For more than 10 years, Isaac Colunga has provided strategic defense of consumer finance and related class actions filed across the country. He has a particular focus on representing clients accused of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Isaac is highly sought-after and nationally recognized in this area, as he is one of only a handful of lawyers nationwide who has personally represented clients in over 100 TCPA lawsuits and class actions. Aside from his work in the TCPA space, Isaac also defends cases involving a range of state and federal consumer laws, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Electronic Funds Transfer Act, Truth in Lending Act, Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, California’s Unruh Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act as it relates to the accessibility of company websites.
When he’s not representing clients in court, Isaac is helping his clients comply with the TCPA and other telemarketing laws, including state laws that govern telemarketing and debt collecting. He helps clients transition short codes and he helps clients stay in compliance with any calls-to-action the client may have or may be starting. As part of this work Isaac helps clients follow the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association’s (CTIA) Messaging Principles and Best Practices and other guidelines and stay informed of the CTIA’s Common Short Code Monitoring Handbook. Isaac’s compliance work focuses on text messaging, pre-recorded calls, automated calls and do-not-call concerns. He understands the nuances of this ever-changing and highly regulated area of law, and he’s known for his responsiveness and for providing clients practical, easy-to-understand advice, solutions and work-arounds. Isaac has assisted clients in most consumer-facing industries in which companies communicate with consumers by text message or phone call, such as healthcare billing, patient prescription and management, online retailers, text advertisers, vehicle warranty sellers, mortgage servicers and banks.
Isaac also prosecutes and defends clients in cases involving oral and written contracts, including foreclosure actions, breach of contract suits, breach of fiduciary duty claims, fraud, accounting and other claims. As part of this work, Isaac files and prosecutes claims for violations of non-compete agreements and misappropriation of trade secrets. He has successfully obtained injunctive relief on behalf of his clients to enforce their restrictive covenants, to maintain customer relationships and to prevent the loss of intellectual property.
At one time, Isaac served as a law clerk to the Honorable Charles R. Norgle of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Representative Clients
Reported and Representative Cases
- AXA Ins. Co. v. Magneco/Metrel, Inc., No. 6:17-CV-00273-ADA, 2018 WL 5733171 (W.D. Tex. Oct. 1, 2018)
- Craftwood Lumber Co. v. Horizon Glob. Corp., No. 1:17-CV-7024, 2018 WL 6920394 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 12, 2018)
- A Custom Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. v. Kabbage, Inc., 2018 WL 488257 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 18, 2018)
- A Custom Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. v. Kabbage et al., 2017 WL 2619144 (N.D.Ill. June 16, 2017)
Business Disputes
- Represented a large consortium of member-distributors in suit seeking a declaratory judgment regarding the proper ownership of millions of dollars in accounts receivables
- Represented one of the nation's leading providers of rehabilitation and therapy services in multi-state, multi-defendant federal lawsuit alleging claims for breach of contract, misappropriation of corporate information and interference with contract.
- Represented the world's leading source of commercial information in federal suit seeking damages for defamation and intentional interference with prospective business relations
- Represented multi-national software developer and successfully obtained injunctive relief against former consultant for allegedly misappropriating and misusing the company's proprietary software code, designs and processes
- Represented large underground utility servicer in dispute over the terms of an asset purchase agreement
Consumer Protection Defense and Class Actions
- Represented the world's leading source of commercial information in TCPA class action involving auto-dialed calls to cell phones
- Represented a leading cloud-based software provider in TCPA class action involving targeted text messages to cell phones
- Represented merchant data security provider in TCPA class action involving alleged unsolicited fax advertisements
- Represented national physician staffing firm in two TCPA class actions pending Missouri and Maryland related to the alleged sending of unsolicited faxes
- Represented one of the world's largest grocery retailers in TCPA suit alleging that the company's prescription refill authorization system attempted to send unauthorized faxes
- Represented nationwide restaurant chain in TCPA class action involving franchisee's alleged fax marketing campaign
- Represented one of the nation's largest municipal entities in FCRA class action alleging the publication of too many credit card numbers on customer receipts
- Represented nationwide staffing agency in FCRA suit involving improper use of credit information during hiring process
Ice TV
Firm Publications
News
Blog Posts
Published In
- "FCC Order May Make TCPA Fax Class Actions More Difficult," Law360, December 10, 2019
- "A Recent Wave of Lawsuits Hits Manufacturers for Using Fingerprint Scans," Illinois Manufacturer's Association, February 19, 2019
- "'Smart home' providers may be liable under the TCPA," published in The Illinois Manufacturer Magazine, Winter 2017 Issue
- "'Smart Home' Providers May Be Liable Under The TCPA," published in the Daily Herald, Nov. 22, 2016
- "Some background on background checks: Can a consumer sue based on improper disclosure?,” Daily Herald Business Edge, October 27, 2016
- "'Smart Home' Providers May Be Liable Under The TCPA," Law360, July 5, 2016
- "When the Supreme Court Departs From its Traditional Function," 45 Val. U. L. Rev. 47 (2011);
- "Inactive Client Relationships May Result in Per Se Conflicts for Criminal Defense Lawyers," 97 Illinois Bar Journal, 522 (October 2009)
- "An Alternative Look at the Takings Clause and Inmate Trust Accounts," 39 U. Tol. L. Rev. 791 (2008)