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Case Law

Court decisions interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) often have the most impact on the statute and regulations. Our case pages give a plain-English summary of leading decisions: what the dispute was about, what the court decided and why it matters. Each page also links to the court's full opinion so you can read it yourself.

Supreme Court

Supreme Court · 2016

Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez (2016)

A defendant cannot moot a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) suit, including a proposed class action, just by offering a named plaintiff full relief.

577 U.S. 153 (2016)2 min read

Supreme Court · 2020

Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants (2020)

The Supreme Court invalidated a 2015 exception to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) that allowed robocalls to cell phones made to collect debts owed to or guaranteed by the federal government.

591 U.S. 610 (2020)2 min read

Supreme Court · 2021

Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid (2021)

The Supreme Court significantly narrowed the definition of what constitutes an "automatic telephone dialing system," or autodialer, under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

592 U.S. 395 (2021)2 min read

Supreme Court · 2025

McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates, Inc. v. McKesson Corp. (2025)

In a private lawsuit or other enforcement proceeding under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a federal district court is not bound by the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) interpretation of the statute.

606 U.S. 146 (2025)2 min read

Federal courts of appeals

D.C. Circuit · 2018

ACA International v. FCC (D.C. Cir. 2018)

The D.C. Circuit reviewed a 2015 order of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

885 F.3d 687 (D.C. Cir. 2018)2 min read

Eleventh Circuit (en banc) · 2023

Drazen v. Pinto (11th Cir. 2023) (en banc)

The full Eleventh Circuit ruled that a person who receives an unwanted, illegal telemarketing text message has suffered a concrete injury and so has standing to sue under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

74 F.4th 1336 (11th Cir. 2023) (en banc)2 min read

Reading case summaries

A decision by a federal court of appeals is binding only on courts within its own circuit, and different circuits can decide similar questions differently. Later decisions can also narrow or change the effect of an earlier one. Our summaries describe what a court decided in a particular case. They do not predict how any other case will turn out.

For how lawsuits work in general, see our guide to TCPA Litigation. For new decisions as they come out, see Latest analysis.