SCOREBOARD: Here is the Latest Status of the Texts vs. Calls Argument Under the TCPA

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So as we reported earlier things are really getting spicy in the battle over whether SMS messages are covered by the TCPA.

Here is the current scoreboard.

There are seven cases holding SMS messages are NOT calls:

  1. Jones v. Blackstone Med. Servs., LLC, 792 F. Supp. 3d 894 (C.D. Ill. July 21, 2025)
  2. Davis v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., 797 F. Supp. 3d 1270 (N.D. Fla. Aug. 26, 2025)
  3. Sayed v. Naturopathica Holistic Health, 2025 WL 2997759 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 24, 2025)
  4. Radvansky v. Kendo Holdings, Inc., 3:23-cv-00214-LLM, slip op. (N.D. Ga. Feb. 12, 2026)
  5. Radvansky v. 1-800-Flowers.com, 2026 WL 456919 (N.D. Ga. Feb. 17, 2026)
  6. Lopresti v. Nouveau Essentials Marketing LLC, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39599 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 26, 2026)
  7. Stockdale v. Skymount Prop. Grp., LLC, et al., No. 1:25 CV 1282, 2026 WL 591842 (N.D. Ohio March 3, 2026)

And there are 15 cases holding text messages ARE calls for TCPA DNC purposes:

  1. Wilson v. Skopos Fin., LLC, No. 6:25-CV-00376-MC, 2025 WL 2029274 (D. Or. July 21, 2025)
  2. Watkins v. EyeBuyDirect, Inc., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167479 (W.D. Tex. Aug. 28, 2025)
  3. Bosley v. A Bradley Hosp. LLC, 2025 WL 2686984 (S.D. Fla. Sept. 19, 2025)
  4. Wilson v. MEDVIDI Inc., 2025 WL 2856295 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 7, 2025)
  5. Mujahid v. Newity, LLC, 2025 WL 3140725 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 10, 2025)
  6. Piet v. Office Depot, LLC, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 230981 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 24, 2025)
  7. Glasel v. Office Depot, LLC, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 231053 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 25, 2025)
  8. McGonigle v. Office Depot, LLC, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 231061 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 25, 2025)
  9. Esquivel v. Mona Lee, Inc., 2025 WL 3275607 (S.D. Cal. Nov. 24, 2025)
  10. Dilanyan v. Hugo Boss Fashions, Inc., No. 2:25-CV-05093-JLS-BFM, 2025 WL 3549868 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 3, 2025)
  11. Wilson v. Better Mortg. Corp., 2025 WL 3493815 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 5, 2025)
  12. Duron v. Kings Capital Holding LLC, 2026 LX 68851 (W.D. Tex. Jan. 13, 2026)
  13. Alvarez v. Fiesta Nissan, Inc., 2026 WL 202930 (S.D. Tex. Jan. 26, 2026)
  14. Hernandez v. Bedford Dental L.L.C., 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23208 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 4, 2026)
  15. McGonigle v. Shopperschoice.Com, LLC, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30157 (M.D. La. Feb. 13, 2026)

So 7-15 doesn’t sound very good but when we look closer we see things are actually tighter than they appear.

This is true because when we isolate the districts at issue we see it becomes a closer call.

Specifically there are six districts with favorable (i.e. SMS are not call) decisions:

  • C.D. Ill.
  • N.D. Fla.
  • M.D. Fla.
  • N.D. Ga.
  • M.D. Fla.
  • N.D. Ohio

And there are eleven districts with unfavorable (i.e. SMS are calls) decisions:

  • D. Or.
  • W.D. Tex.
  • S.D. Fla.
  • N.D. Cal.
  • N.D. Ill.
  • S.D. Cal.
  • C.D. Cal.
  • S.D.N.Y.
  • S.D. Tex.
  • N.D. Ill.
  • M.D. La.

And things get even more interesting when we look at matters geographically.

Basically California, New York and Texas support applying the TCPA to SMS messages.

Florida and Illinois are split.

Ohio says SMS messages are not subject to the TCPA.

Interesting, no?

Brilliant Blake is working on a map for all of this– will be out soon.

Will continue to track these developments.

Also if you want the most COMPREHENSIVE TCPA guide out there be sure to request a FREE copy of the 2026 Troutman Amin, LLP TCPA Annual Review, presented by Contact Center Compliance.

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!

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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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