PEAK BEHIND THE CURTAIN: Robocall Forum Operator Ordered to Turn Over Records of TCPA Plaintiffs Chat Records– And Now We Are Getting Somewhere!

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Awesome little case for you today.

As we all know there are these online forums where trolls get together and plot out ways to to small (and large) businesses in TCPA suits.

Sometimes these forums share completely legitimate tips. Sometimes they encourage and empower fraudulent litigation and sham filings.

Allstate believes two of the class representatives suing it in major litigation in Illinois may be of the second variety and this is so very fascinating.

Apparently class reps Robert Hossfeld and Wes Newman “routinely participate[]” in an  online members-only forum, http://www.robocalls.cash/members-forum (the “Forum”) that a company called Brainstorm maintains and operates.

So Allstate slapped them with a subpoena seeking records regarding  Newman’s and Hossfeld’s involvement in the Forum, including their posts, replies, and reposts!!!

How awesome is that?

So Brainstorm opposed the subpoena and refused to respond and Allstate moved to compel.

Well in Hossfeld v. Newman, 2025 WL 2323918 (E.D. Tex. Aug 12, 2025) the court GRANTED the motion–meaning Allstate will soon have access to records produced by Brainstorm about all the nasty little things Hossfeld and Newman may be saying!

Interestingly the Court granted the motion in favor of an “unclean hands” defense that may or may not even exist under the TCPA– haha– but certainly the records are relevant on the issue of standing regardless.

Anyway motion granted and Brainstorm must produce all of the records of what these TCPA plaintiffs said to each other and others on the forum!

This is just an awesome ruling and one that will hopefully remind all the litigator tolls out there that they can’t hide fraud and extortionist behavior and schemes behind paywall chat forums. There is nowhere you can hide. And if you engage in this behavior we WILL find you.

A real shot across the bow for the bad guys here. Will keep a very close eye on this one!

Unrelated, tomorrow Troutman Amin, LLP will be breaking down the MASSIVE FTC consent orders entered into by Assurance IQ and Media Alpha for a stunning $145MM in penalties plus grievous non-monetary terms. You MUST attend this if you are in the lead generation space or have any concerns about the FTC in your marketing game.

Chat soon.

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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.

1 Comment

  1. Ah yes, the classic playbook — when you can’t defend the practice, just attack the people who finally got sick of being harassed and did something about it. 🙄

    Calling consumers “litigator trolls” (or is it “tolls” now?) for using the exact protections the TCPA affords them is a bold move — especially when the only reason these lawsuits exist is because the calls are illegal in the first place. If compliance were the norm, litigation wouldn’t be necessary. Period.

    Funny, too, how Allstate suddenly becomes the victim here when they’ve been notoriously called out — by this very blog, no less — for sloppy vendor oversight and high-risk lead gen practices. October 2024 wasn’t that long ago. Has the amnesia kicked in already?

    Maybe instead of smearing those who hold violators accountable, more energy should be spent urging companies to comply with the law. But I guess “how to stop breaking the law” doesn’t get as many clicks as “boo hoo the people we called fought back.”

    P.S. A quick proofread or grammar check wouldn’t hurt next time — unless the spelling errors are just another tactic to discourage “litigator tolls” from reading too closely and clarity matters when you’re defending the indefensible. 😉

    Reply

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