Analysis:
Will Supremes Give Plaintiffs a Leg to Stand On?
Last month, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Spokeo Inc. v. Robins. The case has huge implications for Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) actions and other claims based on laws providing for statutory damages, write Venable attorneys Daniel S. Blynn, Christopher L. Boone,* and Samuel D. Boro in a recent post to the firm's advertising law blog. The question before the Court is simple: Is it Constitutional for Congress to grant a plaintiff who suffers no concrete harm standing to sue in federal court based on a bare violation of a federal statute?
The authors write that while the Supreme Court's decision could have a substantial impact on the ability of the plaintiffs' bar to bring TCPA, Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and similar cases in federal court, the practical effect of the Court's ruling may simply be that these types of cases shift to state courts.
Read the full blog post to learn what the Spokeo decision could mean for your business.
Check out Venable's latest compilation of recent TCPA class action complaints filed in federal district court.
*Christopher Boone is a first-year associate and is not yet admitted to practice law.
FTC's TSR Amendments Give Marketers an Earful
Change seems to be a fact of life when it comes to the regulation of telemarketing by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Sometimes, write Venable partners Jeffrey D. Knowles and Ellen T. Berge in the December edition of the DRMA Voice, it seems the regulations, or the courts' interpretation of them, can change in the blink of an eye.
On November 18, the FTC announced a number of substantial changes to its Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) that will go into effect in early 2016. While the amendments' ban on the use of four types of payment methods in telemarketing grabbed the headlines, Knowles and Berge write that the FTC's clarification of some of its Do Not Call (DNC) enforcement policies will likely have the greatest impact on most telemarketers' day-to-day operations.
Read the article to learn more about the new amendments to the TSR.
Read a related post on Venable's advertising law blog for more in-depth analysis of the amendments.
How Not to Approach Litigation-Related Device Imaging
In their popular four-part metadata series on the firm's Trade Secrets and Transitions blog, Venable partners Douglas B. Mishkin and Douglas C. Proxmire explained how metadata might be critical in proving or defending a claim of theft of trade secrets.
In a follow-up post to the series, they write that if you suspect a theft of your trade secrets, you may have another good friend: evidence about the devices defendants used to store and transmit the stolen files. Mishkin and Proxmire point to a recent case in which imaging of a defendant's server and two key laptops revealed more than 50 instances of removable storage devices being inserted into the server and/or two laptops, while the defendant had produced only three removable devices for imaging. Perhaps most important, the imaging established that the defendant had destroyed evidence by scrubbing the server and the two laptops shortly before they were to be imaged.
Read the full blog post to learn what happened next.
Check out the four-part metadata series here.
CFPB Releases Fall 2015 Rulemaking Agenda
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently released its Fall 2015 rulemaking agenda, write Venable attorneys Allyson B. Baker, Andy Arculin, and Peter S. Frechette in a recent client alert. The agenda highlights the CFPB's focus in the coming year. The agenda also unveiled two new "long-term rulemaking efforts" in credit reporting and student loan servicing.
Read the client alert to learn what issues the CFPB will focus on in the coming year.
Upcoming Events:
"Entertainment Industry Tax Issues: Outbound Tax Planning for Talent" for the Beverly Hills Bar Association
December 7 | Beverly Hills, CA
Join Venable's Alan J. Epstein and Shane P. Nix to learn about tax planning considerations particular to international talent performing services outside of the United States, specifically, foreign tax credit planning, structuring the talent's provision of services and allocation, and character and sourcing of income.
Click here to attend or to learn more about the Beverly Hills Bar Association.