Shaffer Quoted in Law360 on Potential Increase in Federal TCPA Suits in NYC

Last week, the Second Circuit ruled that federal class action criteria trump a New York state ban on class actions seeking for statutory damages in federal court. The effect of this ruling will lead to an increase in the number of federal class actions for unwanted text messages and auto-dialed calls under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Olshan Partner Scott Shaffer was quoted by Law360 saying, “The Bank [v. Independence Energy Group LLC ] decision issued last week completes the judicial rewrite of the TCPA. It was assumed for years that the TCPA, which allows plaintiffs to file private lawsuits ‘if otherwise permitted by the laws or rules of court of a state,' gave each state the ability to determine whether and how a plaintiff could sue. Now, decisions like Mims in 2012 and now Bank have effectively written that phrase out of the statute and make it clear that plaintiffs are free to bring TCPA claims in federal court, as individual or class actions, no matter what the law of a particular state provides.”