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A unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that text messages are not “prerecorded voice messages” for purposes of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) prohibition on using “an artificial or prerecorded voice” to make non-emergency calls to cell phone numbers without the called party’s consent.… Continue Reading

A unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled that a plaintiff who received only one ringless voicemail (RVM) had alleged a concrete injury sufficient to provide Article III standing to assert a claim under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

In Dickson v.  Direct Energy LP, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant delivered multiple RVMs to his cell phone voicemail box in which the defendant advertised its services. … Continue Reading

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would impose new requirements for the blocking of text messages by mobile wireless providers and propose new limitations on senders of text messages.  The document has been circulated for consideration by the FCC at its March 2023 open meeting and the FCC’s ultimate resolution of the issues is subject to change.… Continue Reading

On January 19, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit unanimously affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a Telephone Consumer Protection Act claim arising from allegedly illegal faxes about a free educational seminar.

Appellee Millennium Health LLC operated a laboratory providing drug testing and medication monitoring services to healthcare professionals, including Appellant Dr.… Continue Reading

A Ninth Circuit panel affirmed the district court’s dismissal with prejudice of a class action complaint in which the plaintiff alleged that Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta) violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by sending unsolicited “Birthday Announcement” text messages to consumers’ cell phones.  Among other restrictions, the TCPA prohibits calls to cell phone numbers using an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) without prior express consent. … Continue Reading

The Federal Communications Commission ruled this month that “ringless voicemail” to wireless phones is a “call” made using an artificial or prerecorded voice and therefore subject to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act robocall prohibition.  The TCPA prohibits making any non-emergency call using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to a wireless telephone number without the prior express consent of the called party. … Continue Reading

In Wakefield v. ViSalus, Inc., the Ninth Circuit considered whether a jury verdict of $925,200,000 for cumulative statutory damages under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (“TCPA”) was constitutional in light of its harsh severity.  After a three-day trial, the jury delivered a verdict against ViSalus, finding that it sent over 1.8 million prerecorded calls to class members without prior express consent, in violation of the TCPA. … Continue Reading

Represented by a team of Ballard Spahr attorneys, a seller of consumer products recently defeated the plaintiffs’ motion to certify a class in their lawsuit filed in Utah federal district court alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by the seller and another defendant.  My fellow Ballard team members were Jenny Perkins, Will Reilly, and Ashley Waddoups.… Continue Reading

On May 20, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed into law House Bill No. 3168 which imposes new limits on the use of automated dialing systems.  The new law, titled the “Telephone Solicitation Act of 2022” (Act), takes effect on November 1, 2022.

The Act prohibits the use of an “automated system” to make a “commercial telephonic sales call” without the “prior express written consent” of the “called party.” … Continue Reading

Although the decision narrowed the technology covered by the TCPA’s automatic telephone dialing system definition, the TCPA continues to be very dangerous.  We first discuss the plaintiff bar’s case strategy in response to the decision and the decision’s implications for defendants’ case strategy.  We then look at the increasing volume of cases alleging violations of the TCPA provisions on calls using an artificial or prerecorded voice and do-not-call, identify the most significant remaining TCPA risks companies face, and offer thoughts on steps companies can take to reduce TCPA risk.… Continue Reading