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Legal Focus

JULY 2013

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act

In light of the recent onslaught of class action lawsuits alleging violations of the U.S. Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and the controversy surrounding recent legal and regulatory opinions interpreting the Act and the extraordinary potential for damage awards that can bankrupt a company if class action liability is established, we speak to Michael L. Mallow and Christine M. Reilly, both partners at Loeb & Loeb LLP.

tell us about your firm, Loeb & Loeb LLP.

Loeb & Loeb LLP is a multi-service law firm with more than 300 attorneys in seven offices throughout the United States and Asia. The firm’s dedicated Consumer Protection Defense Department was created in response to the surge in consumer class actions and regulatory actions facing companies having consumer-facing businesses in the United States. Our group is comprised of more than 20 experienced litigators and trial attorneys who defend clients that are the subject of government enforcement actions, regulatory investigations, and private class action lawsuits alleging violations of consumer protection and unfair competition laws. We have represented a variety of clients from a diverse range of industries with a focus on defending consumer privacy claims, including alleged violations of the Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), marketing and advertising misrepresentation claims, economic product defect claims, and consumer finance-related claims.

What types of cases do you deal with on a regular basis?

A significant part of our practice involves defending economic product defect claims

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as well as advertising misrepresentation and omission claims. Most recently, as companies struggle to keep pace in an increasingly digital world, we’ve seen significant changes in marketing techniques and the preferred means of communication with consumers. The growing emphasis on mobile media and marketing has led to a tremendous surge in consumer protection litigation linked to the use of auto-dialers, prerecorded messages, and SMS text messages. As a result, a significant portion of our practice is dedicated to defending companies who are faced with claims alleging violations of the TCPA and advising companies on TCPA compliance strategies, policies and procedures. We have particular expertise in internet marketing, telemarketing, and debt collection.

What are the key aspects of the tCPA that companies should be aware of?

The TCPA covers certain types of automated telephone calls made to residential as well as mobile telephones.

For residential phones, it is unlawful to initiate any telephone call using an artificial or prerecorded voice to deliver a message to a residential phone unless: (1) the call is made with the “prior express consent” of the called