Shaffer Quoted by Bloomberg on Effects of Record-Setting TCPA Settlement for Capital One

Partner Scott Shaffer's comments on a recent record-setting $75 million TCPA settlement agreement appeared in multiple media sources including Bloomberg BNA's Class Action Litigation Report, Privacy Law Watch and Privacy & Security Law Report as well as on Law 360. The settlement, to which Capital One Financial Corp. and three collections agencies agreed, covered claims for more than 21 million autodialed cell phone calls. Although the size of the settlement is extreme, attorneys believe other settlements are unlikely to generate such a high dollar amount because the sheer volume of calls at issue is unlikely to be duplicated. Shaffer noted, “the plaintiffs' bar is so active in filing these class action lawsuits, that if a company embarked on a calling campaign that was alleged to be against the law, it would likely get hit with a lawsuit pretty quickly before it built up 21 million calls.” Shaffer cautioned companies that send autodialed calls or text messages in volume would be wise to regularly review their consent-generating practices to make sure they are TCPA compliant. “The lesson to be learned from this is that the meter is running very quickly under the TCPA, so when you’re deciding how to contact customers or potential customers or people who owe you money, you need to think long and hard about whether you have the appropriate consent to do so,” Shaffer said.

Reproduced with permission from Class Action Litigation Report, 15 CLASS 891 (August 8, 2014). Copyright 2014 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) http://www.bna.com