No Call, No Claim: Missouri Court Dismisses TCPA Text Case

Where a TCPA class action involving unsolicited texts is filed continues to matter.

A federal court in Missouri has dismissed a proposed class action alleging that marketing texts violated the TCPA’s Do-Not-Call provisions. In Rush v. SelectQuote Insurance Services, Inc., 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 182934 (W.D. Mo. July 30, 2026), the court held that a text message is not a “telephone call” covered by the private right of action in § 227(c)(5).

The ruling aligns with the Seventh Circuit’s recent decision reaching the same conclusion and gives businesses another strong defense against Do-Not-Call claims based solely on text messages. Courts have not reached a nationwide consensus, however.

In this case, Jennifer Rush alleged a single claim under § 227(c)(5), asserting that SelectQuote sent her two marketing texts—each a prohibited “telephone call”—within 12 months without her consent despite her number being on the National Do Not Call Registry.

The court concluded that those statutory words do not include texts.

Looking to the ordinary meaning of “telephone call” when Congress enacted the TCPA in 1991, the court explained that a telephone was understood as a device that reproduced sounds over a distance. A text message does not reproduce sound and therefore does not fit that definition.

The court also rejected Rush’s reliance on FCC regulations treating certain texts as telephone solicitations. Following the Supreme Court’s decisions in Loper Bright and McLaughlin Chiropractic, the court independently interpreted the TCPA and found that Congress did not authorize the FCC to expand the scope of § 227(c)(5)’s private right of action.

Nor was the court persuaded by cases treating texts as “calls” under other parts of the TCPA. Section 227(b) prohibits “any call” in certain circumstances, while § 227(c)(5) specifically requires a “telephone call.” According to the court, that difference matters.

For businesses defending TCPA claims involving marketing texts, Rush supports early dismissal when the claim is based solely on § 227(c)(5). It does not mean texts are categorically exempt from the TCPA or other telemarketing laws.

With courts taking different approaches, businesses must evaluate these claims based on the specific TCPA provision and the jurisdiction where the case is filed. If you’re having trouble keeping up with the evolving case law, reach out. We maintain compliance charts tracking this and other issues across jurisdictions.