STYLISH TCPA MOVE: Fashion Nova and Shein Obtain Stays of Proceedings Pending Seventh Circuit Ruling on Whether Texts Are Calls

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The question of whether SMS messages constitute calls for purposes of the TCPA’s DNC purposes is now on appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and two fashion brands have recently obtained stays of TCPA class actions leveraging the appeal.

In Richards v. Shein Distribution Corp. 2025 WL 3079658 (S.D. Ind. Nov. 4, 2025) the yesterday court granted the defendant’s request to pause litigation pending the outcome of the appeal in Jones v. Blackstone Med. Servs., LLC, __ F. Supp. 3d __, No. 1:24-CV-01074-JEH-RLH, 2025 WL 2042764, at *1 (C.D. Ill. July 21, 2025).

TCPAWorld readers will remember Jones as the first case to determine SMS messages aren’t calls– a case that came out on the very same day as a decision in Oregon holding the opposite!

CHAOS CHAOS: A different Court Holds SMS Messages ARE Subject to TCPA DNC Protections– On the SAME DAY A Different Court Disagreed

The Plaintiff in Jones appealed and the issue is now before the Seventh Circuit (case no. 25-2398.

A briefing schedule has been set.

The Shein win comes on the back of a similar win by Fashion Nova last week in Richards v. Fashion Nova, LLC, No. 1:25-cv-01145-TWP-MKK (S.D. Ind. Oct. 27, 2025), ECF No. 35.

There the court walked through the issue on appeal and determined it would be dispositive of the case against Fashion Nova.

Really interesting rulings here and an important tactical weapon for TCPA defense litigators to leverage. Should help drive swift settlements in these cases– and perhaps fewer filings until this issue is resolved.

Also just 3 hours to show time! See you folks there.

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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