no idea that there is a law that generally prohibits the use of robocalling or SMS texting for sales and marketing purposes without the express written consent of the recipient.
Many of us get spam calls on our cell phones and residential phone lines (if they still exist)…
Another Employer in Illinois Hit With Class Action Over Biometrics
Companies doing business in Illinois should consider getting up to speed on the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). We have reported on numerous (but not all) cases filed against technology companies and employers for alleged violations of BIPA [view related posts here]. The class action lawsuits continue to get filed at a rapid…