Judge Rules that Insurance Company does not have to Pay for TCPA Claims

In Zurich American Insurance Company et al v. Ocwen Financial Corporation et al, the defendant, a financial service company, requested that their insurance carrier provide defense and indemnification for the penalties associated with the defendant's alleged use of an ATDS to call consumers without the proper consent. Both Ocwen and their insurance provider filed motions for summary judgment, and the judge ruled in favor of the insurance company. After reviewing the insurance policy, the judge found, "no coverage for the underlying action." Read a copy of the decision here. Telemarketing businesses should know from long before their first day on the phones if their insurance policies have exclusions for TCPA violations. Consider working with a TCPA Lawyer, a telemarketing compliance counselor, or a telemarketing attorney that understand telemarketing rules like autodialer laws, robocall laws, telemarketing licenses, and telemarketing registrations.

FTC to Potentially Recommend Changes to CAN-SPAM 

On October 17th, the FTC announced in its regulatory agenda that agency staff will likely make recommendations to the agency's commissioners regarding the CAN-SPAM Act:

"CAN-SPAM Rule, 16 CFR 316. The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM) regulates the transmission of all commercial electronic mail (email) messages. The FTC issued the CAN-SPAM Rule to implement the Act, as authorized by the statute. As part of its ongoing systematic review of its rules and guides, the Commission initiated a periodic review of the CAN-SPAM Rule on June 28, 2017. The public comment period closed on August 31, 2017. Commission staff anticipates sending a recommendation to the Commission by December 2018."

When the agency asked for comments in 2017, the request was specifically about the 10-day email opt-out window and the definition of transactional emails. Any changes would most likely be related to those two aspects of the CAN-SPAM act.

"Swipe Right to Sue"

A somewhat unnerving article was published in the Washington Post last week about a new app that will allow users to file lawsuits by "swiping right," similar to the functionality of a dating app. The app, named "DoNotPay," asks users a series of questions and allows them to "sue someone with their smartphones and claim awards from class-action lawsuits the same way they’d select a match on Tinder." Read the full article here. While it is far too early to see if this app will survive in the competitive technology world, the concept is concerning as it might further enable serial plaintiffs to file frivolous lawsuits. Contact a call center law firm if you are getting sued by a serial TCPA plaintiff.