Utility companies continue to face ongoing litigation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) that can arise from the use of automated communications with customers for purposes of marketing, customer servicing and...more
On November 16, 2016, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a final rule regarding the treatment of debt servicing and collection calls made by or on behalf of the federal government under the Telephone Consumer...more
The outcome of the 2016 presidential election has left many prognosticators scrambling to figure out the policy implications of the incoming Republican change in administration. Among countless other things, companies...more
Tough cybersecurity certification requirements for parties seeking access to certain information in the Social Security Death Master File (DMF) take effect on November 28.
The final rule imposing the cybersecurity...more
In July 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a much-anticipated Declaratory Ruling and Order aimed at clarifying certain aspects of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). As previously reported,...more
Disputes over the unclaimed property priority rules continue to intensify. The U.S. Supreme Court accepted review of a clash involving more than 20 states regarding the right to take custody of official checks. ...more
On September 22, the Florida Supreme Court in Wells Fargo Bank NA v. Pruco Life Insurance Co., No. SC15-382 (Fla. Sept. 22, 2016) denied Pruco Life Insurance Company’s challenge to the validity of an insurance policy...more
The 1964 cold war era movie, “Fail-Safe,” centered on the plight of a U.S. military jet pilot who received an errant instruction to drop a nuclear bomb on Moscow.
Unlike the movie, where Henry Fonda, as the fictional...more
With a trial looming like storm clouds on the horizon, several cruise ship companies and their affiliated travel agencies settled a “robocall” Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action up to $76 million. The...more
The 2016 Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (2016 Act) was adopted unanimously by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) in a 49-0 vote at its 2016 summer meeting. The adoption of the revised model law is a significant step forward for...more
8/12/2016
/ Audits ,
B2B Transactions ,
Contingency Fees ,
De Minimus Quantity Exemption ,
Death Benefits ,
Escheat ,
Life Insurance ,
Securities ,
State Treasurers ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Unclaimed Gift Cards ,
Unclaimed Property ,
Uniform Law Commission (ULC)
Late last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a long-anticipated declaratory order, ruling that utility companies may make robocalls and send automated texts to their customers concerning matters closely...more
Since the enactment of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in 1991, technological advances in the way people communicate have often outpaced the ability of the courts and the Federal Communications Commission to...more
On July 5, in Sartin v. EKF Diagnostics, Inc., No. 16-1816, 2016 WL 3598297 (E.D. La. July 5, 2016), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana granted Defendant’s Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss because...more
The latest salvo in an ongoing battle against Delaware was fired on June 9, when 21 states, led by Texas and Arkansas, filed a motion in the U.S. Supreme Court to force Delaware to return to the States between $150 million...more
Background -
Unclaimed Property: It’s not just about life insurance. The same contingency-fee unclaimed property auditors that targeted unclaimed life insurance proceeds are now turning their focus to other types of...more
An employee benefit plan that includes an alleged subsidization component for its basic and supplemental options is neither prohibited by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) nor a violation of the plan...more
5/5/2016
/ Arm's Length Principle ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Hartford Insurance Company ,
Life Insurance ,
Misrepresentation ,
Popular ,
Unjust Enrichment
In a decision with potentially broad implications, a California Superior Court has held that merchandise credits not redeemable for cash are not subject to California's Unclaimed Property Law (UPL). The court also held that...more
Notwithstanding so-called “guidance” from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in its July 2015 Order, the definition of “automatic telephone dialing system” (ATDS or autodialer) continues to be a disputed issue. This...more
The year 2015 saw a continued wave of class action filings under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). However, unsettled law continues to place a compliance burden on companies that communicate with consumers by...more
1/29/2016
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Campbell Ewald v Gomez ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
FCC ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
TCPA ,
Third-Party ,
Vicarious Liability ,
Young Lawyers
An unaccepted Rule 68 offer of judgment that would fully satisfy a named plaintiff’s individual claim does not moot individual or class claims opined the U.S. Supreme Court, resolving a split in the circuits. Campbell-Ewald...more
1/21/2016
/ Campbell Ewald v Gomez ,
Federal Contractors ,
Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk ,
Mootness ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Rule 68 ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement Offer ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
TCPA ,
Vicarious Liability
The Litigation Group of Sutherland Asbill and Brennan LLP has published REDIAL: Redial: 2015 TCPA Year In Review – Analysis Of Critical Issues And Trends.
This publication reflects our in-depth analysis of significant...more
1/12/2016
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Campbell Ewald v Gomez ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Declaratory Rulings ,
Energy Sector ,
FCC ,
Health Care Providers ,
Insurance Industry ,
Popular ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
TCPA
There’s never a dull moment in Delaware when it comes to unclaimed property. The latest salvo comes by way of a lawsuit filed by the Delaware Department of Finance against Blackhawk Engagement Solutions (DE), Inc. (formerly...more
Accusing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of abdicating its responsibility to clarify areas of uncertainty under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and muddying the already murky waters of the TCPA, more...more
Interpreting broadly the scope of standing to bring suit under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has held that even an unintended recipient of an automated call is...more
Proposed revisions to the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act were under debate this past week in Washington, DC as the Uniform Law Commission (ULC or Commission) Committee to Revise the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Drafting...more
10/16/2015
/ B2B Transactions ,
Death Master Files ,
Due Diligence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Escheat ,
Gift-Cards ,
Life Insurance ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Unclaimed Property ,
Uniform Law Commission (ULC) ,
Video Games