CA Federal Judge Enters $267 Million Judgment Against Debt Collector for Robocalls

Recently, a California Federal District Court approved a $267 million jury award in a class action against a large U.S. debt collector for hundreds of thousands of unsolicited calls. The debt collector was accused of violating the TCPA by using certain types of devices to autodial consumer cellphones and landlines.

Consistent with the statute and jury verdict, the judge ordered the defendant to pay $500 for each call plus interest resulting in a fine exceeding $267 million.  The case involved over 500,000 phone calls made to certain consumers between June 17, 2012, and April 2, 2019.  However, the judgment will only cover a select group of consumers who received calls during this time period.  Specifically, the judgment excludes any consumers who provided cell phone information on an application for credit with a creditor that referred their case to the debt collector involved in this case.