Venable partners Eric Berman and Daniel Blynn published "In Landmark Decision, TCPA's Nonprofit Exemption Survives Federal Court Challenge Intact" in the November 2017 issue of New York Nonprofits e-Newsletter. Here is an excerpt:
In a recent decision, Spiegel v. Reynolds, No. 1:15-cv-08504, 2017 WL 4535951 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 11, 2017), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Court) granted summary judgment in favor of a professional fundraiser who had been sued under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), dismissing the plaintiff's case in full. The decision—only the second federal court opinion analyzing the TCPA's nonprofit exemption—represents not only a victory for paid charitable solicitors, but useful guidance for structuring the relationship between nonprofits and their paid fundraisers.