COMING OUT SWINGING: Perrong, Abante Rootrer, Callier Already On File With New TCPA Suits for the New Year

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Happy New Year TCPAWorld!

Well officially I am still napping–the Return of the Czar is set for January 7, 2022–but I noticed a couple of interesting filings today and thought I’d provide a sleepy new year’s blog for you.

A few names YOU know are already at it (again) in 2022. First, the ever dangerous Abante Rooter is out with a big new ATDS FN7 class action. You can read the full complaint here–Abante complaint— but look at these allegations:

Undersigned counsel have studied the code used to program predictive dialers and other similarly-functioning autodialers in the past, with the assistance of software engineers fluent in Java, and have found that such autodialers, when used in automated mode, execute code that relies upon random or sequential number generation to both store and produce numbers to be dialed by the dialer. For instance, a common “parser” used in SMS blasters and predictive dialing coding integrates the following open-source Apache code into an autodialing dialing platform:
730 if (!this.recordList.isEmpty()) {
731 this.recordNumber++;
732 final String comment = sb == null ? null : sb.toString();
733 result=newCSVRecord(this,this.recordList.toArray(Constants.EMPTY_STRING_ARRAY), comment,
734 this.recordNumber, startCharPosition);
735 }
736 return result;
737 }1

These lines of code, and specifically the “++” in line 731, represent an operator token that generates sequential numbers as part of a loop. This loop is used to select which number from the CSV file, will be dialed, and produce that number to the dialer using a CSV parser. Such programs can dial thousands of consumers in mere seconds, without any human intervention whatsoever, based on whatever abandonment rate is targeted by the operator of the dialing platform. The sequential number generator in the code above is executed in the process of mass predictive dialing. The program cannot function, and therefore cannot dial any phone numbers at all, without this sequential number generator.

I’ve been talking about this theory for a while–and here it is on full display. Hopefully everyone has been heeding my advice about reviewing source code!

Mr. Andrew Perrong is also on file with a couple of new TCPA class action complaints. You can view them here (Perrong complaint) and here (Perrong complaint2).

Unlike the Abante Rooter complaint, the Perrong filings–brought by the Wolf of TCPAWorld Anthony Paronich–are focused on prerecorded calls (by far the most dangerous outreach channel post-Facebook.)

Finally Brandon Callier is on file with a trio of new cases Out in the West Texas town of El Paso. Notably Mr. Callier has named the CEO and other officers of the defendants in his TCPA suits, which allege various violations of the TCPA, CFR and Texas-based state claims (which can be very dangerous.)  Another good reminder of the dangerous personal liability concerns present in the TCPAWorld.

For anyone thinking 2022 would bring a downshift in TCPA litigation, early returns are not great. It is discouraging to see so many familiar names already eagerly filing suit.

We’ll keep an eye on this.

 

 

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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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  1. Mr. Friedman’s team has used these allegations in a previous complaint. See Ben Knights v. All Web Leads, Inc. Defendant folded very quickly. An autodialer is an ATDS. Facebook never reached the issue.

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