June 6, 2017
As the result of Do Not Call (DNC) litigation brought by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the FTC, as well as the states of California, Illinois, North Carolina, and Ohio, a federal court in Illinois has ordered penalties totaling $280 million and strong injunctive relief against Englewood, Colorado-based satellite television provider Dish Network. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois found Dish liable for millions of calls that violated the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) — including DNC, entity-specific, and abandoned-call violations — the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and state law. The civil penalty award includes $168 million for the federal government, which is a record in a DNC case. The remainder of the civil penalty was awarded to the states. FTC