Did you know that if the TCPA guidelines are violated, you can sue for up to $500 for each violation or recover the monetary loss, whichever is higher. You may also seek an injunction or both, injunction and the money. If the violation of TCPA guidelines is willful, consumers can sue for damages up to three times, or $1500 per violation.
Full Answer
TCPA penalties are assessed on a per-violation basis. Standard penalties may be as high as $500-per-violation while penalties for willful violation...
TCPA class action settlements average in the millions of dollars. Womble Bond Dickinson put the average cost of a TCPA class action settlement duri...
The average settlement and judgment costs for individual TCPA lawsuits are difficult to find but there are examples of some lawsuits costing the de...
According to recent trends, class actions make up between 30% and 40% of all TCPA complaints within a given year.
Womble Bond Dickinson put the average cost of a TCPA class action settlement during the first 10 months of 2018 at $6.6 million.
The majority of TCPA litigation is pursued through individual lawsuits.
The TCPA contains a private right of action, which means a private individual is legally entitled to enforce the statute, even in small claims court. In fact, Senator Fritz Hollings, who originally sponsored the TCPA in 1991, highlighted this aspect in a speech on the Senate floor, saying, “The … bill contains a private right of action that will make it easier for consumers to recover damages from receiving these computerized calls. … Small claims court or a similar court would allow the consumer to appear before the court without an attorney.” In the early years of TCPA litigation, many federal circuit courts told plaintiffs there was no jurisdiction to hear the cases in federal court. However, in the 21st century, that attitude toward enforcing TCPA litigation through small claims courts has been weakened and, as a result, more individual lawsuits are being filed for large dollar amounts in federal courts.
The best way to avoid paying these hidden costs is to have a TCPA compliance strategy that makes you less susceptible to lawsuits in the first place.
A high profile TCPA lawsuit could lead your potential customers or peers within your industry to perceive you as a damaged, lawbreaking business, harming your reputation.
Indeed, even unintentional or accidental violations of the TCPA can result in damages up to $500 per call. Intentional violations increase that to up to $1,500 per violation. The TCPA also has uncapped statutory damages, so those $500-per-violation penalties can add up to damages potentially in the tens of millions of dollars.
Some insurers have successfully managed to avoid covering TCPA damages by successfully arguing that TCPA violations fall under exclusionary clauses relating to invasion of privacy. One such case involved a well known NBA team located in Los Angeles.