Washington Quarterly Law Update: CEMA Damages Dropped to $100 on New Email Suits — Commercial Texts and the TCPA Did Not Go Away

By Christopher Prosser, BA AA, CLA • September 10, 2026

State-by-State Updates

64,053 DNC complaints — 827 per 100,000, 15th in the FTC book.

Federal floor: TCPA $500 / $1,500.

Washington layer:

  • State telemarketing hours and DNC rules; AG enforcement. Older compliance charts cite state telemarketing penalties in a $100–$2,000 band plus fees.
  • Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA), RCW 19.190. After Brown v. Old Navy (Wash. 2025), subject-line suits exploded at $500 per message. HB 2274, effective June 11, 2026, cuts that statutory figure to $100 and requires knowledge (actual or fairly implied) that the subject line was false or misleading. It applies only to suits filed on or after that date. Commercial text claims were not rewritten the same way.
  • A CEMA violation can still be a per se Consumer Protection Act count.

What changed: HB 2274 is a speed bump for new email subject line class actions. It is not a pardon for illegal robocalls or unconsented sales texts. Use the TCPA for the phone.

Left on the table: 64,053 × $500 ≈ $32.0 million. × $1,500 ≈ $96.1 million.

Register at donotcall.gov. Report to the Washington AG consumer protection division. Use the Washington Playbook.

This is a Q3 2026 TeleJustice Academy quarterly law update. Figures: YouMail Robocall Index (estimated volume); 2025 DNC complaint counts and per-capita rates from the FTC Data Book cycle. “Money left on the table” is complaint count × TCPA statutory minimums — an illustration, not a prediction. Robocall indexes include legal recorded calls. Only documented illegal calls and texts support a claim. Educational only. Not legal advice. TeleJustice Academy is not a law firm. Protect the file: donotcall.gov · state list where one exists · call log with date, time, number · screenshots · your state Playbook at telejusticeacademy.com and telejusticepro.com.


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Disclaimer: TeleJustice Academy, LLC is not a law firm. We provide educational and informational materials only. Nothing on this website constitutes legal advice, creates an attorney-client relationship, or guarantees any outcome. Always consult a licensed attorney for advice specific to your situation.

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