Jason Tompkins Discusses Statutes Governing Unsolicited Phone Calls and Text Messages with ABA Litigation News

Jason Tompkins, partner in Balch’s Birmingham Office and chair of the Appellate Practice and the Consumer Financial Litigation Practice, was quoted in ABA Litigation News on the split between two U.S. Courts of Appeals—the Third and Ninth Circuits— concerning the what constitutes an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). 

In the article, Jason stresses the importance of understanding how numbers are recorded in an ATDS as well as how the system initiates calls to those numbers. The variations in the way Courts define an ATDS derive from a ruling in ACA International v. FCC. In that case, the Court rejected the FCC’s definition as unreasonable. “I expect many more contours to develop as courts attempt to reconcile Marks with ACA International,” says Jason. 

At Balch, Jason focuses on consumer litigation defense of individual and class action lawsuits at both the trial and appellate levels. He has been lead or co-counsel in appeals in the Alabama state appellate courts, numerous federal circuits, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Jason also has developed a reputation for coordinating defense and appellate strategy across various jurisdictions involving claims under the FDCPA, FCRA, and TCPA.