SO WHAT NEXT?: With The Oral Argument in Facebook’s TCPA Appeal Behind Us Here’s a Quick Look Ahead

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With the whirl of GAME DAY behind us–what a blast– its time to look forward a bit and take stock of where we are.

First, many of you have asked when the Supremes will rule. There’s a 99% chance they rule prior to June 15, 2021. But I think it’ll happen a bit sooner than that–depending on how much of their time is eaten up with election shenanigans. My official over/under is April 8, 2021–but I’m taking the under. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a late February ruling on this one.

Second, I gave my official prediction on the outcome of Facebook yesterday on the webinar–and if you missed it, you missed it! Ha. But keep in mind that no matter which way the Supremes rule you are very likely to have a ruling that holds click-to-dial and click-to-text systems do NOT trigger the statute– Garner, arguing for Plaintiff, essentially conceded this point. So the days of fearing “capacity” in the manual setting may finally be behind us, even if the Supremes rule against Facebook on functionality.

Third, please keep in mind that we are expecting some HUGE news from the FCC ahead of the Supreme Court ruling in Facebook. Remember– the TRACED Act required the FCC to review the TCPA’s exemptions–including the CRITICAL commercial purposes exemption for pre-recorded calls to landlines– so the TCPAWorld is going to be thrown into some level of upheaval following that ruling. Under TRACED the Commission has until the end of the year to issue its guidance– but they have a lot on their plate right now and A BRAND NEW COMMISSIONER to bring into the fold (the Baron will have more on that in a bit) so they may run a bit behind schedule. We’ll see.

Fourth, we remain watchful for potential late-term rulings from the Commission ahead of inauguration day. Expect a smattering (or perhaps a torrent) of action on outstanding petitions in January as the current administration winds down.

Fifth, as we discussed at length on the INCREDIBLE game-day webinar yesterday (if you missed this thing you really missed out) we expect state regulatory and legislative activity to really ramp up as everyone prepares for the likelihood of the Supreme Court issuing a ruling narrowing the TCPA. Along that line, I am pleased to announce that TCPAWorld.com and Squire Patton Boggs will be posting a series of articles in the first quarter 2021 addressing STATE SPECIFIC ATDS, ADAD and pre-recorded call rules to help YOU prepare for the likelihood of a new (and highly-fractured) telecom legal landscape.

We’re here for you TCPAWorld.

Sixth, we’re going to have at least one more HUGE podcast this year– and you really will not want to miss it. Don’t go into winter hibernation just yet because this one will knock your candy cane striped socks right off. Stay tuned for more details.

And thanks for all the feedback, engagement and support yesterday. Was a real blast. Quite the community we have here.

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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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