NOT CREDIBLE: Barton’s Efforts to Distance Himself from TCPA University and Avoid $40k Sanction Falls Flat

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So I’m still on vacation but wanted to blog this one real quick.

A few weeks ago you’ll recall that repeat-TCPA filer Nathan Barton was hit with an order requiring him to pay $40k in legal costs for seemingly setting up his TCPA lawsuits. Specifically he apparently supplied his phone number to a lead supplier in a bid to receive calls to sue for. He also, however, allegedly ran a website called TCPA University that informed people how to bring their own TCPA case, thus propagating the abusive litigation monster.

Barton sought reconsideration of that ruling, and in an order entered Friday the Court refused to set it aside. And that’s big (and good news.)

Barton argued that he did not really set up TCPA University. Someone else did it for him and without his knowledge.

But the Court was unimpressed.

First, Barton’s argument came to late. it should have been raised a while back, the Court found.

More importantly, however, the Court found Barton’s efforts to distance himself from TCPA University to be “not credible.” Apparently emails showed up in which he was using the website in his footer. He also, apparently, holds a trademark on the name so…

He’s stuck with the penalty.

Speaking of Trademarks, Deserve to Win (TM) will shortly be a trademarked property of the Troutman Firm. And my cool logo too.

Back tomorrow friends.

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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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