Seventh Circuit Reaffirms Stance On Sender Liability In TCPA Fax Litigation
By Joseph C. Wylie II, Molly K. McGinley, Nora E. Becerra
The Seventh Circuit recently reaffirmed its holding in Bridgeview Health Care Ctr., Ltd. v. Clark, Nos. 14-3728 & 15-1793 (7th. Cir. 2016), which established that agency principles apply in determining whether a fax was sent “on behalf of” a sender under the TCPA.
On June 16, 2016, the court in Paldo Sign & Display Co. v. Wagener Equities, Inc., No. 15-1267, 2016 WL 3348738 (7th Cir.) held that TCPA fax regulations do not impose strict liability on entities whose products or services are being promoted by third parties. In Paldo, a company sued Wagener Equities under the TCPA after receiving an unsolicited fax promoting Wagener’s services. That same communication allegedly was faxed to over ten thousand recipients via a third party distributor, Marketing Research, also known as B2B, which exposed Wagener to potential damages exceeding five million dollars. Paldo maintained that Wagener was liable for B2B’s transfer of the faxes despite never having approved the ads.