On Demand Insurance is Here But Will it Stay?
The Ever-Expanding Scope of Social Media Discovery
Is the Patent Litigation Boom Coming to an End?
Apple Loses First 'Big' Case to MobileMedia, Lawyer Says
A district court in the District of Arizona granted a motion to dismiss in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) case on the basis that multimedia messaging service (MMS) texts do not constitute prerecorded messages...more
The new decade has brought us a series of new decisions regarding one of our favorite issues under the TCPA – the definition of an automatic telephone dialing system (“ATDS”). This week, a District Court in the Western...more
The Situation: The Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA") prohibits unconsented calls or texts made "using an automatic telephone dialing system" ("ATDS"), defined as "equipment which has the capacity—(1) to store or...more
Approximately, one year ago, I authored a blog about emoticons finding their way into the courtroom as purported evidence of a crime or tort (Texter Beware: Emojis as Evidence). Although emoticons began appearing in court...more
As smartphones become more ubiquitous, it’s increasingly common for businesses to communicate with employees or customers via text messages. However, using such messages as a means to communicate may expose the business to...more
“What can you do to protect personal information when you collect data from a phone?” This is one of the most frequently asked questions of our forensics practice group....more
In the recent case of Marks v. Crunch San Diego, LLC, 904 F.3d 1041 (9th Cir. 2018) the Ninth Circuit broadly interpreted the TCPA’s definition of automatic telephone dialing system (often referred to as ATDS) to include...more
Class action plaintiffs’ attorneys may argue that a recent ruling by the Ninth Circuit expands the scope of liability under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) to include calls or text messages sent on all modern...more
In a ruling that increases liability for companies that use text messaging for marketing or communicating with customers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit adopted an expansive definition of what constitutes an...more
Greetings, TCPAlanders! I am the Earl of TCPAland. It is my pleasure to meet you all via the interwebs. Below, I bestow upon thee my learned thoughts on four more comments to FCC Docket 18-152. Buckle in, here we go!...more
Digital Addiction - Can you imagine getting a ticket for texting while crossing the street? You will in Honolulu, HI! It won’t matter whether it is a cellphone, a tablet or a video game under a new bill, Electronic...more
Georgia has become one of 16 states in the country that bans the use of hand-held devices while driving. Governor Nathan Deal signed “Hands-Free Georgia Act” (House Bill 673) into law on May 2, 2018. The new law takes effect...more
Let’s face it: The residential phone line is on the verge of suffering the same fate as the 8-track tape. Anyone who doesn’t know what an 8-track tape is most assuredly uses a cell phone—and only a cell phone—to communicate....more
On March 16, 2018, the D.C. Circuit issued its long-awaited opinion on the FCC’s 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order (“2015 Order”) interpreting various sections of the Telephone Consumer Collection Practices Act (“TCPA”). Of...more
Last week, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit issued a long-awaited decision on an omnibus challenge to the FCC’s interpretation of the TCPA. While the decision provides some relief for businesses, it does not...more
In a long-awaited ruling, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit trimmed the expansive scope of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The appellants, in ACA International v. Federal Communications Commission...more
The D.C. Circuit has rejected the FCC’s “impermissibly expansive” interpretation of what constitutes an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (“ATDS”) under the TCPA. ACA Int’l v. FCC, No. 15-1211, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 6535...more
Phishing, the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information (such as passwords and credit card numbers) is something that we have...more
A pair of recent opinions proves that when it comes to compelling arbitration in a consumer class action, presentation of the arbitration clause may matter more than favorable Supreme Court precedent. First, in Norcia v....more
Distracted driving has become one of the leading causes of motor vehicle accidents and fatalities in the United States. In 2014 alone, Pennsylvania saw more than 13,964 crashes involving a distracted driver, including 49...more
When computer science professor Scott Fahlman posted a sideways smiley face on an electronic message board at Carnegie Mellon University in 1982, he could not possibly have known that combination of dots and dashes would give...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently became the first federal appellate court to apply the Federal Communications Commission’s declaratory ruling that expanded the notion of what constitutes an...more
Last Thursday, Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (CalECPA) into law, which requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant before accessing or searching individuals’ digital...more
On Thursday, October 8, 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (the “California ECPA”). This legislation, which takes effect on January 1, 2015, has been heralded by...more
In the past few months, we’ve had a flurry of requests from schools about the legality of automated calls and text messages they are making to cell phones. The Telecommunications Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) governs the...more