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Telephone and Texting Compliance News — May 2024

We are pleased to present our latest edition of Telephone and Texting Compliance News, providing insights and news related to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In this month’s newsletter, we continue our coverage of the FCC Enforcement Bureau’s “Spring Cleaning” initiative to combat robocalling, including its cease-and-desist letter ordering Alliant Financial to mitigate unlawful traffic on its networks and a related Public Notice. We also discuss the bureau’s first-of-its-kind Enforcement Advisory classifying a group of repeat robocallers and their personnel, known collectively as Royal Tiger, as a Consumer Communications Information Services Threat. Finally, we cover the FCC’s adoption of two Notices of Apparent Liability focusing on an illegal robocalling scheme during the New Hampshire presidential primary.

This month’s Litigation Update explores recent court decisions that provide defendant-friendly clarity on technology and platforms that meet the definition of an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS). These include the Third Circuit’s confirmation in Perrong v. Montgomery County Democratic Committee that list-mode calls, which involve a device dialing telephone numbers from a customer list, do not trigger ATDS provisions. In Soliman v. Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust, Ltd., the Second Circuit held that the TCPA’s ban on the use of an artificial or prerecorded voice does not apply to text messages. Litigants also received critical appellate guidance on structuring class settlements and related fee requests from the Eleventh Circuit in Drazen v. Pinto, which involved a settlement of claims premised on the use of an ATDS.

If you have suggestions for topics you’d like us to feature in this newsletter, or any questions about the content in this issue, please feel free to reach out to an attorney on Mintz’s TCPA and Consumer Calling Practice team.

In This Edition

Regulatory Update

Litigation Update

 

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Authors

Russell H. Fox is a wireless communications attorney at Mintz. He guides clients through federal legislative, regulatory, and transactional matters. Russell also participates in FCC proceedings, negotiates spectrum agreements, and represents clients in spectrum auctions.
Jonathan Garvin is an attorney at Mintz who focuses on legal challenges facing companies in the communications and media industries. He advises clients on transactional, regulatory, and compliance issues before the FCC involving wireless, broadband, broadcast, and cable matters.

Joshua Briones

Member / Managing Member, Los Angeles Office

Joshua Briones is a commercial litigator who defends consumer class actions for Mintz. He's represented clients in a wide range of industries, including financial services, life sciences, manufacturing, and retail, in cases involving false advertising, unfair trade practices, and other claims.
Esteban Morales is a Mintz litigator who handles class action defense and financial services litigation for companies of all sizes. He defends clients targeted in class action suits, and the results include dismissals at the pleading stage. Esteban practices in Mintz's Sports Law Practice.
Grecia A. Rivas-Rudra is an Associate at Mintz who focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation, with an emphasis on disputes involving public and private construction, and government contracting matters. She has experience with litigation, bid protests, and compliance and enforcement matters relating to construction projects.