Baisden v. Credit Adjustments, Inc., No. 15-3411, 2016 WL 561735 (6th Cir. Feb. 12, 2016)

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that two hospital patients consented to a debt collection agency's automated calls by providing their cellphone numbers to the hospital, upholding a the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio's decision to throw out the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) suit. Relying upon Mais v. Gulf Coast Collections Bureau,768 F.3d 1110 (11th Cir. 2014), the court reasoned that the patients provided prior express consent under the meaning of the law to debt collector by way of the hospital. The court stated: 

In sum, we find Mais persuasive and adopt its conclusion that consumers may give 'prior express consent' under the [Federal Communications Commission's] FCC's interpretations of the TCPA when they provide a cell phone number to one entity as part of a commercial transaction, which then provides the number to another related entity from which the consumer incurs a debt that is part and parcel of the reason they gave the number in the first place. 

Plaintiff-patients both received automated calls from defendant third-party collector, on behalf of a medical provider. At the time of treatment, these patients filled out forms consenting to medical and surgical care, as well as a release of information that allowed for the hospital to use their personal information for billing and payment purposes. While the debt was incurred at the hospital, an independent anesthesiology group provided anesthesiology services, the fees for which were the basis of the unpaid medical bills.

The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the debt collector, holding that the patients had given their consent to the hospital, which in turn passed to the debt collector. On appeal, the patients contended that they gave their information to the hospital, not the third party medical provider, and therefore the debt collector had no right to use their numbers. The Sixth Circuit rejected that argument, reasoning that the third party medical provider "has a significant relationship" to the hospital, patients, and most critically, the debts owed by the patients that arose from the transactions in which the patients provided their cell phone numbers.

The opinion analyzes at length all prior FCC guidance on the issue of prior express consent, including the controversial 2015 order, which will be helpful when needing to parse out the issue in briefs.