Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) Defense

Clients facing TCPA liability look to us for our courtroom-tested advocacy skills and our ability to help them strategize, evaluate the potential for quick resolution and prepare for trial of these potentially devastating actions—all from day one.

Every phone call a company makes using an auto-dialer to a person who has not provided prior express consent puts that company on the hook for up to $500 (or sometimes even more) in penalties under the TCPA. Where companies make thousands or hundreds of thousands of auto-dialed calls, or send numerous advertising faxes, the company’s potential TCPA liability can be massive. Some TCPA settlements have approached $100 million and many such settlements have exceeded $10 million. It is easy to see why plaintiffs’ attorneys have developed an entire cottage industry out of filing consumer class action lawsuits under the TCPA, and why TCPA lawsuits are clogging federal courts around the country.

Kelley Drye has been counseling clients on how to avoid TCPA liability since the statute was passed more than 20 years ago, and our knowledge and experience is unmatched in the defense of lawsuits involving the TCPA, the TSR, the JFPA, and state telemarketing and debt collection laws.

For companies facing TCPA claims, we believe our litigation team has defended more TCPA class actions than any other firm in the country, and our track record in these cases is outstanding. We also know plaintiffs’ firms that bring these cases, and just as importantly, they know us. Our strong team of litigators has been across the courtroom—and the negotiation table—from these attorneys in numerous TCPA and other cases over the past 10 years. We have won numerous motions to dismiss, convinced courts to strike class action claims at the pleading stage, and obtained summary judgment at early stages of cases.

Our team won the first summary judgment decision in the country on behalf of a client charged with ​“vicarious” TCPA liability for calls made by a reseller of its products. We also are among a very few firms that have taken TCPA class actions to trial—a fact our adversaries know and fear when discussing settlement with us—and the interdisciplinary nature of our TCPA team allows the same lawyers handling the litigation to follow the case to the FCC in declaratory ruling petitions, rulemaking proceedings and waiver petitions. In the 2017 edition of Legal 500, the firm’s class action team is recommended as an ​“excellent group exceling in class actions and mass tort litigation, with a particular niche in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) cases.”

Team Members

  • Won summary judgment in a multi-district TCPA class action in federal court, which addressed the substantive law regarding TCPA third-party liability claims.

  • Successfully defeated class certification for a Fortune 500 company accused of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 et seq., relating to a ​“blast faxing” campaign.

  • Representing a direct broadcast satellite service provider in litigation initiated by the FTC and the states of North Carolina, Illinois, Ohio, and California. Plaintiffs seek civil penalties for violations of the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule for alleged calls placed to telephone numbers listed on the Do Not Call Registry and the provider’s internal Do Not Call list, and for calls made by independent third-party retailers.

  • On behalf of a direct broadcast satellite service provider, filed a petition before the FCC on the issue of third-party liability under the TCPA.

  • Represented a retail department store in a consumer class action lawsuit concerning alleged violations of the TCPA. The suit alleges that a class of individuals allegedly received calls from the store to their cellular phone numbers without providing the necessary consent.

  • Representing a quick service restaurant in a consumer class action suit brought in federal court in Maryland, alleging violations of the TCPA.

  • Representing a telecommunications provider in a consumer class action in Connecticut federal court. The suit alleges that the company placed telemarketing calls using an autodialer to a number registered on the national Do Not Call Registry, in violation of the TCPA.

  • Representing a national testing laboratory in a TCPA class action lawsuit.

  • Successfully obtained dismissal of a class action lawsuit concerning alleged violations of the TCPA. The case centered on third party liability issues for this Fortune 100 producer of consumer products and aerospace systems.

  • On behalf of telecommunications companies, responded to several complaints in Pennsylvania, California and Texas federal courts alleging telemarketing violations of the TCPA.

  • Obtained dismissal of a class action lawsuit filed against a web design company on the grounds that the client’s caller ID was ​“spoofed.”

  • Represented companies in successfully resolving several class action lawsuits alleging unauthorized charges for premium services to wireless telephone subscribers.

  • Represented a nationwide service provider in a class action in Illinois federal court, alleging violations of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (“SHVERA”), which requires certain companies to destroy personally identifiable information.

  • Represented a cloud-based technology provider in an FTC investigation concerning the issue of third party liability. The investigation closed without an enforcement action after staff presented a proposed complaint and order.

  • Representing a fax broadcaster in litigation brought in Illinois concerning alleged violations of the TCPA.

  • Defeated a plaintiff’s motion for class certification in a TCPA action with liability alleged to be in excess of $150 million.

  • Represented entities accused of assisting and facilitating other company’s telemarketing efforts in providing autodialing services, which are claimed to be in violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule and TCPA.

  • Defended numerous companies accused of sending ​“junk faxes” in FCC inquiries and enforcement proceedings relating to the fax marketing rules.

  • Represented a nationwide financial services firm in connection with an FCC investigation of its compliance with the Do-Not-Call rules. The investigation was closed without action

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