Dish, TCPA Plaintiffs Clash Over Telemarketing Injunction

Dish Network and the FTC and states that complained about the company's telemarketing practices are at odds about a permanent injunction ordered against Dish last month as part of a judgment regarding Telephone Consumer Protection Act violations. Dish had years' worth of opportunity during the litigation to propose its own injunction but instead "put all of its eggs in the 'no injunction' basket" and now can't try to craft a new injunction that eases its burden, the federal and state TCPA complaint plaintiffs said in opposition (in Pacer) Friday in U.S. District Court in Springfield, Illinois. Plaintiffs said inclusion of inbound calls wasn't a mistake because such calls are related to outbound calling since they are how consumers ask to be added to Dish's do-no-call list and complain about telemarketing. They said exempting retailers' inbound call activity would let those retailers engage in the same conduct that resulted in tens of millions of illegal calls on which the court imposed liability. Dish separately plans to appeal the $280 million fine (see 1706270061). Separately, Dish is appealing (link in Pacer) a 2016 U.S. District Court ruling obviating Ace American Insurance from having to indemnify it from damages related to that TCPA litigation. In its brief (in Pacer) filed Friday with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Dish said U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn of Denver erred when he found the damages in the Ace policies to cover only actual damages, since insurance terms are to be interpreted broadly (see 1610140019). The insurer didn't comment Monday.