Class Actions Dominate the industryFrom consumer protection to attorney enrichment
Regardless of its actual intent, any statute that incorporates a private right of action and high statutory damages incentivizes profit-driven plaintiff litigation. This is an unfortunate fact of life in a country that prizes the rule of law, and has always been the case with the TCPA. The following statistics summarize the dramatic rise in class action litigation over the past few years, and make clear the fact that, instead of protecting the consumer, the TCPA currently functions more as a revenue stream for opportunistic attorneys.
Class Action Growth 2010-20161,273% Increase
Class Actions Defendants by Industry
- National Retailers: 13%
- Communications/Utilities: 10%
- Hospitality/Travel: 5%
- Political: 3%
- Education: 3%
- Construction: 3%
- Social Media/Technology: 26%
- Health Care/Fitness: 24%
- Financial: 13%
Source: Squire Patton Boggs, 2015
Frequent FilersThese ten firms filed 2,887 cases between 2014-2017
| Law Firm | Cases Filed | |
| Morgan & Morgan, P.A. | 744 | |
| Lemberg Law, LLC | 557 | |
| Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman | 488 | |
| Kimmel & Silverman, P.C. | 260 | |
| Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd. | 231 | |
| The Consumer Protection Firm, PLLC | 179 | |
| Hyde & Swigart | 141 | |
| Price Law Group, A.P.C. | 112 | |
| Boss Law, PLLC | 93 | |
| Sagaria Law, PC | 82 |
Notable Class Action Settlements
| Defendant | Amount | Year Filed |
| Capital One Bank | $75 Million | 2012 |
| AT&T Mobility, LLC | $45 Million | 2013 |
| Sirius XM Radio, Inc. | $35 Million | 2013 |
| Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. | $23 Million | 2013 |
| U.S. Coachways, Inc. | $49 Million | 2014 |
| HSBC Bank Nevada, N.A. | $40 Million | 2014 |
| Life Time Fitness, Inc. | $15 Million | 2014 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. | $30 Million | 2015 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. | $16 Million | 2015 |
| Bucaneers Partnership | $19 Million | 2016 |
| Caribbean Cruise Line | $76 Million | 2015 |
Where Does The Money Go?In theory, class actions are supposed to serve justice. In practice, they serve attorneys
Average Class Action Payouts 2011-2014
Only a minuscule percentage of class members ever see a single dime of any class action settlement. As these numbers make clear, attorneys are the true beneficiaries of TCPA class actions.
Source: Squire Patton Boggs, 2015
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
| Attorney’s Fees: | $870,000 | $2,593,333 | $2,911,500 | $2,400,000 |
| Per Class Member: | $9.53 | $3.93 | $6.28 | $4.12 |
Distribution of Recent Settlement Proceeds
| Case | Total Settlement | Class Size | Attorney Fee Allocation | Class Member Allocation |
| HSBC v. Wilkins Bank (N.D. Ill) | $39,975,000 | 1,400,000 | $12,000,000 | $20 |
| Couser v. Community Bank (S.D. Cal) | $8,400,000 | 4,000,000 | $2,118,000 | $1 |
| Connor v. JP Morgan Chase (S.D. Cal) | $9,000,000 | 1,718,866 | $3,000,000 | $7.62 |
| Sarabari v. Weltman, Weinberg, & Reis | $525,000 | 618,000 | $225,000 | $.85 |
| Spillman v. RPM Pizza (M.D. La) | $9,760,000 | Unknown | $3,000,000 | $15, or a free one topping pizza |
Source: ACA International, 2015
Individual Litigant Cases 2007-2015948% Increase
Source: WebRecon, 2016