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January 30, 2017 Letters to the Editor

Telephone Consumer Protection Act leads to frivolous lawsuits

Dear Editor:

Your recent piece (“CT attorneys, businesses seek legal payday with junk faxes,” Jan. 9) highlights the importance of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), but misses key elements of the legal epidemic surrounding this outdated law.

The TCPA was enacted in 1991 to stop aggressive cold-call telemarketing. Unfortunately, TCPA lawsuits are much more than “a growing niche in the consumer legal field.”

In October of 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a rule that made it easier for the plaintiffs' bar to argue modern technologies, such as smart phones, are considered “autodialers” under the statute. Congress certainly didn't consider this when they wrote the law, considering smart phones weren't invented until 2007.

The FCC rule increased the number of abusive TCPA lawsuits. 

In 2015, there were 3,710 TCPA lawsuits filed in federal court — a 940 percent increase in five years.

Consumers do not benefit from TCPA lawsuits, nor do small Connecticut firms. It's the plaintiffs' lawyers, who rake in millions of dollars in settlement fees in class-action cases. One survey of federal TCPA settlements found that in 2014, the average attorneys' fees awarded in TCPA class settlements was $2.4 million, while the average class member's award in these same actions was $4.12.

The TCPA is far from a “legal payday” for companies, except for companies who are plaintiffs' law firms.

Lisa A. Rickard President, U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform 1615 H Street, NW Washington DC 20062 LRickard@USChamber.com

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