Complying with the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA) and Strategies for Defending (the Inevitable) FTSA Litigation

With its low pleading hurdles and high, uncapped statutory damages, the FTSA has quickly become the favored statute for the class action plaintiff’s bar since the statute was amended to allow for a private right of action in July 2021. Hundreds of class actions have been filed since then, often alleging the receipt of autodialed telemarketing calls and marketing text messages without the requisite level of “prior express written consent.” Several FTSA cases have recently settled on class bases in the millions of dollars. Plaintiffs often assert that the FTSA was designed to fill the purported void created by the Supreme Court’s April 2021 decision narrowly interpreting the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) autodialer provision. Yet, the FTSA preceded the TCPA by a year and, in fact, Florida has had an autodialer statute on the books since the late 1970s.

 

In this presentation, attendees will learn the history underlying the FTSA; what the FTSA requires in order to communicate with current and prospective customers in a compliant manner; how to avoid (or minimize) attracting an FTSA lawsuit, and some strategic litigation considerations if and when your client finds itself named as a defendant in one.

 

Presenter Bios  

 

Dan Blynn, Esq., focuses his practice on false advertising and telemarketing litigation, and complex consumer class actions in federal and state courts. Dan assists clients with advertising substantiation investigations, and inquiries from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general. He also counsels’ clients on a variety of advertising and telemarketing-related matters. Dan's clients include trade associations, Fortune 100 companies, dietary supplement companies, cannabis companies, energy companies, home security companies, staffing services companies, cable news networks, calling and text messaging platform providers, and a wide range of other large and small businesses.

 

He regularly represents clients in telemarketing, false advertising, and regulatory litigation (and threatened litigation) brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA), Federal Trade Commission Act, Lanham Act, and other state telemarketing and consumer protection laws. He also defends against putative consumer class actions in state and federal courts. In addition, Dan has represented clients in competitor challenges before the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division (NAD) self-regulatory body. He has significant experience with electronic discovery and has successfully argued in favor of substantial narrowing of civil discovery and investigative demands from regulators.

 

Dan is regularly recognized by numerous organizations as one of the leading consumer protection defense attorneys in the country, and often speaks and writes on telemarketing and advertising law issues. In early 2022, the Florida legislature cited Dan's commentary regarding the state's telemarketing law in the legislative history underlying proposed amendments to the FTSA. Dan also maintains a robust pro bono practice, and has successfully represented multiple individuals seeking asylum.