Indegene Authorizes Execution Of Settlement Agreement In TCPA Class Action Lawsuit

Indegene Ltd. has authorized execution of a definitive agreement to resolve a Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action involving its U.S. subsidiary, Indegene, Inc. The proposed claims-made settlement has a maximum potential value of approximately $4.72 million, but remains subject to execution by the parties and approval by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

The litigation, Progressive Health and Rehab Corp. v. Indegene, Inc. et al., stems from a February 2020 fax promoting participation in a Parkinson’s disease study. The plaintiff alleged that the communication was an unsolicited fax advertisement sent without prior permission and without the TCPA-required opt-out language.

Proposed settlement terms

The settlement framework provides for a $250 payment to each eligible claimant with an approved claim. The maximum theoretical exposure is based on a certified class of approximately 18,851 unique fax numbers, involving 18,869 successful transmissions.govinfo+1

Importantly, the settlement is structured as claims-made and reversionary. Indegene is not required to establish or prefund a $4.72 million common fund. Instead, its ultimate payment obligation will depend on the number of timely, valid claims approved through the settlement process; unclaimed amounts and other unused settlement payments would revert to the defendants.

The parties have identified Analytics as the proposed settlement administrator, with estimated administration costs of about $42,559. The contemplated notice plan calls for initial notification by fax, followed by U.S. mail where fax notice is unsuccessful.

Litigation background

Progressive Health and Rehab filed the putative class action in August 2020, alleging that defendants sent a fax on or about February 7, 2020 that offered a $250 honorarium for eligible patients participating in a study regarding anti-Parkinson’s disease medications. The complaint alleged the fax lacked recipient consent and a compliant opt-out notice.

In July 2025, the District of New Jersey certified a Rule 23(b)(3) class encompassing persons or entities successfully sent the fax. The court cited evidence of 18,869 error-free transmissions to 18,851 unique fax numbers.

The court’s certification ruling focused heavily on the consent issue. It found that Indegene had used contact information sourced from its own database as well as databases associated with the American Medical Association and Symphony. According to the court, the record did not show individualized consent evidence sufficient to defeat predominance, particularly where contact information was obtained through third-party lists and there was no evidence that further consent-verification steps were taken.

TCPA exposure

The TCPA bars the use of a fax machine, computer, or other device to send an unsolicited advertisement to a fax machine, subject to limited exceptions, including an established business relationship and certain consent-based circumstances. A private plaintiff may seek the greater of actual damages or $500 per violation; a court may treble damages for knowing or willful violations.

In this case, the court noted that the proposed class sought statutory damages rather than individualized actual-loss damages. That approach helped support class treatment because it avoided individualized damages inquiries. The court also concluded that receipt of unsolicited faxes may constitute the type of privacy intrusion, nuisance, or intrusion upon seclusion that can support Article III standing in the TCPA context.

At the statutory $500-per-violation level, the potential exposure associated with 18,869 transmissions could have reached roughly $9.43 million before consideration of any enhanced damages. The proposed $250-per-approved-claim structure is therefore materially below the base statutory figure on a per-transmission basis—and, because it is claims-made, Indegene’s actual cash cost could be substantially lower than the stated $4.72 million maximum.

Financial and compliance implications

Indegene had previously disclosed a ₹203 million provision related to the estimated cost of resolving the U.S. TCPA litigation. The company characterized the underlying 2020 fax outreach as a nonrecurring matter and said fax was no longer an active outreach channel.

For creditors, collection agencies, healthcare vendors, and financial-services firms, the case reinforces several compliance lessons:

• Third-party contact databases do not necessarily establish prior express permission to transmit fax advertisements.

• A vendor’s assertion that recipients have not opted out is not equivalent to affirmative consent.

• Organizations should preserve consent evidence and be able to tie it to the specific communication, recipient, and purpose at issue.

• TCPA risk can persist even for legacy communication channels that a company has since discontinued.

• Claims-made settlements can reduce immediate liquidity demands, but they do not eliminate the operational and reputational costs of class litigation.

The next procedural steps are expected to include filing the definitive settlement papers, seeking preliminary approval, disseminating class notice, administering claims, and pursuing final judicial approval. No payments would be made unless the settlement receives final approval and becomes effective.