An increasing number of class action lawsuits have been filed over the past year against private companies by individuals alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for failure to maintain websites that...more
A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled October 11, 2016, that the current structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is unconstitutional. The court concluded...more
In July 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a much-anticipated Declaratory Ruling and Order aimed at clarifying certain aspects of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). As previously reported,...more
The 1964 cold war era movie, “Fail-Safe,” centered on the plight of a U.S. military jet pilot who received an errant instruction to drop a nuclear bomb on Moscow.
Unlike the movie, where Henry Fonda, as the fictional...more
With a trial looming like storm clouds on the horizon, several cruise ship companies and their affiliated travel agencies settled a “robocall” Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action up to $76 million. The...more
Late last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a long-anticipated declaratory order, ruling that utility companies may make robocalls and send automated texts to their customers concerning matters closely...more
Since the enactment of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in 1991, technological advances in the way people communicate have often outpaced the ability of the courts and the Federal Communications Commission to...more
On June 29, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard the National Federation of the Blind’s (NFB) challenge to a Department of Transportation (DOT) Final Rule regarding air carriers’ duty to...more
7/19/2016
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Air Carriers ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Class Action ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Final Rules ,
Jurisdiction ,
Public Accommodation ,
Website Accessibility
On July 5, in Sartin v. EKF Diagnostics, Inc., No. 16-1816, 2016 WL 3598297 (E.D. La. July 5, 2016), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana granted Defendant’s Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss because...more
On March 21, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a lower court’s ruling that a small business had no liability under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for fax advertisements sent by a...more
On March 22, 2016, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the certification of a class of Tyson Foods employees under Rule 23(b)(3) and a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Court held that...more
3/25/2016
/ Admissible Evidence ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Doffing ,
Donning ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FRCP 23(b)(3) ,
Predominance Requirement ,
SCOTUS ,
Statistical Sampling ,
Tyson Foods v Bouaphakeo ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
Notwithstanding so-called “guidance” from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in its July 2015 Order, the definition of “automatic telephone dialing system” (ATDS or autodialer) continues to be a disputed issue. This...more
Over the last decade, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a string of opinions with profound implications for the enforceability of arbitration provisions and class action waivers in consumer contracts. These decisions, the most...more
3/4/2016
/ American Express v Italian Colors Restaurant ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Financial Contracts ,
DirecTV v Imburgia ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Preemption ,
SCOTUS ,
Stolt-Nielsen
The year 2015 saw a continued wave of class action filings under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). However, unsettled law continues to place a compliance burden on companies that communicate with consumers by...more
1/29/2016
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Campbell Ewald v Gomez ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
FCC ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
TCPA ,
Third-Party ,
Vicarious Liability ,
Young Lawyers
An unaccepted Rule 68 offer of judgment that would fully satisfy a named plaintiff’s individual claim does not moot individual or class claims opined the U.S. Supreme Court, resolving a split in the circuits. Campbell-Ewald...more
1/21/2016
/ Campbell Ewald v Gomez ,
Federal Contractors ,
Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk ,
Mootness ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Rule 68 ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement Offer ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
TCPA ,
Vicarious Liability
The Litigation Group of Sutherland Asbill and Brennan LLP has published REDIAL: Redial: 2015 TCPA Year In Review – Analysis Of Critical Issues And Trends.
This publication reflects our in-depth analysis of significant...more
1/12/2016
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Campbell Ewald v Gomez ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Declaratory Rulings ,
Energy Sector ,
FCC ,
Health Care Providers ,
Insurance Industry ,
Popular ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
TCPA
Accusing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of abdicating its responsibility to clarify areas of uncertainty under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and muddying the already murky waters of the TCPA, more...more
Interpreting broadly the scope of standing to bring suit under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has held that even an unintended recipient of an automated call is...more
Companies in the healthcare industry, along with virtually every consumer-facing business, are adjusting to the impacts of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) July 10, 2015 Order resolving more than 20 petitions...more
In some of its most comprehensive guidance published in years, resolving more than 20 petitions requesting clarification of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on July 10...more
7/14/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
Cell Phones ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Declaratory Rulings ,
Exemptions ,
FCC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Reassigned Phone Numbers ,
Robocalling ,
TCPA ,
Third-Party Service Provider
In its most significant action on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) since its revised TCPA rules took effect in late 2013, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a package of declaratory rulings...more
Following on the heels of FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly’s stinging comments imploring the agency to address a backlog of petitions requesting clarification of its Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) regulations, FCC...more
On May 18, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action. The case raises two related questions that are the source of frequent litigation...more
5/22/2015
/ Article III ,
Campbell Ewald v Gomez ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
FRCP 23 ,
Mootness ,
Rule 68 ,
SCOTUS ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
Subcontractors ,
TCPA ,
U.S. Navy
We can now count an FCC Commissioner among those imploring the agency to act on the growing number of pending petitions asking for much needed clarification of regulations promulgated under the Telephone Consumer Protection...more
Few industries have been spared from the recent wave of class actions filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The energy sector is no exception. ...more