HUGE CUT: Comodo Group, Inc. to pay $1.6MM to Settle Certified TCPA Class Action–Plaintiff’s Lawyers Received 40% Cut!

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In Johnson v. Comodo Group, 2026 WL 296417 (D. N.J. Feb. 4, 2026) the court approved a class action settlement agreement whereby Comodo will pay $1,625,000 to settle the case, with average recovery of approximately $596 for each class member.

The claim arose out of alleged telemarketing calls made to sell the defendant’s encrypted software to consumers without consent.

The court had previously certified a broad class of: (1) all persons in the United States (2) to whose cellular telephone number Comodo made a telemarketing call (3) using a prerecorded voice (4) within four years of the filing of the complaint.

There were 12,757 class members identified, which means Defendant agreed to pay about $127.00 per class member– not terrible for a prerecorded marketing case with no consent.

After notice to the class there were 1,266 valid claims, which represents a solid 10.2% claim rate.

Those 1,266 valid claims are associated with 4,631 separate calls, with the average number of calls per valid claim of 3.66– meaning a “full” recovery to each claimant would have been $1,830.00 each.

$596.00 out of a potential $1,830.00 isn’t bad–although the non-claiming class members received zero.

There were no objections to the settlement.

Here’s where it gets really interesting though.

Plaintiff’s counsel will receive $650,000 (40% of the settlement fund) PLUS reimbursement of $92,283.46 in expenses. Meaning over 45% of the settlement funds will go to the lawyers who brought the case!

Now it is normal for the plaintiff’s attorneys to receive huge dollars in these cases, but 45% is the highest I recall seeing off hand.

Plus the Plaintiff himself will receive a genuinely massive incentive award of $40,000! I have never seen an award that high approved. Usually an incentive award is $20k or less. And in some circuits they aren’t even allowed.

Really an unusual resolution here but it shows just how profitable TCPA class litigation is for the Plaintiff’s lawyers.

Still this isn’t a bad outcome for Comodo given the alleged conduct here. Just another day in TCPAWorld I suppose.

If you want to avoid TCPA class actions like these (not good) be sure to request your FREE copy of the Troutman Amin, LLP 2026 TCPA Annual Review, presented by Contact Center Compliance!

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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. You’re not going to tell us about the DOJ intervening in this case to support the constitutionality of the TCPA? So much more interesting than the plaintiff’s attorneys taking 45%, which is well deserved after litigating this case for TEN FREAKING YEARS!!!

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