TCPA Plaintiffs, Dish at Odds Over $280 Million in Penalties, Damages

The FTC and states that complained about Dish Network's telemarketing practices are opposing the company's bid to have a $280 million fine reduced. In an opposition (in Pacer) to Dish's motion to alter or amend the judgment posted Monday in U.S. District Court in Springfield, Illinois, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act complaint plaintiffs said the $280 million is a huge reduction from the $783 billion in statutory damage and maximum penalties Dish faced, and the award isn't disproportionate to the substantial harm inflicted on U.S. consumers. They said Dish -- in challenging the court finding that all the calls made by outside marketers Star Satellite and Satellite Systems Network were conclusively made to residential phone numbers -- is advocating "for a beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard" while the court, using the relevant preponderance standard, found that each separate call was likely made to a residential number. The filing was in response to a motion (in Pacer) earlier in the month by Dish, saying the court found it liable for calls made by those outside marketers since the intended recipients were residential phone subscribers, but TCPA makes no mention of intended recipients and instead focuses on actual recipients.