Yesterday, the Supreme Court relieved decades of uncertainty concerning the filing requirements for removal of cases to federal court from state court by holding that a defendant is required only to file “a short and plain...more
As class action filings under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) have continued to rise, so too have the number of disputes with commercial liability insurers over coverage for their insureds’ alleged TCPA...more
The end of October 2014 saw two significant developments for Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rules governing facsimile transmissions, fax opt-out notices and liability for faxes sent by third parties....more
Companies in the financial services industry are being targeted in lawsuits brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Record-setting class action settlements like the recent $75 million settlement involving...more
SUTHERLAND’S THREE C'S: CONSENT, COMPLIANCE, COMMUNICATION -
What is the TCPA?
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) protects consumers from unwanted telemarketing calls, prerecorded or autodialed...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has clarified the standard for “prior express consent” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in a September 29, 2014 decision reversing an outlier ruling by a...more
To autodial or not autodial, that is the question. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) defines autodialer as “equipment which has the capacity to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or...more
On September 17, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed to make nonbank automobile lenders subject to the examination and direct supervision of the Bureau. The proposed rule can be found here. Under the...more
What constitutes valid consent under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act? A hot issue in TCPA litigation is the scope of consent necessary to place automated calls to consumers where the consumer has provided a cell phone...more
Insurance companies are increasingly the subject of Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) lawsuits. Any insurance company that communicates with its customers, job applicants, and others by phone or text using an automated...more
High-dollar settlements of class actions filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act appear to have prompted the filing of a record number of new TCPA cases in federal courts nationwide. In the largest TCPA settlement...more
The U.S. Supreme Court held yesterday that defendants in securities fraud class actions can defeat the Basic fraud-on-the-market presumption of reliance at the class certification stage “through evidence that the...more
On June 12, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Clark v. Rameker that an inherited individual retirement account (IRA) does not qualify for the “retirement funds” exemption in the Bankruptcy Code and is not...more
6/17/2014
One of the hot issues in pending litigation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is whether a consumer can revoke consent to receive calls on a cell phone. A number of courts have recently held that a consumer...more
Early 2014 has produced a series of court decisions highlighting third-party liability issues under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In February, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case about liability for...more
In Chadbourne & Parke LLP v. Troice, the U.S. Supreme Court held on February 26, 2014, that the victims of Allen Stanford’s multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme can proceed with their claims against law firms, insurance brokers,...more
This week the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Mississippi ex rel. Hood v. AU Optronics Corp. that parens patriae actions in which the State is the sole plaintiff are not “mass actions” under the Class Action Fairness...more
In the first federal appellate decisions addressing cost of insurance (COI) charges in life insurance policies, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals handed two victories to insurers in opinions issued December 13, 2013. In...more
On December 12, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its preliminary report on the use of arbitration clauses in consumer financial products and services. The preliminary report focuses on...more
A decision by the Georgia Court of Appeals has potentially far-reaching consequences for companies that include limitation-of-liability clauses in their customer contracts. In Monitronics International v. Veasley, the Georgia...more
7/31/2013
During its recently concluded October 2012 term, the Supreme Court of the United States decided seven cases that are likely to have a significant impact on class action practice. This term’s decisions addressed evidentiary...more
The Georgia Supreme Court held this week that the holder of a security deed need not also hold the underlying note to exercise the power of sale in accordance with the terms of the security deed. You v. JP Morgan Chase Bank,...more
A sharply divided Supreme Court held today in Genesis HealthCare Corp. v. Symczyk that if an unaccepted offer of judgment does indeed moot an individual claim (a question the Court expressly declined to reach) then the...more
The Supreme Court unanimously held yesterday in Standard Fire Ins. Co. v. Knowles , 2013 WL 1104735, that a damages - limiting stipulation by the named plaintiff in a putative class action is not binding on absent class...more
This morning the United States Supreme Court affirmed class certification in Amgen, Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds , a securities fraud case. The question presented was whether plaintiffs seeking class...more