“DUCK OFF”: USHealth Advisors Stuck in TCPA Class Action Suit Over Failure to Honor Revocation/Opt Outs And Its a Reminder of Things To Come

Add a comment

April 11, 2025.

That’s the date the FCC’s new revocation rules go into effect.

The new rules will require companies to cease all contact to cellular phones through all channels for all purposes in response to a single “stop” notification–with only a limited ability to “clarify” the consumer’s intent.

NOT A JUMPSCARE! The FCC is Officially Moving Forward With the BRAND NEW TCPA Revocation of Consent Rules – Set to Take Effect April 11, 2025!

And a new case out yesterday demonstrates just how tricky this new rule is going to be.

In Kramer v. USHealth Advisors, 2024 WL 4880559 (S.D. Ill. Nov, 25, 2024) a plaintiff allegedly continued to receive marketing text messages after attempting to opt out. In at least one instance, however, his opt out was not a “stop” request but rather a response of “No DUCK OFF” when asked if he was interested in coverage.

The statement “DUCK OFF” is not one most companies are prepared to absorb and honor as a revocation request, I suspect. Yet that is precisely the sort of free form opt-out that folks need to be looking for.

The Court found the Plaintiff had alleged “more than enough” to find a valid 227(c) claim and also determined the Plaintiff did not have to register his number on the DNC list personally to state a claim.

Indeed, the Court found the defendant’s conduct of sending texts after “repeated” opt outs–including the “duck off”–to be evidence that Defendant lacked a DNC policy entirely!

Rough stuff.

Be sure to watch this incredibly important webinar breaking down the new revocation rules:

If you’re not following our YouTube channel… you should be!

And for more information Puja and I will be discussing these issues at the big TCPA summit on December 9 and 10!

Chat soon!

Discover more from TCPAWorld

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Categories:

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.

Leave a Reply