U.S. Chamber Appeals FCC's TCPA Declaratory Ruling
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the FCC’s July 10 declaratory ruling clarifying rules for the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (see 1507130039). The Chamber, widely viewed as the nation’s single most powerful trade association, raised concerns about the ruling when it was still being developed at the FCC (see 1506110009). Lawyers who sought changes to the declaratory ruling on behalf of their clients told us before the order was even approved that legal challenges were likely (see 1506160056).
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The Chamber told the D.C. Circuit that the declaratory ruling “vastly expands” the scope of the TCPA by “sweeping in calls” to cellphones from equipment that can't store or produce numbers to be called or use a “sequential number generator” to call numbers. The ruling “improperly defines” the term “called party” as just the “current subscriber” rather than the “intended recipient” of a call, the Chamber said. It also gives a caller only one call before imposing potential penalties, the group said Thursday. The Chamber asked the court to vacate or reverse the “unlawful parts” of the order, remand them to the FCC for further work or provide other relief.
“Because the TCPA is increasingly the basis for meritless class actions that seek crippling damages of up to $1,500 per call against businesses, of all sizes and types, the FCC's actions are particularly harmful for the Chamber's members,” the Chamber said in a news release.
"Although we support the rights of consumers as it relates to telephone communications, the FCC overstepped its authority by creating new restrictions on legitimate, good faith communications from businesses to their customers who previously gave their permission to be contacted," said Harold Kim, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. "These arbitrary new limits will fuel abusive class action lawsuits against businesses."
The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, the Professional Association for Customer Engagement and Sirius XM Radio previously filed petitions for review of the order (see 1507200058).