BALLS: Another Court Holds Cell Phones are Residential Under TCPA DNC Rules As Terrible #BigLaw Briefing Sinks a Viable Argument

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There’s an exchange in Deserve to Win Ep. 35 where the Wolf and I are explaining the phenomenon of Troutman Amin, LLP being benched by the plaintiff’s bar– i.e. they will not brief certain issues against us and just dismiss cases for peanuts to avoid a fight– while they make good case law against weaker #biglaw firms.

You must watch this.

Then after say 10-20 favorable rulings on the subject they will come out in waves and attack everyone, even Troutman Amin, LLP clients figuring the precedent is too much for even the Czar to overcome.

It is a clever strategy and we are seeing it happen right now with the definition of the term “residential subscriber” and the TCPA’s DNC rules.

For instance in Harriel v. Bealls, Inc. 2025 WL 2379617 (M.D. Fl. Aug. 15, 2025) the Court discarded the Defendant’s weakly reasoned arguments with a dismissively short ruling the meat of which is just:

While the Court acknowledges the changing landscape concerning deference owed to agency interpretation, it nevertheless finds the FCC’s interpretation persuasive and accurate in this case. The Court agrees with Plaintiff that the application of § 227(c) to cellphone subscribers comports with overarching intent and structure of TCPA.  And, on a practical level, the FCC’s interpretation recognizes the plain reality that most people “exclusively use cellphones in their residence and do not own landline phones.

Not terribly thoughtful, but a fitting response to the unthoughtful briefing submitted by #biglaw here.

Indeed, Queenie told me not to read the briefing on this motion because it was “so bad you would cringe.”

I didn’t read it.

I don’t like to cringe.

Plus I am in my nice guy era right now so I really don’t want to get so frustrated that I slip back into being mean.

In any event this is now the fourth loss on this issue brought to you by #biglaw.

We’ll keep an eye on how this develops– but I think you’re getting the idea. 🙁

Avoid this sort of TCPA-related chaos be sure to educate yourself and request a copy of the TOTALLY FREE Troutman Amin, LLP TCPA Annual Review (2025 Ed.), presented by Contact Center Compliance!

Totally free. Just ask!

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.

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