The record-breaking $61 million verdict against Dish Network will stand after the Supreme Court denied the company’s writ of certiorari in December 2019.
A jury sided with Thomas Krakauer in his Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) suit against Dish, awarding $400 for each of the 51,119 calls at issue. The North Carolina federal court then trebled the damages award, entering judgment in the amount of $61 million.
The U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, affirmed last August, and Dish asked the justices to consider the case.
In its petition for a writ of certiorari, the company argued that a circuit split exists on the issue of whether a call placed in violation of the TCPA, without any allegation or showing of injury, suffices to establish concrete injury for purposes of Article III standing.
Dish told the Court that no evidence existed that any of the 18,000 class members were aware they received a telemarketing call and that some didn’t even hear the phone ring.
Unpersuaded, the justices denied certiorari, letting the federal appellate panel’s decision affirming the $61 million verdict remain in place.
To read the cert petition in Dish Network v. Krakauer, click here.
Why it matters: The Supreme Court did not comment on its reasons for declining to hear the case, but the decision leaves in place not only the verdict but also a circuit split on the issue of whether a violation of the TCPA without an allegation or showing of injury suffices to establish a concrete injury for purposes of standing.