Eleventh Circuit Denies Petition for Rehearing, Permits Split Decision Barring Incentive Awards to Stand

The Eleventh Circuit recently decided not to rehear en banc a panel decision which held that a TCPA class action settlement could not include an incentive award for the lead plaintiff.  See Johnson v. NPAS Sols., LLC , No. 18-12344, 2022 WL 3083717 (11th Cir. Aug. 3, 2022). 

The matter arose from a putative class action complaint, which alleged that defendant NPAS Solutions, a medical debt collection company, violated the TCPA by repeatedly robocalling plaintiffs to collect debts that did not actually belong to them.  The lead plaintiff in the case, Charles Johnson, retained counsel and was actively engaged in the litigation, including negotiations that resulted in a $1.432 million class settlement.