Turning the TCPA Tide: The Effects of Duguid examines the landscape of litigation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act in the six months before and six months after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark April 2021 decision in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid. In Duguid, the Court resolved one of the major flashpoints of litigation under the TCPA by giving a narrow definition to “automatic telephone dialing system” (ATDS) for the purposes of the statute – seemingly closing the door on the rising tide of TCPA lawsuits relying on broad definitions of ATDS that had previously been reached by lower courts.
ILR’s research finds that while the six months following Duguid have indeed seen a 31 percent drop in TCPA filings compared to the six months prior to the Court’s ruling, the picture remains mixed. Lower court decisions post-Duguid show that many claims based on broad ATDS definitions are still surviving the pleadings stage, and some states are contemplating (or have already enacted) so-called “mini-TCPA” laws that embrace a broad definition of ATDS. Ultimately, the future of TCPA litigation remains uncertain – but ILR’s research sheds light on the state of play and provides helpful insight into likely future developments.
