---
title: Marketing Texts No Longer Support Do-Not-Call Suits in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin
description: A federal appeals court held that texts are not telephone calls under the TCPA do-not-call rule, ending a private claim in three states.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
updated: 2026-07-30T09:23:02.717Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/seventh-circuit-marketing-texts-not-calls-tcpa
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/tcpa-text-message-ruling-67718.webp
categories: Legal
content_type: News
region: United States
publication: Sovereign Magazine
access: members
schema_type: Article
---

A federal appeals court has held that marketing text messages are not telephone calls under the do-not-call provision of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, closing off a claim that consumers in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin have used to sue the companies that text them.

The ruling came in a consolidated class action against Blackstone Medical Services, which markets home sleep tests. The plaintiffs say the company carried on sending [marketing texts and calls](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/dialmcp-ai-agents-phone-calls-own-number) after they replied "STOP" and added their numbers to the National Do-Not-Call Registry. They sued under the TCPA and the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act, seeking up to $1,500 a violation along with injunctive and declaratory relief.

Blackstone moved to dismiss, arguing that section 227(c)(5), the provision the plaintiffs relied on, gives a private right of action over phone calls and not over text messages. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois agreed, threw out the TCPA claims and declined to take on the remaining state-law claim. The Seventh Circuit heard argument on May 21 and [decided on July 14 that the provision does not reach texts](https://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/OpinionsWeb/processWebInputExternal.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2026/D07-14/C:25-2398:J:Kirsch:aut:T:fnOp:N:3573253:S:0).

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