Can I be personally liable, or is it just the company?
Possibly you. Courts in several circuits have held that an owner or officer who personally authorised, directed or participated in the calling can be liable alongside the company. The corporate form does not shield the person who made the decision to dial.
Possibly both. The TCPA imposes liability on the person who "makes" or "initiates" a call, and courts in several circuits have held that an officer or owner who personally authorised, directed or participated in the calling can be personally liable alongside the company. The reasoning is that the statute reaches the person who did the thing, and the corporate form was never designed to protect an individual from the consequences of their own direct conduct. A single-member LLC does not change that analysis.
What personal involvement looks like
- Choosing or approving the list, the script, the dialing platform or the vendor.
- Setting the campaign running, or deciding to keep it running after a complaint, a STOP or a letter.
- Signing the vendor contract and receiving the leads.
In a small business the owner usually did all of that, which is why demand letters sometimes name the owner as well as the entity.
What it means for the decision
An owner weighing whether to ignore a letter is weighing it with personal assets in the balance, not only the company's. And a judgment against an individual follows that individual. It is one of the reasons a resolution at the demand stage, which releases the named parties, is worth more than its face value to an owner-operator. See what happens if I ignore it.
What to do
Make sure any release names the individuals as well as the entity. Stop the conduct that creates the exposure: suppress the numbers, pause the campaign until consent and scrubbing can be shown. And raise personal exposure in the first conversation with a lawyer.
People also ask
Does a single-member LLC protect me?
Not from this. The TCPA imposes liability on the person who makes the call, and courts have looked at who directed the campaign, not at the entity on the paperwork.
What if I delegated it to a marketing manager?
Then the manager may be exposed too. Personal liability follows personal involvement: approving the list, the script, the dialer, the vendor.
Does my D&O policy cover it?
Depends entirely on the wording. Many D&O policies carry the same statutory-violation exclusions as general liability policies. Ask the broker in writing.