The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a decision in Mims v. Arrow Financial Services, LLC, resolving a split among federal appeals courts, by holding that claims under the Telephone Protection Act (TCPA), which provides consumers private rights of action for telemarketing violations, can be brought under “federal question” jurisdiction in federal courts rather than only in state courts.

The TCPA is the statute administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that regulates telemarketing and other commercial calling practices. It prohibits automated and/or prerecorded calls to cell phones in the absence of prior express consent by the called party, and significantly restricts such calls to residential lines. It is also a basis for various do-not-call rules, including the administration of and requirement to honor National Do Not Call Registry listings, as well as the obligation for companies that telemarket to maintain an internal do-not-call list. (The TCPA also regulates “junk fax” advertisements.)