By Paul J. Feldman, CommLawBlog, May 8, 2014
Federal judge: Telecom carriers (1) not routinely liable for telemarketing violations committed by customers and (2) not subject to private suit for alleged violations of Truth in Caller ID Act.
Increasingly, telephone carriers may find themselves unexpectedly on the wrong end of lawsuits alleging violations of the telemarketing laws. Fortunately, at least one federal judge has recognized that such suits are off the mark.
Unsolicited marketing calls are like weeds -- nobody likes them, they seldom do any good, and they're almost impossible to get rid of. But Congress tried. In 1991 it enacted the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which perhaps most famously created the "Do Not Call" list. T he TCPA also created a "private right of action" that allows consumers -individually or, increasingly, as an entire class -- to sue telemarketers who break the rules.
That right to sue can be effective when directed against the proper targets (i.e., the wrongdoing telemarketer), but it can also be misdirected toward blameless parties, with unhappy results -- much like a flame thrower which is effective at killing the occasional dandelion, but which wreaks havoc when pointed at the rose bushes. The universe of innocent bystanders in the TCPA context includes telephone carriers. You might think that no penalty could legitimately be imposed on carriers whose only involvement is the happenstance that a telemarketer used the carriers' services. But aggrieved consumers (and their deep-pocket-seeking counsel) probably think otherwise.
Continued:
-or-
"Probably" think otherwise?
Neal McLain