Last month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh
Circuit clarified the standard for obtaining treble damages under
the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA"). In
Lary v. Trinity Physician Financial & Insurance
Services, the district court declined to award treble damages
to the plaintiff on a motion for default judgment. On appeal, the
Eleventh Circuit affirmed the holding of the district court and
stated that to obtain treble damages, a plaintiff must
prove that the defendant placed calls in knowing
violation of the TCPA.
Do TCPA Plaintiffs Obtain Treble Damages as a Matter of
Course?
Standard for Obtaining Treble Damages under the TCPA
In Lary, the plaintiff, a medical practitioner,
received unsolicited advertisements sent to his fax machine, which
was connected to an emergency telephone line. The plaintiff alleged
that the defendant used an automatic telephone dialing system to
send a commercial advertisement to his emergency telephone
