‘BOTH FASCINATING AND TERRIFYING”: Troutman Amin LLP’s “Czar” Eric J. Troutman Talks to Law360 About new Supreme Court TCPA Case

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With the U.S. Supreme Court set to review yet another TCPA case–this time with massive ramifications for court deference to agency rulings–Law360 reporter Allison Grande turned to some of the nation’s biggest law firms for quotes on the impact of the ruling.

But before quoting them, she quoted the Czar.

In her 2,000 word article meticulously breaking down the likely impact and direction of the Supreme Court’s grant of cert., Grande explains:

The demise of Hobbs Act deference would significantly affect both consumers and businesses, given that both have secured FCC decisions on various aspects of the TCPA over the years that they’ve viewed as favorable to their positions. A ruling by the Supreme Court that doesn’t require strict adherence to these determinations would likely push companies into early settlements to avoid litigation risks, drive up compliance costs for companies as they try to get a handle on the evolving landscape, and embolden callers to engage in practices that are contrary to past FCC rulings that they would argue apply to them anymore.

She leads her article with a quote from the Czar:

“Following the death of Chevron deference earlier this year, the Hobbs Act remains the last bastion of agency deference in the legal system — and the Supreme Court seems determined to kill it once and for all,” said Troutman Amin LLP founder Eric Troutman, who specializes in class action defense.

Since the TCPA was enacted in 1991, the FCC has released dozens of orders addressing the meaning and applicability of key statutory terms such as fax, autodialer, called party, reassigned number and vicarious liability. As advances in technology have rendered many of these terms unclear or ambiguous, those facing a growing crush of litigation under the statute have at least been able to count on the FCC’s rulings being followed by the courts, Troutman said.

However, if courts no longer have to defer to these rulings under the Hobbs Act, “all that is solid will melt into air,” he said, with issues that had been deemed final now being reopened for judicial scrutiny. “Some district and appellate courts will look at what the FCC has done in some contexts and say that makes sense and will continue to be the law, while other courts will look at the same issue and reach a contrary decision,” Troutman said. “”The death of the Hobbs Act would cast the entire set of FCC regulations into doubt, which is both fascinating and terrifying.”

Always a pleasure speaking with Ms. Grande. She is sharp as they come and a real bloodhound for these sorts of articles.

Law360 subscribers can access the entire article here: High Court’s TCPA Grant Set To Broaden Loper Bright’s Blow

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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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