TCPA

• A major issuer of credit cards in a federal appeal of first impression involving whether arbitration can be compelled of allegations that the issuer violated the TCPA in using the telephone for debt collection purposes.
• Several credit card companies in several individual actions involving a range of issues under the TCPA, including the existence of consent, the revocation of consent, and whether the calls at issue were made from an automated telephone dialing system.
• One of the nation's largest nonbank residential loan originators in several individual TCPA actions alleging that the borrowers orally revoked prior written consent.
• A major bank in an individual TCPA action alleging that the borrower orally revoked consent.
• A lease-to-own finance company in an individual TCPA action alleging that the borrower orally revoked consent.
• Title lenders in several individual TCPA actions alleging that collection calls were autodialed without the required consent or after consent was revoked.

Regulatory Guidance

• We have been engaged by a national bank to prepare an enterprise-wide consumer telephone contact policy for both bank-owned and third-party call centers, including a strategy for outbound calls. The policy creation required a full system analysis and assessment of any TCPA compliance gaps.
• We have assisted a major national bank on deployment of a mobile text messaging program, including in-app mobile messaging. This required an assessment of varying TCPA requirements for information servicing messages as well as marketing messages for coupons, promotions, and other advertising campaigns.
• We continue to advise a major credit card issuer on conducting marketing text message campaigns in compliance with TCPA rules. Our counsel has covered the entire life cycle of a text marketing campaign, from how to obtain "prior express written consent" from consumers (including from consumers who previously consented to receive marketing messages prior to the new TCPA rule going into effect), to how to process consumer opt-outs. Our counsel has also focused on challenges relating to multi-sender scenarios when marketing messages are sent from more than one company.
• We have prepared authorization disclosures by which our clients can obtain consumers' consent to receive autodialed calls, text messages, and robocalls for marketing and account management purposes.
• We have advised clients about the distinctions between the FTC's and FCC's rules under the TCPA, and how the interaction of these rules may affect a client's consumer outreach operations.
• We have drafted TCPA policies and procedures for financial institutions, retailers, and other companies with consumer outreach goals.
• We have evaluated new dialer technology on behalf of our clients and assisted clients to identify which technologies best suit their consumer contact needs.
• We have advised clients on the interaction between the TCPA and the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN Act).
• We have advised clients on state TCPA analogs.
• We have drafted text message scripts for obtaining prior express written authorization.
• We have advised clients on text message best practices and text message policies.