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Consumer Protection
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February 12, 2025
Gore-Tex Maker Accused Of Greenwashing Waterproof Fabric
W.L. Gore & Associates has been slapped with a proposed class action in Washington federal court accusing it of embarking on a "greenwashing" campaign by touting its Gore-Tex waterproof fabric as being environmentally sound, while concealing from customers it uses forever chemicals in manufacturing the material.
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February 12, 2025
Fintech Group Wants To Defend CFPB's Open Banking Rule
Fintech industry group the Financial Technology Association on Wednesday filed to defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's open banking rule in an ongoing challenge from the banking industry since the agency's own defense of the rule is uncertain in the wake of Trump administration shake-ups.
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February 12, 2025
House Antitrust Chair Wants To Override Merger Overhaul
The head of the House antitrust subcommittee, Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wisc., introduced a bill Tuesday that would unwind the newly in-effect overhaul to merger filing requirements that practitioners say will significantly increase upfront burdens but that the Federal Trade Commission's Republican leadership has argued will lower costs.
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February 12, 2025
Allstate Hit With Another Class Action Over Data Collection
Allstate has been hit with another proposed class action in Illinois federal court accusing the auto insurer of illegally obtaining the personal driving data of millions of policyholders via software embedded in third-party apps and using that data for the insurer's own underwriting purposes.
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February 12, 2025
Google Must Face Wiretapping Suit Over AI-Powered Assistant
A California federal judge has refused to toss a proposed class action accusing Google of using a "human-like" customer-service product powered by artificial intelligence to illegally eavesdrop on users' calls with Hulu, Verizon and others, finding the consumers adequately allege Google is a third party that can benefit from the data.
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February 12, 2025
Conn. Opposes Bankrupt Prospect Medical's 'Plunder'
Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. must be held accountable for harm that the hospital operator caused in Connecticut, but first, its three facilities in the state need to quickly transition to new ownership, the offices of the attorney general and the governor told a Dallas bankruptcy judge.
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February 12, 2025
House GOP Eyes Medicaid Cuts, Work Requirements
House Republicans set their sights on potential cuts and changes to Medicaid on Wednesday, arguing Congress and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency should target improper payments, institute work requirements and repeal a Biden-era rule that made enrolling in the federal healthcare program easier.
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February 12, 2025
Meta Advertising Antitrust Suit Gets Nov. 17 Trial Date
A California federal judge has set a Nov. 17 trial date for accusations that Meta monopolized the social media advertising market weeks after he declined to certify a class of Facebook users that would have numbered in the millions.
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February 12, 2025
Sidley Litigator Tapped For Treasury GC Post
President Donald Trump has nominated Sidley Austin LLP white collar partner Brian P. Morrissey to become the U.S. Department of the Treasury's top lawyer, which would mark a return to the department where he was previously the number two lawyer.
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February 12, 2025
Trump's Picks For CFPB, OCC Chiefs Hailed By Industry
President Donald Trump has tapped Jonathan McKernan, formerly of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau full time, part of a slate of top financial regulatory nominees that has many in industry breathing a sigh of relief.
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February 11, 2025
Trump Tells Agencies To Plan 'Large-Scale' Cuts With Musk
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that directs agencies to prepare for "large-scale" cuts to the federal workforce and gives Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency the authority to approve the future hiring of career officials.
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February 11, 2025
Wash. Health Privacy Law Debuts In Amazon Tracking Suit
A Washington resident has launched the first claims under the state's groundbreaking health privacy law, as part of a proposed class action accusing Amazon of unlawfully harvesting location data from tens of millions of mobile phone users through third-party apps that are running the company's software development kit.
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February 11, 2025
Calif.'s Insurance Safety Net Gets $1B Infusion For Fire Claims
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has signed off on $1 billion in additional funding for California's FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, to ensure the plan can keep paying consumer claims to survivors of the Southern California wildfires, according to an order issued Tuesday.
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February 11, 2025
Kratom Producers Hid 'Addictive' Risks, Consumers Say
Companies that make kratom are facing a proposed class action in New York federal court over sales of kratom, standing accused of not disclosing that the substance is just as addictive as opioids.
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February 11, 2025
FCC's Subsidy Fund Like 'Bureaucrat's Dream,' Justices Told
A free-market litigation group urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's fee system to support telecom subsidies, comparing the regime to an out-of-control IRS with unbridled taxing powers.
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February 11, 2025
Justices Ponder If Colo. Climate Case Would Open Floodgates
Colorado justices on Tuesday asked a city and county seeking damages against ExxonMobil and Suncor over the local impacts of climate change why such suits don't amount to an attempt to regulate the oil and gas industry, with one justice saying he has "practical concerns" about more municipalities bringing novel climate tort claims.
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February 11, 2025
Alaska Airlines Sued Over Alleged In-Flight Sexual Assault
A passenger has sued Alaska Airlines seeking to recover damages in the wake of an alleged sexual assault aboard a 2023 flight from Seattle to Honolulu, according to a complaint filed in Washington state court.
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February 11, 2025
Progressive Inks $3.25M Data Breach Deal With 350K Members
Approximately 350,000 Progressive Casualty Insurance customers on Tuesday asked an Ohio federal judge to grant final approval to a $3.25 million settlement stemming from a data breach event that exposed their personal information, noting the resolution is a favorable outcome, given the risks to their claims if litigation continued.
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February 11, 2025
Monsanto Loses Attempt To Overturn $1.25M Roundup Award
A Missouri appellate court on Tuesday refused Monsanto's request to overturn a $1.25 million award to a man who claimed Roundup weed killer caused his cancer, leaning on reasoning from several other state and federal appeals courts that favored consumers over the company.
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February 11, 2025
Novo Nordisk Mostly Escapes Insulin Pen Contamination Suit
Novo Nordisk has, for now, beaten much of a Connecticut-based hospital's federal lawsuit seeking to hold it financially responsible for the $1 million settlement the hospital paid to patients potentially exposed to blood-borne infections after the medical staff used the pharma company's product.
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February 11, 2025
PFAS Litigation Finds A New Frontier: Consumer Products
Smartwatch wristbands, adhesive bandages, tampons and juice containers — what do they all have in common? In a growing trend, plaintiffs attorneys allege the products contain toxic forever chemicals and that manufacturers misled consumers about it.
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February 11, 2025
9th Circ. Doubts X Plaintiff Can Revive Phone Data Suit
A Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday questioned whether a lawsuit targeting social platform X could be revived and remanded to state court, with one judge suggesting circuit precedent established a privacy right that keeps the case in federal court, and another saying the lower court had "broad discretion" in deciding to dismiss the case.
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February 11, 2025
Monsanto PCB Appeal Seems To Divide Wash. High Court
Thorny choice-of-law issues seemingly divided the Washington State Supreme Court during oral arguments Tuesday, with one justice suggesting that the teachers who brought suit are relying on "forum-shopping" to reinstate a $185 million win against Monsanto, and another saying the company's stance violates state law intended to hold corporations accountable for harming citizens.
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February 11, 2025
FTC Says Small Stores Pay Southern Glazer's Up To 67% More
The Federal Trade Commission's price discrimination case against Southern Glazer's accuses the wine and spirits distributor of routinely charging small retailers up to 67% more for the same products as large chain stores, according to newly unsealed redactions.
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February 11, 2025
FTC Bureau Heads Include DOJ Alum With Big Tech Mandate
The Federal Trade Commission named its new competition and consumer protection bureau chiefs Monday, tapping for its top competition enforcer the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's civil conduct head, praised specifically for his "experience taking on Big Tech."
Expert Analysis
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Improving Comms Between Trial Attys And Tech Witnesses
In major litigation involving complex technology, attorneys should employ certain strategies to collaborate with companies' technical personnel more effectively to enhance both the attorney's understanding of the subject matter and the expert's ability to provide effective testimony in court, say attorneys at Buchalter.
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CFPB's Message To States Takes On New Weight Under Trump
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's January guidance to state enforcers has fresh significance as the Trump administration moves to freeze the bureau's work, and industry should expect states to use this series of recommendations as an enforcement road map, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.
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National Bank Act Rulings Facilitate More Preemption Analysis
Two recent National Bank Act preemption decisions from an Illinois federal court and the Ninth Circuit provide the first applications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s May ruling in Cantero v. Bank of America, opening the potential for several circuit courts to address the issue this year, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.
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Series
Collecting Rare Books Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My collection of rare books includes several written or owned by prominent lawyers from early U.S. history, and immersing myself in their stories helps me feel a deeper connection to my legal practice and its purpose, says Douglas Brown at Manatt Health.
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What NHTSA's Autonomous Vehicle Proposal Means For Cos.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's recently proposed framework for review and oversight of vehicles equipped with automated driving systems offers companies a more flexible, streamlined approach to regulatory approvals for AVs, including new exemption pathways, assessments by independent experts and other innovations, say attorneys at Covington.
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Tips For Pharma-Biotech Overlap Reporting In New HSR Form
While there’s no secret recipe for reporting overlaps to the Federal Trade Commission in the new Hart-Scott-Rodino Act form, there are several layers of considerations for all pharma-biotech companies and counsel to reflect on internally before reporting on any deal, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.
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Complying With Calif. Price-Gouging Law After LA Fires
The recent tragic Los Angeles fires have brought attention to the state's sometimes controversial price-gouging protections, and every California business should keep the law's requirements in mind, despite the debate over whether these statutes help consumers, say attorneys at Cooley.
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Opinion
Judge Should Not Have Been Reprimanded For Alito Essay
Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor's New York Times essay critiquing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for potential ethical violations absolutely cannot be construed as conduct prejudicial to the administration of the business of the courts, says Ashley London at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.
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Aviation Watch: Litigation Liabilities After DC Air Tragedy
While it will likely take at least a year before the National Transportation Safety Board determines a probable cause for the Jan. 29 collision between a helicopter and a jet over Washington, D.C., the facts so far suggest the government could face litigation claims, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.
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How Cos. Can Use Data Clean Rooms To Address Privacy
Implementing comprehensive administrative controls, security processes and vendor management systems are vital steps for businesses leveraging data clean rooms for privacy compliance, especially given the Federal Trade Commission's warnings of complicated user privacy implications, say attorneys at Troutman.
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Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example
Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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SEC Motion Response Could Reveal New Crypto Approach
Cumberland DRW recently filed to dismiss the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement action against it for the unlawful purchase and sale of digital asset securities, and the agency's response should unveil whether, and to what extent, the Trump administration will relax the federal government’s stance on digital asset regulation, say attorneys at O'Melveny.
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A Compliance Update For Credit Card Reward Partnerships
While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's interest in credit card rewards programs could fade under the new administration, a recent circular focusing on both issuers and their merchant partners means that co-brand credit card partnerships with banks could be subject to increased scrutiny ahead, say attorneys at Goodwin.
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Perspectives
Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines
KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.
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How FTC Consumer Protection May Fare Under Reg Freeze
Attorneys at Crowell & Moring consider how President Donald Trump's executive order directing agencies to freeze all pending rulemaking activity may frustrate any Federal Trade Commission efforts to change or eliminate rules that made it across the finish line before the inauguration.