Consumer Protection

  • December 06, 2024

    Senate OKs Bill To Ease SEC Reporting Regs On Rural Telcos

    The Senate has unanimously passed a bipartisan bill to expand access to broadband in rural areas by reducing the "red tape" on smaller broadband providers.

  • December 06, 2024

    Evenflo Nears Settlement In Booster Seat MDL

    Baby product maker Evenflo said Friday that it has reached an agreement in principle to settle multidistrict litigation alleging it made deceptive statements about the safety of its Big Kid booster seats.

  • December 06, 2024

    Philips Medical Monitoring Deal, $4.8M Fees Get Final OK

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday gave the final OK on a $25 million settlement in medical monitoring claims in multidistrict litigation stemming from a recall of ventilator machines by Koninklijke Philips NV and American subsidiaries.

  • December 06, 2024

    Cancer Claimant Amici Slam Bestwall's Two-Step Ch. 11

    Georgia-Pacific unit Bestwall's bid to handle asbestos liability using a controversial "Texas Two-Step" Chapter 11 case is "grotesquely inequitable" and "plainly at odds" with the tenets of bankruptcy, a group of injury claimants in separate insolvency proceedings said in a brief urging the Fourth Circuit to toss the case.

  • December 06, 2024

    Conn. Panel Pares $150M From $1.44B Alex Jones Verdict

    The Connecticut Appellate Court on Friday sliced $150 million from a $1.44 billion trial court judgment against Infowars host Alex Jones over his claims that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax, holding the state's consumer protection laws did not allow the massacre's survivors to recover for alleged harms connected to Jones' ancillary product sales.

  • December 06, 2024

    DC Circ. Upholds TikTok Sale-Or-Ban Law

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday upheld a federal law giving TikTok until January to cut ties with its Chinese parent company or face a ban in the U.S., ruling that the statute survives constitutional scrutiny.

  • December 05, 2024

    Dunkin' Fruit-Named Drinks Have No Fruit, False Ad Suit Says

    Dunkin' falsely markets its "Refresher" line of caffeinated beverages with names of specific fruits despite not containing any of the fruits, cheating consumers out of the "premium" fruit ingredients and their health benefits, alleges a new proposed false advertising class action filed Wednesday in New York federal court.

  • December 05, 2024

    Trump Taps Musk Ally David Sacks As 'AI & Crypto Czar'

    President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has selected David O. Sacks, a tech investor who worked alongside Elon Musk and entrepreneur Peter Thiel in the early days of PayPal, to be the newly created "White House AI & Crypto Czar."

  • December 05, 2024

    Texas Lt. Gov. Wants Ban On Hemp-Derived THC Products

    Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has unveiled legislation that looks to ban all forms of consumable THC, including hemp products that "might include unremovable, nonintoxicating trace amounts of delta-9 THC."

  • December 05, 2024

    Rocket Mortgage Sues HUD, Hits Back At DOJ Race Bias Suit

    Rocket Mortgage, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, has punched back against housing discrimination claims brought by the U.S. government, countersuing in Colorado federal court to challenge what it argues are "conflicting and irreconcilable" mandates at play.

  • December 05, 2024

    CFTC Flags AI Compliance Obligations In New Advisory

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday issued a staff advisory outlining its registrants' compliance obligations under the Commodity Exchange Act regarding the myriad of ways they may be using artificial intelligence, with the agency's chair painting the guidance as a first step ahead of potential policies.

  • December 05, 2024

    Apple To Appeal Epic's Atty-Client Privilege Challenge Win

    Apple and Epic Games told a California federal judge Thursday that they've agreed on a protocol for a special master to re-review 57,000 documents that Apple claims are attorney-client privileged in their antitrust fight, while Apple added that it plans to appeal his finding that its privilege assertions over a sample were overbroad.

  • December 05, 2024

    Apple Beats ICloud Storage Consumer Claims At 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit was unconvinced Wednesday that Apple Inc. traps computer users into paying for additional iCloud storage upon reaching a 5-gigabyte backup limit, declining to revive a putative consumer class action against the technology giant.

  • December 05, 2024

    Freddie Mac Beats Suit Over Payoff Statement Fees, For Now

    A Washington federal judge has tentatively let Freddie Mac off the hook in borrowers' proposed class action alleging loan servicer Nationstar Mortgage illegally charged fees for payoff statements, ruling Thursday that Freddie Mac can't be liable for conduct it didn't authorize — even if it did own one loan at issue.

  • December 05, 2024

    SEC Says Binance's Platform Is 'Integral' To Securities Claims

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a Washington, D.C., federal judge that crypto exchange Binance can't escape amended claims that it failed to register with the securities regulator because the platform is "integral" to crypto issuers' alleged promises to increase the value of their tokens.

  • December 05, 2024

    Gov't Efficiency Push Is A 'New Day,' House Speaker Says

    House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke excitedly Thursday about the new government efficiency operation helmed by billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and touted the budding bipartisan lineup of a congressional caucus that will work with it.

  • December 05, 2024

    Amazon Says Section 230 Shields Against Casino App Suit

    Amazon said Wednesday a federal judge should toss a proposed class action accusing the e-commerce giant of promoting and selling "social casino" apps that enable illegal gambling, arguing the company is immune under a federal law regulating internet content because it did not create the games.

  • December 05, 2024

    Yardi Must Face Rent-Fixing Suit With Tough Standard

    A Washington federal court has refused to dismiss an antitrust case accusing multifamily building owners of conspiring to use Yardi's revenue management software to inflate rental prices and found the claims should be treated as classic price-fixing allegations.

  • December 05, 2024

    First Citizens Accused Of $3M High-Yield Bait-And-Switch

    First Citizens Bank & Trust Company faces claims from an agritourism nonprofit and its registered agent that they invested $3 million with the bank expecting a competitive rate of return before finding those funds were actually in products yielding a much lower interest rate.

  • December 05, 2024

    Pain Management Clinic Fined $1.19 Million for HIPAA Breach

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has fined a Florida pain management clinic $1.19 million for alleged HIPAA violations involving a former contractor that impermissibly accessed the clinic's electronic record system.

  • December 05, 2024

    Tesla Can't 'Pretend' Dismissal Was Stay Order, 9th Circ. Says

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday doubted Tesla's arguments that a California federal court had jurisdictional authority to enforce its arbitration win against an ex-Tesla engineer's defamation claims, with one judge noting that Tesla asked to dismiss the engineer's case and it can't now "pretend" the dismissal was a stay order.

  • December 05, 2024

    Charter Settles For $1.1M After FCC Emergency Alert Probe

    Charter has agreed to pay $1.1 million to end an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission into whether the cable giant failed to properly keep emergency alert devices online during an FCC test of the system last fall.

  • December 05, 2024

    Audible's Expiring Membership Credits Illegal, Consumer Says

    Audible Inc. is the target of a proposed class action accusing the audiobook retailer of selling credits that expire after one year, in violation of Washington consumer law.

  • December 05, 2024

    Carriers Must Shield Networks From Attacks, FCC Chair Says

    The head of the Federal Communications Commission called Thursday for "urgent action" from U.S. telecom carriers to protect their networks in the wake of the recent Salt Typhoon cyberattack, and said the agency could soon rule that telecoms are affirmatively required under law to try to prevent such intrusions.

  • December 05, 2024

    Barclays GC To Join A&O Shearman Cyber Team

    A&O Shearman has tapped the current general counsel for Barclays Execution Services to co-head its global cybersecurity team, the firm announced Thursday, with the lawyer set to make the jump early next year.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    In Visa Case, DOJ Continues To Misapply The Sherman Act

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    The recent U.S. Department of Justice debit market monopolization case against Visa fuels concerns that a misguided Biden administration DOJ is inappropriately expanding its interpretation of the Sherman Antitrust Act beyond the demonstrable economic effects that business conduct has on consumers, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • Call For Input Shows How Banks, Fintechs Can Address Risks

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    A recent request for information by federal banking regulators suggests that watchdogs are zeroing in on the bank-fintech partnerships they have long perceived as risky to consumers, but analyzing the publication can help companies anticipate regulators’ chief concerns and take steps to avoid becoming enforcement targets, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Curious Case Of FTC's Amicus Brief In Teva Fed. Circ. Appeal

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    Attorneys at BCLP explore the Federal Trade Commission's backing of Amneal's Orange Book-delisting efforts on Teva ahead of a key Federal Circuit hearing in a case between the two pharmaceutical companies, and wonder if the FTC amicus brief indicates a future trend, especially in the next administration.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

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    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How New OCC Priorities Will Affect Bank Compliance

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    With the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently releasing a new bank supervision plan for fiscal year 2025, all banks, not only those primarily supervised by the OCC, should consider how compliance with its guidelines creates opportunities and challenges, says Andrew Karp at Cadwalader.

  • Comparing Antitrust Outlooks Amid Google Remedy Review

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    As the U.S. Justice Department mulls potential structural remedies after winning its recent case against Google, increased global scrutiny of Big Tech leaves ex post and ex ante antitrust approaches ripe for evaluation, say Nishant Chadha at the Indian School of Business and Manisha Goel at Pomona College.

  • Website Accessibility Ruling Leaves Circuit Split Unresolved

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    A New York federal court's recent decision in Mejia v. High Brew Coffee, holding that stand-alone websites are not "public accommodations" subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, further complicates a long-running circuit split on this question — even as courts are burdened with thousands of similar lawsuits, say attorneys at Mandelbaum Barrett.

  • What FTC's 'Bitcoin ATM' Report Tells Us About Crypto Scams

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent insights into bitcoin ATM scams highlight the technical evolution of fraudsters, the application of old scams to new technology, and the persistent financial impact on victims, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • A Look At Grewal's Record-Breaking Legacy After SEC Exit

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    Gurbir Grewal resigned as director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement last month after more than three years on the job, leaving behind a legacy marked by record numbers of penalties and enforcement actions, as well as mixed results in aggressive lawsuits against major crypto players, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being

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    As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.

  • Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes

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    Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.

  • A Look At The Increased Scrutiny Of Cash Sweep Programs

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    Financial industry regulators have increasingly probed the adequacy of so-called cash sweep disclosures and policies, underscoring the heightened risk faced by investment advisers and broker-dealers, as well as the importance of adequately disclosing material conflicts of interest, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Series

    Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

  • Election Outcome Could Reshape Financial Industry

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    The policies of the next presidential administration and Congress will shape the landscape of financial services in the U.S. — including banking, mortgage, investment and credit services — for years to come, affecting Wall Street investors and aspiring homeowners alike, say Alexander Hecht and Frank Guinta at Mintz.

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