The TCPAWorld.com Effect Continues: Court Orders Repeat Plaintiff to Produce Materials Referenced in His Letter to Some Guy named Eric J. Troutman

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Editor’s Note: Don’t forget the “J.” when citing to me. Thanks. 

You just can’t make this stuff up.

So I’m kind of a big deal in TCPA circles. Occasionally repeat players like Ken Johansen ask to take a picture of me. Sometimes FCC commissioners come on my podcast. Sometimes my work gets cited to the Supreme Court or to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

And sometimes Phil Charvat just randomly sends me an open letter and agrees to let me post it on TCPAWorld.com.

Well in a lovely—if not intended twist—a Court in Ohio has now ordered Phil to produce records referenced in his letter to me, and I just can’t stop chuckling.

Now look, I’m not against Phil as a person—he has achieved some great results and he is sincere as the day is long. Seems like a good guy. But come on. I am a defense lawyer. Obviously I have to high five my defense brethren when they leverage my gifts to their solid advantage.

Today’s prize goes to my buddy Ana Tagvoryan over at Blank Rome, LLP. Great bunch over there. And really nice work here.

These are the real life discovery demands they served on Mr. Charvat:

Interrogatory No. 10: Identify all persons and entities to whom/which you have sent a communication alleging violation of the TCPA, including the date each communication was sent to that person or entity and the corresponding phone number(s) that you contend were called in violation of the law. a complete response must include the identities of all the recipients of the “private” dispute and “‘consent’ letters” referenced in a September 3, 2020 correspondence to Eric [J.] Troutman.

Interrogatory No. 11: State all facts upon which you base your contention that you are a repeat or serial TCPA litigant, but not a professional litigant.

Request for Production No. 12: All the “private” dispute letters and “‘consent’ letters” referred to in a September 3, 2020 correspondence to Eric [J.] Troutman.

Request for Production No. 13: All responses to the “private” dispute letters and “‘consent’ letters” in the foregoing Request for Production.

Take a note folks.

Finding this discovery to be imminently relevant to Mr. Charvat’s ability to serve as a class representative the Magistrate Judge in the suit has ordered the production demanded: “For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff is ORDERED to provide complete responses to Interrogatory Nos. 10 and 11 as well as Request for Production Nos. 13 and 14 on or before December 2, 2020. If Plaintiff cannot meet this deadline, he must notify the Court immediately.”

Just beautiful work Ana.

*initiates slow clap*

The case is Charvat v. Tomorrow Energy Corp., Civil Action 2:20-cv-1064, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 223525 (S.D. Oh. November 30, 2020) but the real story—of course—is how TCPAWorld.com continues to literally make the TCPA news.

If you’re not following us yet, get with the program already.

And don’t miss the game-day coverage of the big TCPA SCOTUS oral argument next week. HUGE stuff.

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Published by Eric J. Troutman

The Czar of TCPAWorld Eric Troutman is one of the country’s prominent class action defense lawyers and is nationally recognized in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation and compliance. He has served as lead defense counsel in more than 70 national TCPA class actions and has litigated nearly a thousand individual TCPA cases in his role as national strategic litigation counsel for major banks and finance companies. He also helps industry participants build TCPA-compliant processes, policies, and systems. Eric has built a national litigation practice based upon deep experience, rigorous analysis and extraordinary responsiveness. Eric and his team feel equally at home litigating multibillion dollar telecommunications class actions in federal court as they do developing and executing national litigation strategies for institutions facing an onslaught of individual TCPA matters. They thrive in each of these roles – delivering consistently excellent results – while never losing sight of the client experience. While many firms now tout TCPA expertise, Eric has been there from the beginning. He built one of the country’s first TCPA-only defense teams and began serving as national TCPA counsel for his clients nearly a decade ago. This perspective allows him to swiftly develop the right litigation strategies for dealing with recurring problems, without wasting time on tactics that are bound to fail. Eric’s rich historical perspective and encyclopedic knowledge of the TCPA landscape also make him an invaluable resource to institutional compliance teams struggling to comply with the shifting regulatory landscape. No task is too small – or too big. Indeed, Eric and his team have helped build TCPA-compliant systems and processes for some of the largest and most complex corporate entities in the country. He commonly works with in-house compliance counsel to build and implement enterprise and business-line specific TCPA solutions, performs TCPA audits and drafts and reviews proposed TCPA policies and procedures. He and his team also have the technical expertise necessary to assist call centers seeking to develop TCPA-resistant call path architecture or to modify existing telephony and software integration to better insulate from potential TCPA exposure. Eric has built a reputation for thought leadership. An avid blogger and speaker, he has been at the forefront of the industry’s effort to push for clarity and a return to sanity for the TCPA for years. He was selected to advocate for the financial services industry on important TCPA issues before the Federal Communications Commission and co-authored the nation’s only comprehensive practice guide on TCPA defense. In his spare time, Eric leads defense teams representing banks and other financial services companies in consumer finance litigation matters. He has experience representing clients in UCC, TILA, RESPA FCRA, CCRA, CLRA, FDCPA, RFDCPA and FCCPA claims, as well as in fraud and bank operations issues.

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