Hobbs Act Remains a Formidable Obstacle in Challenging FCC Regulations Under the TCPA
In Nack v. Walburg, the plaintiff consented to receive a fax advertisement from the defendant. But, because the fax lacked an “opt-out” notice arguably required by regulations promulgated under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), plaintiff filed a class action complaint, seeking millions of dollars in class-wide statutory damages under the TCPA. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant, holding that the pertinent regulation should be narrowly interpreted to require opt-out notices only for unsolicited faxes, not invited faxes. The Eighth Circuit, however, relying on an amicus brief from the FCC, disagreed and reversed, holding that the Hobbs Act prevented judicial review of administrative regulations, except on appeal from a prior agency review. The court expressed skepticism as to “whether the regulation (thus interpreted) properly could have been promulgated under the statutory section” at issue but suggested that defendant seek a stay of the civil proceedings while it pursued administrative remedies.