Because the award in excess of $8.1 billion violates due process, the Court will not exercise its discretionary authority to increase the award. The Court, therefore, will not address the split of authority on the requirements to prove knowing violations (see e.g., Lary v. Trinity Physician Financial & Insurance Services, 780 F.3d 1101, 1106–07 (11th Cir. 2015) (must prove actual knowledge that the act violated the TCPA); contra e.g., Sengenberger v. Credit Control Services, Inc., 2010 WL 1791270, at *6 (N.D. Ill. May 5, 2010) (must only prove the act was intentional, not accidental)) or whether the enhanced award would constitute punitive damages see Alea London Ltd. v. American Home Services, Inc., 638 F.3d 768, 778 (11th Cir. 2011) (enhanced awards up to $1,500 under the TCPA were more compensatory than punitive). G. Counts VII and VII California Claims
See In re Monitronics Intern., Inc., 2014 WL 316476, at *5 (N.D.W.V. Jan. 28, 2014) (collecting cases). Sengenberger v. Credit Control Servs., Inc., 2010 WL 1791270, at *6 (N.D.Ill. May 5, 2010). Id. (citing 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)).
While neither the TCPA nor FCC regulations provide a definition for willful and knowing, most courts have interpreted the willful or knowing standard to require only that a party's actions were intentional, not that it was aware that it was violating the statute. See, e.g., Alea London Ltd., 638 F.3d at 776 (holding that the TCPA requires mere “knowing” conduct); Harris v. World Fin. Network Nat. Bank, 867 F.Supp.2d 888, 896–97 (E.D.Mich.2012); Sengenberger v. Credit Control Servs., Inc., 2010 WL 1791270 (N.D.Ill. May 5, 2010); Bridgeview Health Care Ctr. Ltd. v. Clark, 2013 WL 1154206 (N.D.Ill. Mar. 19, 2013).
Other courts have concluded that consent can be revoked, but only through writing. E.g., Starkey v. Firstsource Advantage, LLC, 2010 WL 2541756, *5–6 (W.D.N.Y. Mar. 11, 2010); Cunningham v. Credit Management, L.P., 2010 WL 3791104, *5 (N.D.Tex. Aug. 30, 2010); Moore v. Firstsource Advantage, LLC, 2011 WL 4345703, *11 (W.D.N.Y. Sept. 15, 2011); Moltz v. Firstsource Advantage, LLC, 2011 WL 3360010, *6 (W.D.N.Y. Aug. 3, 2011); Sengenberger v. Credit Control Services, Inc., 2010 WL 1791270, *4 (N.D.Ill. May 5, 2010). In those cases, the courts relied on the fact that the cases involved debt collection calls and that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act generally applies to debt collection.