Opinion ID: 2339712
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Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Statutory Framework for Class Actions under the TCPA

Text: Class action lawsuits are based in equity and allow suits where the number of parties interested in the subject of the litigation is so great that it is impracticable to join them under the usual rules of civil procedure. Hansberry v. Lee, 311 U.S. 32, 41, 61 S.Ct. 115, 85 L.Ed. 22 (1940). Class actions also permit plaintiffs to pool claims that would be uneconomical to litigate individually. Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts, 472 U.S. 797, 809, 105 S.Ct. 2965, 86 L.Ed.2d 628 (1985). Class action lawsuits are governed by statute in Kansas. K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 60-223(a) sets out four requirements for class certification: One or more members of a class may sue or be sued as representative parties on behalf of all members only if: (1) The class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable; (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class; (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class; and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. These threshold requirements have been summarized as numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation. Dragon v. Vanguard Industries ( Dragon II ), 282 Kan. 349, 355, 144 P.3d 1279 (2006); cf. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 564 U.S. ___, 131 S.Ct. 2541, 2550, 180 L.Ed.2d 374 (2011) (applying requirements to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23[a]). The statute continues, in relevant part: (b) Types of class actions. A class action may be maintained if the prerequisites of subsection (a) are satisfied and if: (1) Prosecuting separate actions by or against individual members would create a risk of: (A) Inconsistent or varying adjudications with respect to individual class members that would establish incompatible standards of conduct for the party opposing the class; or (B) adjudications with respect to individual class members that as a practical matter, would be dispositive of the interests of the other members not parties to the individual adjudications or would substantially impair or impede their ability to protect their interests; or (2) the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds that apply generally to the class, so that final injunctive relief or corresponding declaratory relief is appropriate respecting the class as a whole; or (3) the court finds that the questions of law or fact common to class members predominate over any questions affecting only individual members, and that a class action is superior to other available methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating the controversy. The matters pertinent to these findings include: (A) The class member's interest in individually controlling the prosecution or defense of separate actions; (B) the extent and nature of any litigation concerning the controversy already begun by or against class members; (C) the desirability or undesirability of concentrating the litigation of the claims in the particular forum; and (D) the likely difficulties in managing a class action. K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 60-223. The litigation in the present case was initiated under the TCPA, 47 U.S.C. § 227, which establishes a hybrid of federal and state law. The federal statute empowers plaintiffs to seek damages in state courts and empowers state attorneys general to seek damages, injunctive relief, and penalties in federal courts when there is reason to believe that a person has engaged in a pattern or practice of telephone calls or other communication transmissions to residents of those states in violation of the Act. The TCPA is a federal response to the ever-increasing access through electronic means that advertisers have to consumers. State legislatures had enacted restrictions on unsolicited telemarketing before the federal legislation, but such measures had limited effect because states lacked jurisdiction over interstate calls. It was estimated that some 6.57 billion telemarketing transmissions were being made each year by the early 1990's. Intern. Science & Tech. Institute v. Inacom Comm., 106 F.3d 1146, 1157 (4th Cir.1997). Congress intervened and enacted the TCPA in 1991 to address telemarketing abuses. See Rudgayzer v. Cape Canaveral, 22 A.D.3d 148, 149, 799 N.Y.S.2d 795 (2005)(discussion of the historical background of the TCPA). During the debates regarding the junk fax provision of the TCPA, Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) stated: Every time someone junk faxes you, it is your paper that is coming out of the machine. You are paying for that paper. Your machine is tied up. It is absolutely one of the most irritating things to people, to have to pay for someone else coming into your home or your business when you do not want them there. It is essentially a tax which is paid by the recipient of something that they never asked for in the first place. 151 Cong. Rec. H 5264 (daily ed. June 28, 2005). In short, the primary purpose of the TCPA is to prevent businesses from shifting their advertising costs to the recipients of unsolicited fax advertisements. See Phillips Randolph v. Adler-Weiner Research Chicago, 526 F.Supp.2d 851, 852 (N.D.Ill.2007). The TCPA prohibits, among many other practices, the use of any telephone facsimile machine, computer, or other device to send, to a telephone facsimile machine, an unsolicited advertisement. 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(C). The TCPA only prohibits unsolicited advertising. An unsolicited advertisement is defined as any material advertising the commercial availability or quality of any property, goods, or services which is transmitted to any person without that person's prior express invitation or permission, in writing or otherwise. 47 U.S.C. § 227(a)(5). The TCPA creates a private right of action against a sender of an unsolicited advertisement and provides that, for each violation, a person is entitled to $500 or actual damages, whichever is greater, as well as treble damages if a court finds the violation to be willful or knowing. 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3). The Act also provides for private causes of action in state court, and the state courts have exclusive jurisdiction over those actions. See Foxhall Realty Law Offices v. Telecom. Prem. Serv., 156 F.3d 432, 437-38 (2d Cir.1998). One consequence of state causes of action is that the private remedy may vary from state to state. See e.g., Foxhall Realty, 156 F.3d at 438; Intern. Science & Tech. Institute, 106 F.3d at 1157 (although TCPA private actions may be permitted in some state courts and not in others, does not violate equal protection); Rudgayzer, 22 A.D.3d at 152, 799 N.Y.S.2d 795 (because TCPA does not specifically authorize class action suits, New York does not permit class action suits under TCPA under New York class action law); Schulman v. Chase Manhattan, 268 A.D.2d 174, 178-79, 710 N.Y.S.2d 368 (2000). As a consequence, decisions in other states, while possibly persuasive in their reasoning, are not binding on courts in this state. In 2005, Congress enacted the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005, which amended the TCPA and added language to § 227(b)(1)(C) that prohibits sending an unsolicited advertisement to a telephone facsimile machine unless the unsolicited advertisement is from a sender with an established business relationship with the recipient.