RIDE ‘EM: Use of “Drop Cowboy” Platform Leads to $3.8MM TCPA Settlement for NexGen Air Conditioning

Add a comment

Puja shoulda been a cowgirl.

Aww ringless voicemail.

Causing TCPA problems since 2015.

Platform operators famously told people the TCPA did not apply to ringless voicemail– leading users to get themselves killed because, of course it does.

Then again RVM providers have been able to extract themselves from TCPA trouble by arguing Section 230 protections. What a delightful racket.

In the latest iteration of this oft sung tune, NexGen Air Conditioning and Heating, LLC has agreed to a $3.8MM TCPA settlement related ENTIRELY to its use of ringless voicemail provider Drop Cowboy.

The settlement class is

All persons in the United States who, within four years prior to the filing of this
action, had a call initiated using the Drop Cowboy platform to such person’s phone
number using a prerecorded or artificial voice to encourage the purchase or rental
of, or investment in, Defendant’s property, goods, or services, and whose number is
on the class list.

Apparently NexGen used Drop Cowboy to blats ringless voicemails to 181,135 people!

Eesh.

But notice NexGen is getting a great deal here.

They are paying just $21.00 per class member– compared to recent settlements at over $500.00 per class member.  

I assume this is because some class members consented to the RVMs– but I don’t know that.

Under the terms of the agreement–available here– class counsel will receive about $1.2MM, while class members will receive about $15 bucks.

The case is  Michelle Mack Carter v. NexGen Air Conditioning and Heating LLC, The Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami- Dade County Florida, Case No. 2025-018415-CA-01.

Objection/Optout deadline January 2, 2026. Final approval is set for January 26, 2026.

“Class Counsel” means: Ignacio Hiraldo, IJH Law, 1200 Brickell Ave., Ste 1950, Miami, FL 33131; Michael Eisenband, Eisenband Law, P.A., 515 E Las Olas Blvd., Ste 3100, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301; and Manuel S. Hiraldo, Hiraldo, P.A., 401 East Las Olas Boulevard Suite 1400, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.

Meanwhile Troutman Amin, LLP did a cowgirl theme for Halloween this year, so there’s a tie in here somewhere.

HALOWEEN PICS: The Troutman Amin, LLP Ladies Were Cowgirls This Year… I was the cow.

Regardless, if you want to avoid paying multi-million dollar TCPA settlements, you should probably ride with the best– reach out to Troutman Amin, LLP for a consultation before rates rise January 1, 2026!

THE FIRST $6K AN HOUR ATTORNEY?: Troutman Amin, LLP Rates Set to Rise January 1, 2026– Get In Now!

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