Daniel S. Blynn focuses his practice on false advertising and telemarketing litigation, and complex consumer class actions in federal and state courts. Dan assists clients with advertising substantiation investigations, and inquiries from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general.
He also counsels clients on a variety of advertising and telemarketing-related matters. Dan’s clients include trade associations, Fortune 100 companies, dietary supplement companies, energy companies, home security companies, staffing services companies, and many other large and small businesses.
He regularly represents clients in false advertising and regulatory litigation brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Federal Trade Commission Act, Lanham Act, Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), and state consumer protection laws. He also defends against putative consumer class actions seeking certification of nationwide and statewide classes.
Dan has significant experience with electronic discovery and has successfully argued in favor of substantial narrowing of civil discovery and investigative demands from regulators. Dan provides ongoing counsel regarding a variety of related issues, including :
- Compliance and related issues under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Telemarketing Sales Rule, and state telemarketing laws
- Disclosures in new media
- Third-party consumer, celebrity, and professional endorsements
- Telephone call monitoring and recording practices
Experience :
- Ongoing defense of a market leader in stored value debit card solutions for the criminal justice and corrections industry, and the issuing bank, in a putative class action pending in Ohio federal court, alleging violations of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and common law conversion and unjust enrichment
- Defended a passive debt buyer in a separate class action and individual action pending in Massachusetts federal court, alleging technical violations of Massachusetts and federal debt collection statutes. Both cases settled on favorable terms
- Primary author of an amicus curiae brief in support of the defendant’s challenge to the trial court’s determination that passive debt buyers must be licensed as “debt collectors” under Massachusetts law; the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court vacated the trial court’s decision and held that passive debt buyers are not debt collectors (Dorrian v. LVNV Funding, LLC, 94 N.E.3d 370 (Mass. 2018))
- Represented a dietary supplement company in its appeal in FTC Act litigation. The appeal related to propriety of granting and measure of restitution only. (FTC v. Bronson Partners, LLC, 654 F.3d 359 (2d Cir. 2011))
- Prosecuted and obtained a favorable settlement for the plaintiff in the first “notario fraud” false advertising action filed in the District of Columbia, alleging violations of the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA), against a purported immigration legal services provider and owner (Hernandez v. Multi Servicios Latinos, No. 2010 CA 009671 B (D.C. Super. Ct.))
- Obtained a favorable settlement in a consumer class action challenging advertising claims for a dietary supplement company’s cold relief product. (Salcido v. Iomedix Cold Int’l SLR, et al., No. BC 387942 (Cal. Super. Ct.))
- Obtained a favorable settlement of Lanham Act and California state law false advertising claims asserted against a competitor in the dietary supplements industry. (Iovate Health Sciences Int’l, Inc. v. Med. Research Inst., No. 04cv1817 (N.D. Cal 2004))
- Representing a top online women’s fashion store in a putative TCPA class action in Florida federal court, alleging the use of an autodialer to send marketing text messages to consumers without their consent
- Representing a home security provider in a TCPA class action of first impression in Oklahoma federal court, arising out of telemarketing calls that utilized soundboard technology
- Defending a debt relief marketer in a putative nationwide TCPA class action in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, alleging the use of an autodialer to place marketing text messages without the plaintiff’s and other consumers’ consent
- Represented a residential and commercial security monitoring company in a putative class action alleging spoofed telemarketing calls placed with an autodialer, and secured voluntary dismissal by plaintiff without settlement
Education :
- J.D. Wake Forest University School of Law 2003
- B.A. Johns Hopkins University 2000
Bar Admissions : Maryland, District of Columbia
Court Admissions :
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
Professional Memberships :
- Member, American Bar Association, Section of Antitrust Law; vice chair, Consumer Protection Committee, 2013 – present; vice chair, Advertising Disputes & Litigation Committee, 2012-2013; young lawyer representative, 2010 – 2012
- Member, editorial board, TCPA Law Reporter – which summarizes articles, briefs, court decisions, and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) petitions and rulings related to the TCPA
- Adjunct professor of law, George Washington University Law School — taught 1L “Legal Research and Writing” and “Introduction to Advocacy” courses
Community :
- Ongoing representation of a Guatemalan teenager in removal proceedings and in seeking asylum
- Prosecuted false advertising claims in a “notario fraud” action brought under the District of Columbia’s CPPA
- Prosecuted a deprivation of civil rights action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against correctional officers at a Maryland prison, resulting in favorable settlement
- Board member, Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition
- Former member, board of advisors, Johns Hopkins University, Blue Jays Unlimited
Cost
Rate : $$$