Court of Appeals Rules in Plaintiff's Favor in Significant Robins V. Spokeo Case

In a case that has been closely monitored by many in the direct marketing industry, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed true to its original decision and reversed the district court's dismissal of Robins's allegations against Spokeo. This case had made it to the U.S. Supreme Court where it was remanded after a ruling was given that the 9th Circuit Court had failed to show enough evidence for concrete injury.

Robins alleged that Spokeo willfully violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and caused him concrete injuries for the purposes of Article III standing, which requires that there be an injury that is "real" and not "abstract" or merely "procedural." This specific allegations in this case were that Spokeo published an inaccurate report about Robins on it's website.

On remand, the panel of the 9th Circuit Court stayed true to its original decision and held that "Robins alleged inaccuracies by Spokeo concerning his age, marital status, educational background, and employment history that could be deemed a real harm to his employment prospects." Additionally, the panel rejected Spokeo's argument that Robins's allegations of harm were "too speculative to establish a concrete injury."

This case is significant for the direct marketing industry because as the number of TCPA plaintiffs continues to increase, a favorable ruling for Spokeo would establish case precedenct that will potentially help defendants argue that plaintiffs aren't suffering from any real or concrete injury from simply receiving an unwanted phone call. Read the full opinion here. Avoid headaches like the one Spokeo is facing by investing in telemarketing compliance beforehand. Consider having a telemarketing attorney perform a telemarketing compliance audit of your company.

Fees to Access National DNC List to Increase

The fees for telemarketing businesses to access the National Do Not Call Registry will increase in FY 2018. The Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension Act of 2007 calls for a periodic reevaluation of the fees. In FY 2018, telemarketers will pay $62 per area code, which is an increase of $1 from FY 2017. The maximum fee for all area codes nation wide will increase from $16,714 to $17021. Telemarketers will still be able to get the data for their first five area codes for free. Read more about this change at the link below. Learn more about Do Not Call Compliance and calling cell phones on the Do Not Call list.

FTC Shuts Down Alleged Work-at-Home Scheme

Bob Robinson and his companies have been charged by the FTC with allegedly violating the FTC Act and the FTC's Business Opportunity Rule. The Rule requires business opportunity sellers make certain disclosure when they communicate with consumers to help them evaluate the opportunity. It also requires that they substantiate any money-making claims. The FTC complaint alleges that Robinson falsely made promises to customers they could earn thousands of dollars by working from home without any additional skills or training.  Read the full complaint here.