Newsroom

October 19, 2016

TCPA oral arguments conclude, decision pending

Oral arguments concluded Wednesday in the case against the Federal Communications Commission's order on Telephone Consumer Protection Act prohibitions on autodialed calls to account holders. The court could issue a decision at any time.

NAFCU was present for the oral arguments, held at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and originally expected to include 20 minutes for each side; instead, arguments lasted more than two hours. The association is part of the lawsuit.

"We look forward to the resolution of this case," said NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt, who attended the arguments. "The panel asked very insightful questions, and the length of the dialogue demonstrates the complexity of this issue."

Along with Hunt, NAFCU Senior Regulatory Affairs Counsel Michael Emancipator and Senior Regulatory Compliance Counsel Elizabeth LaBerge attended the arguments.

NAFCU filed its motion to intervene in the suit September 2015 and joined the petition filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce seeking a review of the FCC order. The FCC order allows a narrow exemption for certain autodialed calls to address potential account fraud or identity theft. However, NAFCU is asserting the order is too broad in its definition of what qualifies as an autodialer.

The association is concerned that FCC's order on the TCPA has led credit unions to cease important communications with members about their accounts over fear of inadvertently violating the rule. It is participating in this litigation against the FCC to help protect credit unions' right to communicate with their members and preserve the institutions' unfettered ability to alert members when necessary to protect their accounts and information.

NAFCU has long urged the FCC to reconsider its order relative to credit unions.