SHELTON’S NUMBER NOT ON DNC?: Court Tosses TCPA Class Action Suit After Shelton Fails to Prove His Number Was on the DNC List to Begin With

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Wait, repeat TCPA litigator James Shelton’s number isn’t on the DNC list?

That’s the surprising finding reached by a court in Shelton v. EMPWR Solar 2026 WL 2244025 (E.D. Pa. Aug4, 2026) and it is sort of mind blowing.

In Shelton, Plaintiff sued defendant for calls made without consent to his residential number. Plaintiff alleged his number was on the DNC list. But in discovery Shelton apparently failed to produce any evidence to that effect.

Defendant moved for summary judgment and for some reason Shelton–who is being represented by Andrew Perrong– simply failed to submit a declaration or deposition testimony establishing the number was listed on the DNCR. Instead the opposition apparently just pointed at the allegations of the complaint– a big no no.

Since there was no evidence of Shelton’s number being on the list the court dismissed the case entirely.

This is a simply staggering outcome. One would assume a repeat-player like Shelton would have his number on the DNC list. Then again, if it was on the list he would receive less calls– and that means less lawsuits he can bring.

The other thing to note, of course, is Shelton (likely) has lots of numbers. Maybe he just forgot to list this one on the DNC list. Or maybe the number is on the list and his lawyer just screwed up in responding to the MSJ. Tough to say.

What is easy to say is this: Shelton loses.

Fun!

This was nice–if simplistic– work by EMPWR’s lawyers here. Serve discovery demands. When evidence is not produce move for summary judgment. Very basic but also very effective in scenarios like this one. Nice and tidy work. Case is gone.

Hope your week is going well everyone. Can’t beleive its time to record another episode of Deserve to Win tonight. 🙂

Have you watched Ep. 44 with all those CEOs? Check it out here:

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.

1 Comment

  1. Your telephone number being on the NDNCR does NOT mean less calls. I have had telemarketers boast to me that they deliberately use the NDNCR to target consumers. By doing so, the telemarketers are reaching only consumers and are not wasting time dialing businesses or disconnected numbers.

    Reply

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