Daniel S. Blynn

Representative Matters

False Advertising, Consumer Class Actions, and Complex Litigation

• Ongoing defense of a market leader in stored value debit card solutions for the criminal justice and corrections industry, and the issuing bank, in a putative class action pending in Ohio federal court, alleging violations of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and common law conversion and unjust enrichment
• Defended a passive debt buyer in a separate class action and individual action pending in Massachusetts federal court, alleging technical violations of Massachusetts and federal debt collection statutes. Both cases settled on favorable terms
• Defended several energy supply companies in separate consumer class actions pending in New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania federal courts, alleging violations of state consumer protection and false advertising laws, arising out of the suppliers’ respective variable rate advertising and marketing practices. After obtaining dismissal of several cases, the remaining ones were consolidated and settled on a stipulated class basis on favorable terms
• Primary author of an amicus curiae brief in support of the defendant’s challenge to the trial court’s determination that passive debt buyers must be licensed as “debt collectors” under Massachusetts law; the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court vacated the trial court’s decision and held that passive debt buyers are not debt collectors (Dorrian v. LVNV Funding, LLC, 94 N.E.3d 370 (Mass. 2018))
• Represented Sterling Jewelers, the largest specialty retail jeweler in the United States, in a false advertising action brought under the Lanham Act and Ohio state law, challenging a competitor’s claim that one of its brands of diamonds was “the most brilliant diamond in the world,” resulting in a confidential settlement described by trade press as “a victory for Sterling.” (Sterling Jewelers Inc. v. Zale Corp., No. 5:12-cv-02823 (N.D. Ohio))
• Represented an international manufacturer in several consumer class actions, and a private attorney general lawsuit challenging advertising and marketing claims (including “clinically proven” claims) for a probiotic nutritional supplement drink product, following settlement of an FTC action. Obtained summary judgment on behalf of the manufacturer in a putative nationwide false advertising consumer class action filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, alleging violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. In a tag-along class action filed in Florida state court, defeated the plaintiff’s motion to certify a class of Florida purchasers of the defendant’s nutritional supplement drink product in a false advertising consumer class action, alleging violations of Florida’s consumer protection statute and breach of express warranty. Finally, obtained dismissal of “private attorney general” false advertising action asserting violations of the District of Columbia’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA), filed in DC Superior Court
• Represented a dietary supplement company in its appeal in FTC Act litigation. The appeal related to propriety of granting and measure of restitution only. (FTC v. Bronson Partners, LLC, 654 F.3d 359 (2d Cir. 2011))
• Prosecuted and obtained a favorable settlement for the plaintiff in the first “notario fraud” false advertising action filed in the District of Columbia, alleging violations of the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA), against a purported immigration legal services provider and owner (Hernandez v. Multi Servicios Latinos, No. 2010 CA 009671 B (D.C. Super. Ct.))
• Defeated plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction and obtained a dismissal in a consumer class action case challenging the advertising claims for a dietary supplement company’s weight loss product. (Hulme v. Iovate Health Sciences USA, Inc., No. BC391226 (Cal. Super. Ct.))
• Obtained a favorable settlement in a consumer class action challenging advertising claims for a dietary supplement company’s cold relief product. (Salcido v. Iomedix Cold Int’l SLR, et al., No. BC 387942 (Cal. Super. Ct.))
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a defendant-debt collector on all counts in a landmark California Invasion of Privacy Act and federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act class action, arising out of the company’s alleged failure to advise inbound callers that their conversations may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance purposes; represented the company on the first appeal before the Ninth Circuit. (Thomasson v. GC Services LP, 321 Fed. Appx. 557 (9th Cir. 2008); Thomasson v. GC Services LP, No. 05cv940, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54693 (S.D. Cal. July 16, 2007))
• Primary author of amicus curiae brief in support of the defendant challenging the trial court’s grant of class certification; Court of Appeals reversed the order certifying the class and remanded. (GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp. v. Texas Bay Oaks LP, 2005 Tex. App. LEXIS 6857 (Tex. Ct. App. Aug. 24, 2005))
• Defeated the applications for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in a case alleging violations of the Lanham Act, and state trademark and anti-dilution statutes, arising out of the client’s introduction of a new menu item called “The Angus Steakburger.” (Steak n Shake Co. v. Burger King Corp., 323 F. Supp. 2d 983 (E.D. Mo. 2004))
• Obtained a favorable settlement of Lanham Act and California state law false advertising claims asserted against a competitor in the dietary supplements industry. (Iovate Health Sciences Int’l, Inc. v. Med. Research Inst., No. 04cv1817 (N.D. Cal 2004))

Telemarketing Litigation and Contested Matters

• Defending one of the nation’s largest residential and commercial security monitoring companies in putative class and individual TCPA actions (some with pendant state collection practices act claims) in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island federal courts, alleging the use of an autodialer and/or prerecorded messages to place collection calls without the plaintiffs’ respective consents or after they had revoked their consent
• Representing a top online women’s fashion store in a putative TCPA class action in Florida federal court, alleging the use of an autodialer to send marketing text messages to consumers without their consent
• Representing a home security provider in a TCPA class action of first impression in Oklahoma federal court, arising out of telemarketing calls that utilized soundboard technology
• Representing a home security provider in a TCPA action in Pennsylvania federal court, alleging the use of an autodialer and/or prerecorded messages to place collection calls with the plaintiff’s consent
• Representing a technology company that provides cloud-based platforms to the healthcare industry, in a “junk fax” class action in Maryland federal court
• Defending a debt relief marketer in a putative nationwide TCPA class action in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, alleging the use of an autodialer to place marketing text messages without the plaintiff’s and other consumers’ consent
• Representing a customer acquisition marketing company in a TCPA class action pending in Illinois federal court, alleging that the express written consent disclosure in the company’s online lead form was unclear and/or inconspicuous
• Represented an industry leader in traffic monetization technology in an individual TCPA action in Texas federal court, alleging receipt of unsolicited, autodialed text messages and violations of various regulations concerning maintenance of an internal Do Not Call list, and training on corporate Do Not Call procedures, resulting in a favorable settlement
• Represented a residential and commercial security monitoring company in a putative class action alleging spoofed telemarketing calls placed with an autodialer, and secured voluntary dismissal by plaintiff without settlement
• Represented a residential and commercial security monitoring company in an individual TCPA action in Georgia federal court, alleging the use of an autodialer to place collection calls without the plaintiff’s consent, or after she revoked consent, resulting in favorable settlement
• Obtained a precedent-setting summary judgment decision in favor of defendant-telemarketer for charities in a putative national class action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleging violations of the TCPA’s Do Not Call provisions, and testing the boundaries of the TCPA’s “nonprofit exemption” to liability (Spiegel v. Associated Community Services, Inc., No. 1:15-cv-08504n, N.D. Ill.)
• Represented a mortgage lender in a putative national class action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, alleging violations of TCPA’s autodialer provision, resulting in a favorable settlement
• Served as lead attorney in responding to numerous letters sent to a sporting goods and athletic wear company, alleging TCPA violations and demanding tens of thousands of dollars in pre-lawsuit settlements, resulting in no lawsuits being filed and no settlements being paid
• Served as lead attorney in responding to TCPA demand letters sent to an affiliate marketing network, alleging receipt of multiple unsolicited text messages; no lawsuits were filed and no settlements were paid
• Served as lead attorney in responding to a TCPA demand letter sent to a dietary supplement company, alleging TCPA violations and demanding a pre-lawsuit settlement, resulting in no lawsuit being filed and no settlement being paid
• Defended a national fast food chain in a TCPA “junk fax” class action (Jay Clogg Realty Group, Inc. v. Burger King Corp., No. 8:13-cv-662, D. Md.)

Recent Representation before the FTC and State Attorneys General

• Served as lead attorney in defending against the first FTC investigation pursuant to the Consumer Review Fairness Act, regarding the company’s use of the non-disparagement provision in the website terms of use, resulting in closure of the investigation
• Served as lead attorney in defending against FTC investigations into several home security companies’ respective telemarketing practices
• Served as lead attorney in petitioning the FTC to enjoin a television manufacturer from misrepresenting that some of its televisions are “assembled in the USA,” where the televisions incorporated a significant percentage of foreign content, and that the last substantial transformation did not occur within the United States
• Served as lead attorney in defending an individual officer against an FTC investigation into a credit monitoring company’s marketing for its “free” access to credit scores offer, resulting in the officer being removed from the complaint and consent order
• Served as lead associate in defending against an FTC investigation into a home alarm company’s endorsement and testimonial advertising and marketing practices, resulting in a favorable settlement
• Served as lead attorney in petitioning the FTC to enjoin a weight-loss company from misrepresenting that a celebrity endorser used the advertised weight-loss products and program, and achieved dramatic weight loss from the same, resulting in the challenged advertisements' disappearance from the market
• Served as lead associate in defending against an FTC investigation into concussion and other health and safety claims for new and reconditioned football helmets, resulting in closure of the investigation
• Served as lead associate in defending against an FTC investigation into marketing claims for dietary supplements and homeopathic products, resulting in a favorable settlement
• Served as lead associate in defending against an FTC investigation into a work-boot and footwear manufacturer’s “Made in USA” advertising and marketing campaign, resulting in closure of the investigation
• Served as lead attorney in defending an energy supply company in litigations filed by the Pennsylvania attorney general and other state regulators, challenging the energy suppliers’ variable rate advertising, marketing, and pricing practices
• Served as lead associate in defending against a Florida attorney general investigation into an Internet network’s faux news advertising practices

Education

• J.D. Wake Forest University School of Law 2003
• B.A. Johns Hopkins University 2000

Bar Admissions

• Maryland
• District of Columbia

Court Admissions

• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois

Professional Memberships and Activities

• Member, American Bar Association, Section of Antitrust Law; vice chair, Consumer Protection Committee, 2013 - present; vice chair, Advertising Disputes & Litigation Committee, 2012-2013; young lawyer representative, 2010 - 2012
• Member, editorial board, TCPA Law Reporter – which summarizes articles, briefs, court decisions, and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) petitions and rulings related to the TCPA
• Adjunct professor of law, George Washington University Law School — taught 1L “Legal Research and Writing” and “Introduction to Advocacy” courses

• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White, Inc.), 2019
• Named, Law360’s Rising Stars, 2017
• Recognized in Super Lawyers, Consumer Law, Washington, DC edition, 2014 - 2019
• Recognized in Legal 500, Advertising and Marketing, 2016
• Listed in 2012 Capital Pro Bono High Honor Roll
• Recipient, Carecen Commitment to Justice Award, 2011

Pro Bono

• Ongoing representation of a Guatemalan teenager in removal proceedings and in seeking asylum
• Prosecuted false advertising claims in a “notario fraud” action brought under the District of Columbia’s CPPA
• Prosecuted a deprivation of civil rights action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against correctional officers at a Maryland prison, resulting in favorable settlement
• Represented individuals from Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic before the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), resulting in both individuals’ applications for asylum being granted

Volunteerism

• Board member, Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition
• Former member, board of advisors, Johns Hopkins University, Blue Jays Unlimited

Personal Activities

• Enjoys hiking, is a passionate Arsenal Football Club supporter and trains as a novice boxer