For the last several years Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) complaints have been one of the most filed types of lawsuits across the country. When the TCPA was enacted, cell phones were not as ubiquitous as they are today.
Tens of thousands of text messages can be sent with a push of a button; hundreds of telephone numbers can be called in the time it used to take to dial a single number.
A violation of the TCPA carries a statutory penalty of $500, trebled to $1,500 if the conduct is deemed willful. In short, $500 x 1 isn’t the problem. $500 x 100,000 is the problem. Furthermore, on March 16, 2018 the long-awaited ruling from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, in ACA International v. FCC, trimmed the scope of the TCPA.
The appellants expansively defined “automatic telephone dialing system” and afforded callers one opportunity to call a cell phone to determine whether the number had been reassigned, whether or not the cell subscriber answered the phone. The FCC accepted comments from the public so that it may revisit and redefine these important areas of the TCPA. In the meantime the courts will continue to be tasked with interpreting the reach of the TCPA.
In any event, banks and financial institutions should take what we call the Three C’s approach: Consent, Compliance and Communication.
Topics Will Include:
- Background and Overview of the TCPA
- History of the law
- Statutory text
- Why it is so dangerous (and appealing to plaintiffs' lawyers)
- The role of the FCC in rulemaking
- The Rules
- Calls
- Texts
- Faxes
- Litigation trends
- Popular targets
- How plaintiffs’ attorneys have evolved
- How courts have reacted
- The Role of the FCC
- 2015 Omnibus Order: definition of auto dialer and other hot button issues
- Recent D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision overturning part of the 2015 Order
- FCC open comment period and court decisions following the DC Circuit’s decision
- Risks on the horizon and how they impact compliance
- Best compliance practices and takeaways
Who Should Attend?
Loss Mitigation and Collections Department Personnel, Regulatory Compliance Professionals, Legal Department Personnel
Instructor
Lew Wiener & Frank Nolan
Lewis Wiener, an experienced trial and appellate attorney with more than three decades of trial and counseling experience, represents a broad array of clients in state, federal and appellate court litigation throughout the United States. Lew co-chairs the firm’s global Financial Services Disputes and Investigations (FSDI) Practice Group, heads the domestic (US) Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) counseling and defense group and on June 1, 2017 concluded a four-year term as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.
His extensive litigation and trial experience as a former prosecutor and senior trial attorney with the United States Department of Justice includes serving as class action defense counsel, conducting large internal investigations, handling complex litigation matters, and representing entities in litigation brought by and against the federal government. Lew also represents clients in eminent domain/inverse condemnation, environmental and land-use litigation before state and federal trial and appellate courts.
Frank Nolan defends class action lawsuits and complex business litigation matters in federal and state courts throughout the country. He advises financial services and insurance clients on issues affecting their core business practices.
His cases involve claims of unfair trade practices, consumer fraud, antitrust and violations of data privacy laws. Frank also litigates and arbitrates business-to-business disputes, counsels clients on pre-litigation and compliance matters, and advises on contractual issues.