The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) recently granted the request of WTK’s client, Monitronics International, Inc., to centralize four putative nationwide class actions asserting a variety of claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This Multidistrict Litigation (MDL), which includes cases originally filed in federal courts in West Virginia, Washington state, and California, was assigned to the Northern District of West Virginia. WTK conceived of and spearheaded the effort to create the MDL and now serves as co-lead counsel for Monitronics, a home security monitoring company, in the TCPA litigation. WTK recommended that Monitronics move for the creation of an MDL so that it could avoid defending several TCPA claims on multiple fronts and in a myriad of different courts with potentially conflicting results. Since the inception of this MDL, five more TCPA cases against Monitronics have been successfully transferred to the MDL; enabling Monitronics to litigate all of these claims in one centralized location.

Litigation under the TCPA has exploded in recent years. Originally intended to prevent abusive telemarketers, companies of all kinds that communicate with their customers via telephone calls, text messages, or faxes for completely legitimate reasons are now being required to defend against claims under the TCPA. Moreover, there are significant potential penalties — $500 per illegal call, text, or fax (or $1,500 if willfulness can be proven) — available under the statute. One recent survey identified almost 100 TCPA cases filed in various courts across the nation in the last quarter of 2013 alone and a number of high value settlements have been announced recently.

In order to assist its clients in this potentially high-risk environment, WTK has a team of seasoned class action litigators available to help companies navigate the legal intricacies and nuances of the TCPA. In addition to the Monitronics MDL, WTK is currently defending clients against claims of sending unlawful text messages, improperly using autodialers and/or prerecorded messages to call mobile or residential lines, sending “junk” faxes, and violating the Do-Not-Call Registry provisions, all predicated upon the TCPA. WTK’s TCPA team is headed by Vickie E. Turner and Meryl C. Maneker and includes Frederick W. Kosmo, Jr. and Robert K. Dixon