This week, a putative class action complaint was filed in the federal court for the Central District of California against Verizon Wireless Services, LLC (“Verizon”), alleging various violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The TCPA class action complaint contemplates two separate classes of individuals with alleged grievances against Verizon.

What are the respective classes’ claims against Verizon?

The first purported class would consist of consumers nationwide who allegedly received calls placed by or on behalf of Verizon through use of an autodialer without providing Verizon with the requisite prior express consent to deliver such calls.

The second class would consist of consumers nationwide who allegedly received calls placed by or on behalf of Verizon despite being registered on the National Do Not Call Registry.

Because the TCPA class action lawsuit is in its insipient stages, it is impossible to yet determine what, if any, defenses, including having obtained the prior express written consent of the putative class representative, Verizon may have to the allegations.

Protect Your Business From TCPA Class Action Liability

We have written extensively about increased regulatory and judicial interest in autodialing, as well as telemarketing calls placed to cell phones in general. This TCPA class action case provides further proof of the importance of having proper practices and procedures in place to ensure the appropriate use of autodialing technology. Furthermore, this lawsuit demonstrates the risks to telemarketers who fail scrub against state and federal do not call lists. In this regulatory environment, it is imperative to have telemarketing practices and procedures examined by experienced counsel prior to embarking on any telemarketing campaign.