PER R.E.A.C.H.: “The Plaintiff’s Bar Is Well Prepared to Exploit the New [FCC One-to-One Consent] Ruling to Its Advantage”

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So I posted the R.E.A.C.H. commented in its entirety earlier this week but I realized many folks probably didn’t click through to read it.

THING OF BEAUTY: R.E.A.C.H.’s FCC Comment on One-to-One Rule’s Impact on Small Business Is READY–And You’ll Love It

So I am going to be posting a few clips and highlights from the comment so everyone has a chance to absorb its greatness.

First up, a reminder that R.E.A.C.H. is pretty much the only organization out there right now pushing back against the plaintiffs’ bar and its antics.

Now make no mistake, R.E.A.C.H.’s primary objective is to stop unwanted calls–but if we can stop abusive lawsuits along the way, why not?

I have been reporting for years now about the connection between the plaintiff’s bar at the NCLC and the circle of money that flows from the NCLC’s advocacy work to the plaintiff’s bar and then back to the NCLC.

DIRTY HANDS: NCLC Grabs Another $124k in Cy Pres from TCPA Settlement

Matters became even more stark when Liz Cabraser–whose firm Lieff Cabraser has made MILLIONS off TCPA class actions–recently joined the board of NCLC. I mean… wow.

So R.E.A.C.H. made sure to remind the Commission just how DIRTY the NCLC really is here, and reminded everyone that small businesses are caught in the crosshairs. Enjoy!:

It must be observed that the Plaintiff’s bar is not so retrained and well-mannered as the
Commission has been in its approach to TCPA enforcement.

Without exception, the FCC’s excellent enforcement actions have targeted true wrongdoers—seeking to protect consumers from the worst offenders and issuing tremendous forfeiture orders to deter others.18

The Plaintiff’s bar is not so noble, however. TCPA class actions are up 18% from last year19 even as the Commission’s own report to Congress confirms complaints about robocalls are down 70% from 2018.20 And the Plaintiff’s bar brings suits against well-meaning small businesses all the time, not just bad guys.21

The FCC’s latest ruling will drive even more TCPA class litigation, and leave thousands of small businesses subject to extortionist demands from Plaintiff’s lawyers who will threaten them with potentially business-ending TCPA judgments if they refuse to settle.

None of this is by accident. The Plaintiff’s bar has funneled millions of dollars to the NCLC and Public Knowledge over the years.22 And these organizations loudly advocate before this Commission for policies that make filing TCPA class actions easier. Indeed, infamous class action attorney Elizabeth Cabraser—whose firm Lieff Cabraser has earned millions in fee awards from TCPA class action settlements—recently joined the board of NCLC.23 We can expect, therefore, these organizations will continue to advocate for destructive policies that threaten small businesses across the nation for the sole benefit of plaintiff’s attorneys.

More importantly, the Plaintiff’s lawyers they serve are well positioned to exploit the new rule as soon as it is implemented. These are not idle concerns, but the stark reality faced by small businesses across the nation who must either prepare to layoff tens of thousands of employees, on the one hand, or prepare for an assault by sophisticated and well-paid plaintiff’s lawyers on the other.

Not bad right?

What really steams me about the NCLC though is the constant line that they advocate for their “low-income clients.” Who, exactly, are these low income clients? Can they be identified? I mean, if they don’t actually have any true low income clients why do they keep claiming that they do when really they just represent the plaintiff’s bar?

I guess I hate hypocrisy.

Its literally the only thing all religions agree on throughout all time.

Some god or another will allow just about anything under the right circumstances but this rule remains clear: thou shalt not say one thing and do another. That is the real golden rule.

That’s going on linkedin.

Chat soon folks.

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Published by Eric "Czar" 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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