The TCPA: Basics, Targeted Industries, and Trends
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has recently handed down a decision that impacts the TCPA landscape. In Family Health Physical Medicine, LLC v. Pulse8, LLC, the court reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a TCPA claim,...more
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a split decision, gave further insight into what “unsolicited advertisement” means under the TCPA....more
A fax is a fax is a fax… or is it? In a recent ruling in the long-running TCPA junk fax case Career Counseling, Inc. v. AmeriFactors Financial Group, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the statute’s prohibition...more
Takeaway: In True Health Chiropractic, Inc. v. McKesson Corp., No. 22-15710, 2023 WL 7015279, at *1 (9th Cir. Oct. 25, 2023), the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decertification of a “junk fax” class, finding that...more
The 4th Circuit held that offering a free eBook could violate the TCPA’s prohibition on “unsolicited advertisements.” PDR Network publishes the Physicians’ Desk Reference, which is “a compilation of medical prescribing...more
The 7th Circuit recently issued a decision in Smith v. First Hospital Laboratories, Inc., holding that in some “narrow situations” a fax offering to buy a product or service might be considered an advertisement under the TCPA...more
In Boone’s Pharmacy, Inc. v. Ezrirx, LLC,1 the U.S. District Court for the Southern District Alabama dismissed the plaintiff’s TCPA complaint against a sender of fax advertisements, finding a phone conversation between the...more
The Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently reaffirmed that an objective “four corners” standard governs whether faxes are “advertisements” that must meet the TCPA’s consent requirement. Separately, any fax that compares...more
On January 19, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit unanimously affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a Telephone Consumer Protection Act claim arising from allegedly illegal faxes about a free educational...more
Remember faxes? I don't. A 70-year-old home health care nurse (RN) has sued her employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act....more
In an ever-growing string of losses, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the Northern District of Indiana in denying class certification to serial TCPA plaintiff Gorss Motels, Inc. in Gorss Motels, Inc. v. Brigadoon Fitness, Inc., —...more
Invites to free webinars are not unsolicited advertisements, says Maryland federal court - The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) prohibits sending an “unsolicited advertisement” to a fax machine, absent certain...more
The Second Circuit recently addressed whether a faxed invitation to participate in a market research survey is an “unsolicited advertisement” actionable under the TCPA. In Bruce Katz, M.D., P.C. v. Focus Forward LLC, 22...more
Earlier this week, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri granted summary judgment for a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) that allegedly violated the TCPA by sending unsolicited advertisements via fax to...more
The Eastern District of Missouri recently granted a plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment against three defendants in a TCPA fax case. Levine Hat Co. v. Innate Intelligence, LLC, No. 16-cv-01132, 2021 WL 1889869 (E.D. Mo....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently re-affirmed its position that manufacturers of products advertised in unsolicited fax messages do not face strict liability under the TCPA’s junk-fax provision. To...more
Recently, the Northern District of Illinois dismissed a TCPA putative class action without prejudice, finding that faxes inviting recipients to attend free continuing education veterinary seminars did not constitute...more
As we have reported here and here, courts throughout the country, including most notably the Eleventh Circuit in Salcedo v. Hanna, have grappled with the question of whether a single unsolicited text message may constitute...more
On October 13, 2020, the Oregon Department of Revenue (“DOR”) issued a temporary administrative order amending OAR 150-305-0460 to allow paper returns, statements, or documents to be signed through a facsimile method. A...more
On September 21, the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau issued a declaratory ruling clarifying that businesses advertised via fax should not face “sender liability” for unsolicited faxes sent without prior...more
On September 21, 2020, the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau issued a Declaratory Ruling resolving a petition that sought confirmation that in instances in which an advertiser is “stripped of [its] ability to...more
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Barr v. AAPC and its decision to grant certiorari in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, et al. have rightfully been grabbing headlines, defendants continue to make strides with helpful...more
A divided panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed the dismissal of TCPA claims, finding that the faxes at issue were advertisements within the meaning of the TCPA. Fischbein v. Olson Research Group,...more
Since the enactment of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), the FCC has long held that persons who knowingly and voluntarily release their telephone numbers have provided prior express consent to be called. But...more
In a recent TCPA junk-fax case, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals drew the intuitive conclusion that businesses do not incur TCPA liability whenever their products are advertised via fax. The proposition that strict...more