CLAIM TOSSED: Robocalls Cause “Annoyance” Not “Severe Emotional Distress” Court Holds

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While nobody likes unwanted robocalls, a Plaintiff in New Jersey brought a federal lawsuit claiming the calls caused him “severe emotional distress.” It did not go well.

In Gutman v. Liberty Bankers, 2025 WL 3677282 (D. N.J. Dec. 18, 2025) Plaintiff sued Liberty Bankers for TCPA violations and also for common law damages for “severe” emotional distress caused by the calls.

While the TCPA claim mostly survived– the 227(c) claim was tossed because Plaintiff bizarrely failed to allege residential use of his phone– the common law claim was thrown out.

As the court analyzed the issue, the calls at issue might have been annoying but just didn’t raise to the level of harm that would cause extreme emotional distress:

“The conduct must be so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.” Id. Defendant’s alleged conduct—making unwanted calls to discuss final expense products—does not rise to the high bar required to state a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. While these calls may certainly be annoying and unwanted, without more, they do not “go beyond all possible bounds of decency….While repeated unsolicited telephone calls are no doubt an annoyance, Plaintiff does not allege that he suffered severe emotional distress.”

Makes absolute sense.

Surprisingly few cases out there on this topic so keep this one in mind. Robocalls are annoying– but do not cause extreme emotional distress.

But YOU may feel extreme emotional distress if you end up stuck in a TCPA class action with the wrong counsel! Get the “best TCPA firm in the country” on your side right now! Troutman Amin, LLP rates are set to rise for clients that retain the firm after January 1, 2026– get in now and save thousands!

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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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