PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton Harris Chiropractic, Inc.

In 2016, Carlton Harris Chiropractic, Inc. received an unsolicited fax from PDR Network, LLC advertising an e-book. The chiropractic firm filed a class-action lawsuit alleging violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which prohibits sending unsolicited advertisements via fax. PDR Network argued the fax was not an advertisement and challenged the validity of a 2006 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) order that required opt-out notices on faxes. The district court, bound by Fourth Circuit precedent, held that the Hobbs Act divested it of jurisdiction to review the FCC's order. The Fourth Circuit affirmed. The Supreme Court granted certiorari, and on June 20, 2019, in a splintered decision, vacated and remanded. The Court ruled that the lower courts must first determine whether the 2006 FCC order is a legislative rule or an interpretive rule, and if legislative, whether the Hobbs Act channels challenges exclusively to the courts of appeals in the context of a private enforcement action. The case highlighted tensions between agency deference and private rights of action.

The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the Fourth Circuit and remanded the case, holding that the lower courts must resolve threshold questions about the nature of the FCC order and the applicability of the Hobbs Act before dismissing the challenge on jurisdictional grounds.

Whether a district court in a private TCPA lawsuit may consider a defendant's challenge to the validity of an FCC order interpreting the TCPA, or whether the Hobbs Act vests exclusive jurisdiction in the federal courts of appeals, thereby precluding such review.

The ruling clarified the boundaries of judicial review for agency orders, reinforcing that regulated parties may have avenues to contest agency interpretations outside direct appellate review, potentially affecting TCPA class actions and administrative law jurisprudence. It underscored the need for courts to address jurisdictional prerequisites before deferring to agency rules.