NOCK OUT?: Plaintiff’s attorney Ethan Preston to Be Deposed on Origin of Call Recordings Leading to TCPA Suit–And You Don’t See This Every Day

Add a comment

So this Nock v. Indra et al., Civil No. 1:24-cv-00662-JMC (Doc. 157 Filed 02/19/26) case is a bit of a mess. Lots of angles and arms. Won’t even try to give you the full background.

What you need to know for now is the Plaintiff’s lawyer in a big TCPA class action is about to be deposed by the defense regarding how he came into possession of call recordings that were the basis for the lawsuit.

And this is a very unusual (and wonderful) thing.

Apparently this guy Ethan Preston obtained call recordings off of some website a while back and then somehow used those call recordings to file a TCPA lawsuit against PalmCo Administration, LLC d/b/a Indra Energy, PalmCo Power MD, LLC d/b/a Indra Energy, and PalmCo Energy MD, LLC d/b/a Indra Energy.

Indra has been fighting a series of claims arising from their allegedly illegal calling practices and most, if not all, of those claims trace their origin back to these call recordings apparently.

And since the recordings did not come from Plaintiff the defense wants to know all about them–and they are entitled to depose the attorney to find out where he got them from according to the court’s most recent ruling.

In the word’s of the court:

After thorough review, it is clear to the Court that as it pertains to identifying, obtaining,
and preserving the 2021 phone call files that gave rise to the instant litigation, Mr. Preston, by his
own admission, is the sole fact witness who can testify to the facts underlying how he identified
and obtained them, from whom, when, under what circumstances, and how he preserved them.
Therefore, the Court will permit a limited deposition to that effect and will allow limited factual
questions that are reasonably related to those enumerated herein. Questions about Mr. Preston’s
opinions about the recordings, his motivations for obtaining them, and his legal strategy arising
therefrom will not be permitted.

Make sense?

So Indra can ask the lawyer the who, what, when, and where– but not the why questions. The “why” goes to the lawyer’s mental impressions and thoughts which are strictly off limits as “work product.” (Lawyers have secret powers that must never be revealed!)

And for those of you wondering what the big deal is, there are several nuances here:

  1. We have seen call recordings that are manufactured or altered, so getting to the bottom of the source and authenticity of recordings is important;
  2. In all the hundreds (thousands?) of cases I have handled I have never seen a trial counsel handling the case be deposed on a factual matter like this so this is really unusual;
  3. The court could have denied the motion as the counsel had provided some information about the recordings and it took bravery by both Indras counsel and the court to get where we are now.

I have a great deal of respect for the defense counsel here– the talented Ryan Watstein of Watstein Terepka. These guys keep gutting out gritty wins and I love to see it. Nice to have other pros out there in the space!

You can read the full order here:2026-02-19 (0157) ORDER Denying 155 Motion for a Protective Order. Signed by Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson on 21  

And you can read the full 2026 Troutman Amin, LLP TCPA Annual Review, presented by Contact Center Compliance for FREE– just ask for it!

FIRST DAY OF CZARMAS 2026: THE 2026 TROUTMAN AMIN, LLP TCPA ANNUAL REVIEW, Presented By Contact Center Compliance is now FREE for the Asking!!!!!!!!!!!

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