Third And Seventh Circuit Courts Of Appeals Issue TCPA Decisions

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227, et seq. ("TCPA"), prohibits "robo-calls" to cell phones, text messages and "junk" faxes without prior consent. It imposes statutory penalties from $500 to $1,500 per violation, regardless of any actual damage, and is thus increasingly popular with the plaintiffs' class action bar. Though passed in 1991, there are relatively few Circuit Court of Appeals decisions regarding the TCPA. In August of 2013, however, both the Third and Seventh Circuits issued TCPA decisions—one involving the revocation of prior express consent and the other involving cy pres awards in TCPA class actions.

In Gager v. Dell Financial Services, LLC, --- F.3d ----, 2013 WL 4463305 (3d Cir. Aug. 22, 2013), the plaintiff, in the course of obtaining financing from Dell to purchase a computer, provided her cell phone number on her application. (Though courts have split on the issue, the plaintiff in this case conceded this was sufficient