David Poell

Photo of David Poell David Poell is an associate in the Business Trial Practice Group in the firm’s Chicago office, particularly focusing on the areas of consumer privacy and class action litigation.

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Illinois Appellate Court Affirms 5-Year Statute of Limitations Period for Certain BIPA Claims

By David Poell and Kevin Cloutier on September 20, 2021 Posted in BIPA, State Class Action

Continuing the trend of recognizing Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) as a muscular privacy-protective statute, the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District has ruled that the most common statutory violations of BIPA are subject to a five-year statute of limitations. BIPA imposes several duties on companies that collect, store or use biometric data—e.g., … Continue Reading

Strengthening the TCPA’s Sovereign Immunity Shield—Fourth Circuit Rules Federal Employees Are Not Liable for Government-Mandated Robocalls

By David Poell on March 11, 2021 Posted in TCPA

In a resounding victory for public-private partnerships, the Fourth Circuit’s decision in Cunningham v. Lester, et al., No. 20-1086, — F.3d —- (4th Cir. Mar. 4, 2021) has affirmed federal employees’ immunity from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) when acting in furtherance of a government mandate. The TCPA imposes strict statutory penalties for unsolicited … Continue Reading

FCC Declares Certain Calls/Texts Regarding COVID-19 Are Exempt From The TCPA

By David Poell and Shannon Petersen on March 25, 2020 Posted in Consumer, Federal Class Action, TCPA

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) generally prohibits automated calls, including text messages, to cell phones without sufficient prior express consent, and imposes a statutory penalty of $500 to $1,500 per call/text in violation. Calls that serve an “emergency purpose” are completely exempt from the TCPA. The FCC’s rules define “emergency purpose” to mean “calls … Continue Reading

Seventh Circuit Adopts Narrow Definition of Autodialer Under The TCPA

By David Poell and Shannon Petersen on March 2, 2020 Posted in Consumer, Federal Class Action, TCPA

The Seventh Circuit has recently joined the Second, Third, Sixth and Eleventh Circuits in adopting a narrow interpretation of Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), one that excludes equipment that dials numbers from a customer database. See Gadelhak v. AT&T Services, Inc., No. 19-1738, — F.3d —-, 2020 WL … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Punts On Whether FCC’s Interpretation of the TCPA Binds Federal Courts

By Sieun Lee, David Poell, Paul Werner and Shannon Petersen on September 3, 2019 Posted in Consumer, Federal Class Action, TCPA

At the end of the Supreme Court’s most recent term, the Court released its long-awaited ruling in PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic, Inc., 139 S. Ct. 2051 (June 20, 2019)—a case that could have carried far-reaching ramifications for Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) litigation nationwide. The Supreme Court granted review to consider … Continue Reading

One “Chirp, Buzz, Or Blink” Is Not Enough To Sue Under The TCPA

By Lisa Yun Pruitt, David Poell, Paul Werner and Shannon Petersen on August 30, 2019 Posted in Consumer, Federal Class Action, TCPA

A recent decision by the Eleventh Circuit will make it more difficult for plaintiffs to establish standing to sue under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In Salcedo v. Hanna, et al., Case No. 17-14077, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 25967 (11th Cir. Aug. 28, 2019), the Eleventh Circuit ruled that a single text message did … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Poised To Alter TCPA Landscape With Review Of Key Term “Advertisement”

By Paul Werner and David Poell on November 15, 2018 Posted in TCPA

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court decided to review a case that potentially carries far reaching ramifications for litigation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), which places restrictions on phone and fax solicitations and imposes serious penalties for violations. See 47 U.S.C. § 227, et seq. By granting certiorari in PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton & … Continue Reading

Rikki, Don’t Autodial That Number! – Ninth Circuit Doesn’t Want You To Call Nobody Else (in violation of the TCPA)

By David Poell, Lisa Yun Pruitt and Shannon Petersen on October 26, 2018 Posted in TCPA

Class action plaintiffs’ attorneys may argue that a recent ruling by the Ninth Circuit expands the scope of liability under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) to include calls or text messages sent on all modern telephone equipment, including personal smartphones. Marks v. Crunch San Diego, LLC, 904 F.3d 1041 (9th Cir. Sept. 20, 2018).… Continue Reading

5 TCPA Class Action Trends to Watch in 2018 – Legislation, Administrative Law & Litigation

By Paul Werner and David Poell on February 28, 2018 Posted in Class Certification, Federal Class Action, TCPA

1. Have the GOP’s Hopes for Enacting the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act Been Dashed? – Passed in March 2017 by the U.S. House of Representatives, the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017, H.R. 985, has stalled in the Senate. Among other things, the House bill would dictate the method by which … Continue Reading

Spokeo—Round 3: The Ninth Circuit Finds Alleged Statutory Violation Sufficiently “Concrete” To Satisfy Article III Standing

By Paul Werner and David Poell on August 29, 2017 Posted in Class Certification, Consumer, Federal Class Action

The Ninth Circuit recently issued its long-awaited opinion in Robins v. Spokeo, Inc., — F.3d —-, 2017 WL 3480695 (9th Cir. Aug. 15, 2017), on remand from the United States Supreme Court. Once again, the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s lawsuit alleging willful violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 … Continue Reading

You Can’t Always Get What You Want—Second Circuit Affirms Parties Can Bargain Away TCPA Right To Revoke Consent To Automated Calls

By Paul Werner and David Poell on July 12, 2017 Posted in TCPA

As the Rolling Stones famously sing, “You can’t always get what you want.” And in the ever treacherous world of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), 47 U.S.C. § 227, et seq., the Second Circuit has ruled that means a party to contract cannot unilaterally revoke consent to receive automated calls.… Continue Reading

Mooting Class Actions by Offer of Judgment – Episode 2: The Ninth Circuit Strikes Back

By David Poell and Shannon Petersen on April 22, 2016 Posted in Consumer, Federal Class Action, Settlements, TCPA

In Campbell-Ewald v. Gomez, 136 S. Ct. 663 (Jan. 20, 2016), the Supreme Court resolved a split among courts and held that an unaccepted settlement offer of complete individual relief does not moot the plaintiff’s lawsuit. However, the Court expressly left open the question of “whether the result would be different if a defendant deposits … Continue Reading

Not Taking “Yes” For An Answer: U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Unaccepted Offer Of Complete Individual Relief Does Not Moot Plaintiff’s Individual Or Class Action Claim

By David Poell, Shannon Petersen and David Cannon on January 20, 2016 Posted in Consumer, Federal Class Action, Settlements, Supreme Court, TCPA, U.S. Supreme Court

On January 20, 2016, in a highly anticipated decision (see October 27, 2015 blog) that will have implications for class action practice nationwide, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an unaccepted offer of judgment sufficient to completely satisfy an individual claim does not moot that claim or any class claim. The Supreme Court’s decision partially … Continue Reading

The Pitfalls of Ascertaining Ascertainability: Seventh Circuit Declines to Adopt Heightened Threshold Requirement for Class Actions

By David Poell on August 6, 2015 Posted in Class Certification, Consumer, Federal Class Action

Although not explicitly stated in the text of Rule 23, for several decades courts have held that a putative class must be clearly defined and based on objective criteria as prerequisites to class certification. Courts and commentators alike have referred to this threshold showing as the “ascertainability” requirement without a common understanding of what exactly … Continue Reading

Seventh Circuit Affirms Lodestar Method to Determine Attorneys’ Fees in TCPA Class Action Settlement

By David Poell and Shannon Petersen on April 9, 2014 Posted in Attorneys Fees, Federal Class Action, TCPA

In Americana Art China Company, Inc. v. Foxfire Printing & Packaging, Inc., 743 F.3d 243 (7th Cir. Feb. 18, 2014), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s attorneys’ fees award in a class action settlement arising from the defendant’s faxing of thousands of unsolicited advertisements in violation of the … Continue Reading

Third and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeals Issue TCPA Decisions

By David Poell and Shannon Petersen on September 5, 2013 Posted in Consumer, Federal Class Action

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227, et seq. (“TCPA”), prohibits “robo-calls” to cell phones, text messages and “junk” faxes without prior consent. It imposes statutory penalties from $500 to $1,500 per violation, regardless of any actual damage, and is thus increasingly popular with the plaintiffs’ class action bar. Though passed in 1991, … Continue Reading

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