Consumer Protection

  • May 31, 2024

    9th Circ. Says LA's COVID-19 Eviction Ban Was No Taking

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday declined to reinstate a Los Angeles landlord's $100 million suit challenging the city's pandemic-era eviction ban, finding it didn't constitute a physical taking since the landlord "voluntarily opened" his property to tenants, and that loss of rental income itself doesn't establish a governmental taking.

  • May 31, 2024

    Haleon Sued Over 'Natural Flavors' Emergen-C Labels

    Pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Holdings, now Haleon PLC, was hit with a proposed class action in California federal court by two consumers who allege the company falsely labels its vitamin C drink mix as containing natural flavors even though its made with artificial ingredients.

  • May 31, 2024

    DOJ Slams Apple's Planned Bid To Dismiss Antitrust Suit

    The U.S. Justice Department has hit back against Apple's proposed bid to exit the department's antitrust suit claiming that the company is monopolizing the smartphone market, arguing that the technology giant ignores "well-pleaded facts" and misinterprets the law.

  • May 31, 2024

    DOJ's Ad Tech Case May Go To Judge, Not Jury, After All

    A Justice Department lawyer told a Virginia federal judge Friday the government is "perfectly happy" to have a bench trial accusing Google of monopolizing key digital advertising technology after the judge signaled the search giant may have short-circuited the government's original and unusual bid for a jury trial.

  • May 31, 2024

    Colo. Justices Agree To Weigh In On Blackstone Lease Row

    Colorado's high court agreed Wednesday to answer two key questions in a putative class action against Blackstone subsidiaries, after a federal judge said tenants' claims alleging the companies' lease agreements violate state law present novel legal issues with little case law to provide guidance.

  • May 31, 2024

    As Broadband Subsidy Ends, Biden Pushes For Renewal

    The White House pressured Congress on Friday to allocate new funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program as the subsidy officially shut down, cutting off a broadband discount to millions of low-income households.

  • May 31, 2024

    Former Miami City Atty Must Face Real Estate Fraud Suit

    A former Miami city attorney can't escape a lawsuit that alleges she aided her husband in a real estate fraud scheme after a Florida state appeals court found the complaint had sufficient allegations to survive her sovereign immunity assertions.

  • May 31, 2024

    Fight Between Trustee, Law Firm May Mean Less For Creditors

    In the bankruptcy of collapsed California debt relief law firm Litigation Practice Group, a new law firm confirmed this week that it's not making payments to the bankruptcy estate, a situation that may limit a bankruptcy trustee's ability to make payments to creditors across the country.

  • May 31, 2024

    Judge Rejects Home Service Workers' Class Cert. Redo Bid

    A Colorado federal judge once again refused to fully certify a putative class of home service professionals who accused HomeAdvisor Inc. and other parties of running a scheme where poor quality customer leads were generated and sold to home service professionals.

  • May 31, 2024

    Texas Judge Opts Not To Recuse And Tosses Chamber Suit

    A Texas federal judge has thrown out the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's suit seeking to block the Federal Trade Commission from implementing a ban on noncompete clauses because a different plaintiff was first to file, adding he declined to recuse himself because no companies in his stock portfolio were parties in the case.

  • May 31, 2024

    CFPB Sues PHEAA For Discharged Student Loan Collections

    For the second time in a month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed an enforcement action against the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, a major student loan servicer, this time suing it in Pennsylvania federal court for allegedly pursuing unlawful collections on loans discharged in bankruptcy.

  • May 30, 2024

    FTC, SEC Urged To Probe UnitedHealth's 'Negligent' Security

    The chair of the U.S. Senate finance committee on Thursday pressed the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to hold UnitedHealth Group and its top executives liable for "numerous" cybersecurity failings that fueled a debilitating cyberattack on its Change Healthcare unit. 

  • May 30, 2024

    CFPB To Probe 'Junk Fees' In Mortgage Closing Costs

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Thursday that it will scrutinize how "junk fees" may be making it more expensive to purchase a home, kicking off a broad inquiry that could presage a crackdown on rising mortgage closing costs.

  • May 30, 2024

    Gov't Broadband Rules Must Not Deter Providers, NTIA Told

    Small to medium-size internet providers could shy away from the federal government's massive broadband expansion program if rules requiring low-cost internet service end up being too heavy-handed, industry groups told the U.S. Department of Commerce.

  • May 30, 2024

    Healthcare Data Co. Says Blocked Access Could Kill Patients

    A healthcare data company asked a Maryland federal court on Thursday to stop a rival from blocking access to nursing home patient records it said are needed to identify potential complications that could lead to hospitalization or death.

  • May 30, 2024

    Ex-FTX Auditor Must Face SEC's Independence Rules Suit

    The former auditor of Sam Bankman-Fried's defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX must face the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's claims it violated auditor independence rules while collecting $3 million in fees from clients, a Florida federal judge has ruled, finding the agency's allegations establish severe recklessness.

  • May 30, 2024

    Only One Landlord Allowed To Duck DC RealPage Suit

    One of several landlords that stands accused by the District of Columbia of using property management platform RealPage to fix the price of rentals has managed to convince a D.C. Superior Court judge to kibosh the claims against the real estate investment trust permanently.

  • May 30, 2024

    Okla. Tribes Say Bills Won't Deter Poultry Biz From Polluting

    The Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes says two bills working their way through the Oklahoma Legislature don't go far enough to deter the poultry industry from polluting and threaten to undo decades of progress toward improving water quality.

  • May 30, 2024

    FCC Lifts Freeze On TV Stations Changing Channels

    Class A and low-power television stations will now be able to change the channel with the Federal Communications Commission's blessing, something the agency has announced it is willing to give under the right circumstances for the first time in 14 years.

  • May 30, 2024

    La-Z-Boy Hit With Suit Over Misleading Furniture Pricing

    Furniture manufacturer La-Z-Boy Inc. was accused on Thursday in California federal court of falsely advertising the prices of home furnishings sold by its subsidiary. 

  • May 30, 2024

    FAA Caps 737 Max Production Amid Boeing Safety Plan Fixes

    The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday it will continue to limit Boeing's production of 737 Max jets as the company presses ahead with overhauling its safety culture under an FAA-mandated corrective action plan following January's midair blowout aboard an Alaska Airlines flight.

  • May 30, 2024

    Travelers Loses Dismissal Bid In BIPA Coverage Dispute

    A New York federal judge declined to trim a software company's lawsuit seeking coverage from a Travelers unit for underlying claims that the company violated the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act, finding the company's declaratory relief and bad faith claims were not duplicative of a breach of contract claim.

  • May 30, 2024

    Ill. Made 'Big Concession' In 3M PFAS Suit, 7th Circ. Judge Says

    A Seventh Circuit judge observed Thursday that the state of Illinois made a "big concession" in its suit accusing 3M of polluting local waters with toxic "forever chemicals" when the state said 3M could avoid liability if Illinois can't prove contamination came exclusively from a particular facility.

  • May 30, 2024

    ACLU Says Aon Hiring Tools Discriminate On Race, Disability

    The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation said Thursday it has filed a complaint against Aon Consulting Inc. with the Federal Trade Commission alleging it is using deceptive marketing tactics to push hiring technology that the company claims is bias free in contradiction of research showing otherwise.

  • May 30, 2024

    Divided FTC Won't Delay Kroger-Albertsons In-House Case

    The Federal Trade Commission's three Democrats refused Wednesday to delay the agency in-house challenge to Kroger's $24.6 billion purchase of Albertsons, blaming the grocery giants for their scheduling challenges and drawing a sharp dissent from the FTC's two Republicans.

Expert Analysis

  • Is The Digital Accessibility Storm Almost Over?

    Author Photo

    Though private businesses have faced a decadelong deluge of digital accessibility complaints in the absence of clear regulations or uniformity among the courts, attorneys at Epstein Becker address how recent federal courts’ pushback against serial Americans with Disabilities Act plaintiffs and the U.S. Department of Justice’s proposed government accessibility standards may presage a break in the downpour.

  • PE In The Crosshairs Of Public And Private Antitrust Enforcers

    Author Photo

    A series of decisions from a California federal court in the recently settled Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, as well as heightened scrutiny from federal agencies, serve as a reminder that private equity firms may be exposed to liability for alleged anti-competitive conduct by their portfolio companies, say attorneys at Axinn.

  • Series

    Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.

  • Key Priorities In FDIC Report On Resolving Big Bank Failures

    Author Photo

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s report last month on the resolvability of large financial institutions contains little new information, but it does reiterate key policy priorities, including the agency's desire to enhance loss-absorbing capacity through long-term debt requirements and preference for single-point-of-entry resolution strategies, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Microplastics At The Crossroads Of Regulation And Litigation

    Author Photo

    Though there are currently not many federal regulations specifically addressing microplastics as pollutants, regulatory scrutiny and lawsuits asserting consumer protection claims are both on the rise, and manufacturers should take proactive steps to implement preventive measures accordingly, say Aliza Karetnick and Franco Corrado at Morgan Lewis.

  • New Federal Bill Would Drastically Alter Privacy Landscape

    Author Photo

    While the recently introduced American Privacy Rights Act would eliminate the burdensome patchwork of state regulations, the proposed federal privacy law would also significantly expand compliance obligations and liability exposure for companies, especially those that rely on artificial intelligence or biometric technologies, says David Oberly at Baker Donelson.

  • Opinion

    CFPB Could, And Should, Revise Open Banking Rulemaking

    Author Photo

    In light of continued global developments in open banking, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should evaluate whether it actually should use its proposed rule on Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act to amplify personal financial data rights in the U.S., says Brian Fritzsche at the Consumer Bankers Association.

  • FDIC Bank Disclosure Rules Raise Important Questions

    Author Photo

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new rules mandating disclosures for nonbanks offering deposit products leave traditional financial institutions in a no-man's land between fintech-oriented requirements and the reality of personal service demanded by customers, say Paul Clark and Casey Jennings at Seward & Kissel.

  • Setting Goals For Kicking Corruption Off FIFA World Cup Field

    Author Photo

    The unprecedented tri-country nature of the 2026 men's World Cup will add to the complexity of an already complicated event, but best practices can help businesses stay on the right side of anti-corruption rules during this historic competition, say Sandra Moser and ​​​​​​​Emily Ahdieh at Morgan Lewis.

  • Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert

    Author Photo

    As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

  • Takeaways From FDIC's Spring Supervisory Highlights

    Author Photo

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s spring 2024 consumer compliance supervisory report found that relatively few institutions had significant consumer compliance issues last year, but the common thread among those that did were inadequacies or failures in disclosures to consumers, says Matthew Hanaghan at Nutter.

  • Online Portal Helps Fortify Feds' Unfair Health Practices Fight

    Author Photo

    The Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently launched an online portal where the public can report potentially unfair healthcare practices, effectively maximizing enforcers' abilities to police anti-competitive actions that can drive up healthcare costs and chill innovation, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Series

    Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

  • Key Issues Raised By Colorado's Brain Data Privacy Bill

    Author Photo

    Colorado recently became the first state to provide consumer privacy protections for data generated from a person's brain waves, and despite the bill’s ambiguity and open questions introduced, the new law has helped turn the spotlight on neurodata, says Sara Pullen Guercio at Alston & Bird.

  • Birkin Bag Case Carries Competition Lessons For Retailers

    Author Photo

    A recently proposed antitrust class action alleging that Hermès violated federal and California law when selling its iconic Birkin and Kelly handbags highlights some issues that other brands and retailers should consider, particularly given a prevailing landscape that seems to prioritize antitrust scrutiny, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Consumer Protection archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!