Filing Bankruptcy Does Not Revoke Consent under the TCPA

While the FCC recently opined that consumers can revoke their consent to receive calls via an ATDS in any manner that clearly expresses a desire not to receive further messages, a district court in Illinois has set some perimeters on revocation.  In Cholly v. Uptain Group, Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171415, C.A. No. 15 C 5030 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 22, 2015), the consumer alleged, among other things, that the defendant placed calls to her cellular telephone to collect a debt with a prerecorded or artificial voice.  The calls were made after the consumer filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 7.  The consumer contended that notice of the automatic stay received by the caller effectively revoked her consent to receive calls on her cell phone.   The court disagreed noting that "the FCC's order provides that the consumer, not a third party, may revoke any prior consent that was given to the caller." Cholly at *7 (emphasis supplied).