D.C. Circuit

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The key question in many Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuits is whether the equipment used to call the plaintiff constitutes an autodialer—that is, an “automatic telephone dialing system” or ATDS—within the meaning of the statute.  TCPA practitioners have been awaiting the FCC’s guidance regarding the definition of an autodialer.  Last spring, the D.C. Circuit set aside the FCC’s expansive definition of that term as arbitrary and capricious.  (See our report on the D.C. Circuit’s ruling in ACA International.)  Since then, the FCC has been working on its new definition.

The Ninth Circuit apparently couldn’t wait.  In Marks v. Crunch San Diego, LLC (pdf), a Ninth Circuit panel held that an ATDS is any “device that stores telephone numbers to be called,” “whether or not the numbers were not generated by a random or sequential number generator.”…

Continue Reading Ninth Circuit creates circuit split on what counts as an autodialer under the TCPA

Last Friday, a panel of the D.C. Circuit issued its decision in ACA International v. FCC (pdf).  The decision, which arrived nearly 17 months after the oral argument, struck down key elements of the FCC’s controversial 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act  (TCPA).

Here are the key takeaways from the decision:

  • The court held that the FCC’s broad definition of an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS), which threatened to include all smartphones, is arbitrary and capricious, and required the FCC to reconsider its definition.
  • The court overturned the FCC’s conclusion that a caller could be subjected to liability for calls placed or text messages sent to a phone number that had been reassigned after a “safe harbor” of a single errant call or text. Because the “safe harbor” ruling was arbitrary and capricious, the court concluded that the FCC was required to reexamine whether a caller should be liable for any calls or texts to reassigned numbers.
  • The panel sustained the FCC’s rule authorizing consumers to retract their consent to receive autodialed calls or text messages through “any reasonable means.” But the panel decision notes that the FCC’s rule doesn’t speak to situations where parties have contractually agreed to a specific method of revocation.

Unless the FCC seeks further appellate review (which seems unlikely), the agency will be reconsidering the autodialer and reassigned-number issues. Notably, the composition of the FCC has changed since the 2015 order; the chairman of the FCC is Commissioner Ajit Pai, who dissented from the 2015 ruling.

We summarize the decision in detail below. In the meantime, we expect businesses facing TCPA litigation to take at least three possible approaches.

First, the D.C. Circuit’s decision reopens a number of questions that plaintiffs have argued were resolved by the FCC’s 2015 ruling, and parties will seek to litigate those issues.

Second, the FCC will have something new to say on each of the issues remanded to it by the D.C. Circuit, and businesses and trade associations will doubtless want to participate in that regulatory discussion—especially given their extensive experience on the receiving end of TCPA lawsuits.

Third, and relatedly, a number of courts will surely find it more efficient to wait for the FCC’s pronouncements on these issues before allowing TCPA litigation to proceed.…

Continue Reading DC Circuit issues long-awaited TCPA decision and invalidates FCC’s 2015 autodialer and reassigned-number rules

Good news for businesses that use fax machines to communicate with customers: A panel of the D.C. Circuit has just struck down the FCC’s 2014 order mandating that even faxes requested by the recipient that contain advertising material include a special opt-out notice. The decision issued today in Bais Yaakov of Spring Valley v. FCC, No. 14-1234 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 31, 2017), is available here (pdf).
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Continue Reading DC Circuit invalidates FCC’s opt-out requirement for solicited faxes

Today, a panel of the D.C. Circuit—composed of Judges Srinivasan and Pillard and Senior Judge Edwards—heard argument in ACA International v. FCC, the consolidated appeals from the FCC’s 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order, which greatly expanded the reach of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). (An audio recording of the argument is here, and Kevin attended the argument.) The case has been closely watched, and a number of TCPA class actions around the country have been stayed to await the D.C. Circuit’s decision.  More detail is below the fold, but here are our quick impressions from the argument:

  • The panel asked tough questions of lawyers for both sides in an argument that went two full hours over the allotted 40 minutes.
  • The panel focused most of its attention on the FCC’s new—and far-reaching—definition of an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS, or “autodialer”). All three judges expressed discomfort with the fact that the FCC’s new definition could be read to cover smartphones.
  • Judge Edwards repeatedly voiced criticisms of the FCC’s expansive readings of the TCPA across the board, and may be inclined to vacate large portions of the FCC’s Declaratory Ruling.
  • Judge Pillard seemed the most receptive to the FCC’s arguments.
  • Judges Srinivasan was the hardest to read, but it seems possible that he might join Judge Edwards in setting aside major portions of the FCC’s Declaratory Ruling.

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Continue Reading D.C. Circuit Weighing FCC’s Controversial 2015 TCPA Declaratory Ruling

The rule (pdf) just proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to regulate arbitration agreements is not a surprise: the Bureau has said for months that it was developing such a rule.

This post examines the details of the proposal—how it would regulate arbitration, its scope, and its effective date. We also discuss the course of the rulemaking process, including potential judicial review of any final rule. In a future post, we’ll evaluate the CFPB’s purported justifications for the regulation.

The bottom line: The CFPB’s proposal is effectively a blanket ban on the use of arbitration by companies in the consumer financial services arena. It is an attempt to overrule by regulation the Supreme Court’s landmark decision five years ago in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion (in which we represented AT&T). Businesses that are concerned about the ramifications of this proposal will have 90 days from the date the proposal is published in the Federal Register to submit comments to the agency, and if a rule is adopted in the present form of the proposal, parties are certain to seek judicial review.…

Continue Reading The CFPB’s Proposed Anti-Arbitration Rule

We recently noted that the Ninth Circuit had granted a Rule 23(f) petition in Chen v. Allstate Insurance Co.—on the issue whether a named plaintiff can refuse an offer of judgment for full relief and persist in litigating a class action—and was expected to issue a briefing schedule soon. Leaving aside the substance of the case, there is nothing unusual about the practice the Ninth Circuit followed in Chen. That is standard operating procedure virtually everywhere, although in a few rare instances courts of appeals have ordered briefing and argument on both the Rule 23(f) petition and the…
Continue Reading The Seventh Circuit’s Unique Approach To Handling Rule 23(f) Petitions

We’ve blogged about the D.C. Circuit’s ruling in Noel Canning v. NLRB (pdf) that President Obama’s three 2012 recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board are unconstitutional. The consequence of that decision was to invalidate the NLRB decision against Noel Canning for lack of a quorum of NLRB members. The decision also cast a dark cloud over many other NLRB decisions, as well as the recess appointment of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head Richard Cordray.

As we mentioned, the Solicitor General already filed a petition for certiorari in Noel Canning. The National Chamber Litigation Center has just filed …
Continue Reading US Chamber of Commerce Takes Up Recess Appointments Fight in Supreme Court

Here’s a common scenario:  After unsuccessfully moving for class certification and having a petition for review under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f) rebuffed, the plaintiff wants to take another shot at an appeal.  Can the plaintiff simply settle his individual claims—subject to his right to appeal the denial of class certification—so that he has a dismissal giving him an automatic right to an immediate appeal?

If you’re in the Third, Seventh, Eighth, or Ninth Circuit, the answer is no. Each of these courts have held that they lack jurisdiction over the appeal of a would-be class representative following such…
Continue Reading Eighth Circuit Holds that a Plaintiff who Settles Individual Claims Lacks Standing to Challenge Denial of Class Certification

On January 25, 2013, the D.C. Circuit held in Noel Canning v. NLRB (pdf) that President Obama’s three recess appointments last year to the NLRB are unconstitutional.  The decision casts a shadow over every action taken by the NLRB since those appointments were made on January 4, 2012.  Moreover, because Richard Cordray received a recess appointment to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on the same day, the DC Circuit’s decision provides grounds for challenging certain CFPB actions.  Please see our report on the DC Circuit’s decision and the implications for challenges by companies to agency actions.
Continue Reading DC Circuit Invalidates NLRB Recess Appointments, Undermining Many NLRB and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Decisions