Consumer Protection

  • February 19, 2026

    'Think Carefully': Judge Wary Of Notice Tactic In Google Deal

    A California federal judge indicated on Thursday that he will grant preliminary approval to Google's $8.25 million settlement to resolve putative class allegations that Google surreptitiously tracked children online for advertising, while urging counsel to "think carefully" about using behavioral tracking in future settlements to post advertisements notifying class members.

  • February 19, 2026

    Electronics Cos. Fight 'Heavy-Handed' Next-Gen TV Mandate

    As the Federal Communications Commission looks to coax the broadcast industry into adopting next-generation TV on a wider scale, a key electronics industry group has re-upped concerns that officials might move too fast.

  • February 19, 2026

    Nev. Wants Latest Kalshi Betting Case Waged In State Court

    Nevada's efforts to shutter Kalshi's sports event contracts are mired in an early procedural snag as the prediction market angles to litigate in federal court, while the Silver State pushes to keep the dispute within its own judicial system.

  • February 19, 2026

    CIT Orders Reconsideration Of Fujifilm Co.'s Industry Status

    The U.S. International Trade Commission must redo its determination that a U.S. subsidiary of Fujifilm qualifies as a domestic producer for purposes of finding domestic industry has been harmed by imports from Japan and China, the U.S. Court of International Trade said.

  • February 19, 2026

    Ga. Appeals Court Weighs Kratom Seller's Liability

    A Georgia appellate court on Thursday gave little indication on whether it would reverse a trial court's grant of summary judgment to a kratom distributor whose customer died after consuming one of its products.

  • February 19, 2026

    'Sealed Container' Defense Sinks Exploding Battery Suit

    A North Carolina appeals panel won't revive a man's suit against a retailer and distributor alleging he was sold a defective lithium-ion battery that exploded in his pocket, saying all his claims are blocked by the sealed container defense.

  • February 19, 2026

    BakerHostetler Adds Contaminants Pro From DLA Piper

    BakerHostetler announced on Thursday that it has brought a San Francisco-based attorney from DLA Piper onto its product liability and toxic tort and environmental teams, calling him "one of the country's leading emerging contaminants litigators."

  • February 18, 2026

    Genetic Testing Co.'s Acquisition Draws Privacy Suit

    Healthcare technology company Tempus AI illegally compelled a genetic testing company to disclose its "massive trove" of genetic data through acquisition and then further disclosed affected individuals' private data to other companies without consent, an Illinois mother told a federal court.

  • February 18, 2026

    Smith & Wesson Gets Suit Over Tracking Cookies Pared Down

    A California federal judge has cut state wiretap law and several other claims from a proposed class action accusing Smith & Wesson of illegally gathering browsing data from website visitors who rejected the use of tracking cookies, while preserving allegations that the firearm manufacturer facilitated third parties' privacy intrusions.

  • February 18, 2026

    Birkin Bag Fans Appeal Hermès' 'Predetermined' Antitrust Win

    Shoppers urged the Ninth Circuit Wednesday to revive their proposed class action accusing Hermès of illegally tying the sale of its iconic Birkin handbags to other expensive luxury items, arguing that the lower court erroneously "predetermined" the outcome of their case even before they filed their latest complaint.

  • February 18, 2026

    Zuckerberg Testifies That Social Media Doesn't Harm Teens

    Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand Wednesday in a landmark California bellwether trial on claims his company and Google's YouTube harm children's mental health, saying the current scientific literature shows no causal link between social media and teens' mental health.

  • February 18, 2026

    Trans Health Org Sues To End 'Unconstitutional' FTC Inquiry

    The World Professional Association for Transgender Health on Wednesday sued over the Federal Trade Commission's recent consumer protection investigation into the major transgender medical group, claiming the probe is an unconstitutional attack aimed at undermining access to gender-affirming care.

  • February 18, 2026

    Duke Energy's $17M Fuel Cost Recovery Improper, Panel Says

    The North Carolina Utilities Commission was wrong to let Duke Energy recover over $17 million in fuel costs two years after they were incurred, a North Carolina appeals court panel ruled Wednesday, finding that a statute permits utilities to recover only the fuel costs incurred during a one-year "lookback period."

  • February 18, 2026

    Education Dept. Faces Suit Alleging Double Loan Reporting

    The U.S. Department of Education has been causing student loan balances to appear doubled on borrowers' credit reports, a New York resident alleged in a proposed class action filed Wednesday in New York federal court, saying her $150,000 total loan balance was reported at $300,000.

  • February 18, 2026

    Blue Shield Of Calif. Says 'Ghost Network' Action Falls Flat

    Trouble finding a mental health care therapist is unfortunate but not something that an entire class action can be based on, argued Blue Shield of California, urging a federal judge to dismiss a suit accusing the company of maintaining a "ghost network" directory of providers who don't exist or don't accept new patients.

  • February 18, 2026

    Halfday's 'Gut Healthy' Teas Aren't That Gut Healthy, Suit Says

    Halfday was hit with a proposed class action in New York federal court on Tuesday, alleging it deceptively advertises its iced teas as having "prebiotic benefits" despite the fact that they only contain six grams of soluble fiber, which is unlikely to have any meaningful effect on consumers' gut health.

  • February 18, 2026

    Robinhood Clears Fla. AG Probe Of Crypto Platform Marketing

    Robinhood Markets Inc. told investors on Wednesday that Florida's attorney general has closed an investigation into the marketing practices of its crypto trading arm, ending a probe that had scrutinized whether the company misled customers about trading costs.

  • February 18, 2026

    Government Drops Case Over Referrals-For-Kickback Scheme

    A Texas federal judge tossed an indictment accusing about a dozen physicians and pharmacists of running a sprawling patient referral scheme, ending allegations that the pharmacists gave the doctors kickbacks in exchange for expensive prescriptions fillable at specific pharmacies.

  • February 18, 2026

    Live Nation Antitrust Claims Heading To Trial

    A New York federal judge on Wednesday refused a bid from Live Nation Entertainment Inc. to avoid a looming trial in a case from the U.S. Department of Justice and state enforcers accusing it of monopolizing the live entertainment industry.

  • February 18, 2026

    Live Nation Can't Exit Suit Over Fatal Music Festival Shooting

    A lawsuit against Live Nation over two concertgoers' deaths in a 2023 shooting at the Beyond Wonderland music festival will move forward following a Washington state judge's rejection of the entertainment giant's argument that the event was unforeseeable.

  • February 18, 2026

    BofA Military Interest Cap Suit Should Be Tossed, Judge Says

    A North Carolina federal judge has recommended tossing a proposed class action accusing Bank of America of violating an interest cap law for military service members, saying the veteran plaintiffs have failed to allege any actual violations of federal or state law.

  • February 18, 2026

    Trump Admin Doubles Down At DC Circ. In Fight Over CFPB

    The Trump administration has pressed the D.C. Circuit to lift an injunction barring mass layoffs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, slamming it as a "sweeping intrusion" on agency management that rests on incorrect speculation about what the end goal is.

  • February 18, 2026

    Reddit Must Face Privacy Suit Over LiveRamp Tracker

    Reddit lost its bid to nix a proposed class action alleging the social media platform violated a California privacy statute by placing a LiveRamp tracker on its website to gather visitor information for targeted advertising, after a federal judge ruled Tuesday that the tracker is plausibly a "pen register" under state law.

  • February 18, 2026

    DOJ Allowed To Dictate Pay, Term Of Google Search Watchers

    A D.C. federal judge sided with the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday regarding the key terms of service for the five-member technical committee tasked with observing Google's compliance with mandates to prop up rival search engines with search results and data.

  • February 18, 2026

    FCC Pulls 'Zombies' Named By Inspector General Off Lifeline

    The Federal Communications Commission's chief said Wednesday that people wrongly enrolled in Lifeline as identified by the FCC inspector general have been removed from the telecom subsidy program, amid the FCC floating reforms to tamp down fraud.

Expert Analysis

  • Rule Amendments Pave Path For A Privilege Claim 'Offensive'

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    Litigators should consider leveraging forthcoming amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which will require early negotiations of privilege-related discovery claims, by taking an offensive posture toward privilege logs at the outset of discovery, says David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law.

  • Series

    My Miniature Livestock Farm Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Raising miniature livestock on my farm, where I am fully present with the animals, is an almost meditative time that allows me to return to work invigorated, ready to juggle numerous responsibilities and motivated to tackle hard issues in new ways, says Ted Kobus at BakerHostetler.

  • 4chan's US Lawsuit May Affect UK Online Safety Law Reach

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    4chan and Kiwi Farms’ pending case against the Office of Communications in a D.C. federal court, arguing that their constitutional rights have been violated, could have far-reaching implications for the extraterritorial enforcement of the U.K. Online Safety Act and other laws if successful, say lawyers at Taylor Wessing.

  • Litigation Funding Could Create Ethics Issues For Attorneys

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    A litigation investor’s recent complaint claiming a New York mass torts lawyer effectively ran a Ponzi scheme illustrates how litigation funding arrangements can subject attorneys to legal ethics dilemmas and potential liability, so engagement letters must have very clear terms, says Matthew Feinberg at Goldberg Segalla.

  • UK Tribunal's Clearview Decision Expands GDPR Application

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    The Upper Tribunal’s recent decision in Information Commissioner v. Clearview AI is an important ruling on the extraterritorial reach of the European Union and U.K. General Data Protection Regulations, broadening behavioral monitoring to include not only activity by the company, but also its client, says Edward Machin at Ropes & Gray.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: November Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five recent rulings and identifies practice tips from cases involving claims related to oil and gas royalty payments, consumer fraud, life insurance, automobile insurance, and securities violations.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Dynamic Databases

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    Several recent federal court decisions illustrate how parties continue to grapple with the discovery of data in dynamic databases, so counsel involved in these disputes must consider how structured data should be produced consistent with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Assessing The SEC's Changing Approach To NFT Regulation

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    Early U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission actions on nonfungible tokens pushed for broad regulation, but subsequent court decisions — including a recent California federal court ruling in Adonis Real v. Yuga Labs — and SEC commissioners' statements have narrowed the regulatory focus toward a more fact-specific approach, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.

  • Where Crypto Mixing Enforcement Is Headed From Here

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    Recent developments involving crypto mixers, particularly the Tornado Cash verdict, demonstrate that the Justice Department's shift away from regulation by prosecution does not mean total immunity, rather reflecting an approach that prioritizes both innovation and accountability, says David Tarras at Tarras Defense.

  • The Legal Issues With AI Agents In Consumer Transactions

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    Enabling artificial intelligence agents to handle not just research and recommendations, but the execution of purchases themselves, fundamentally alters commercial relationships and introduces new practical and legal questions for card issuers, merchants, acquirers and consumers, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Wash. Email Subject Line Ruling Puts Retailers On The Hook

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    The Washington state Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Old Navy, finding that a state law prohibits misleading email subject lines, has opened the door to nationwide copycat litigation, introducing potential exposure measured not in thousands, but in millions or even billions of dollars for retailers, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • How Nasdaq, SEC Proposals May Transform Listing Standards

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    Both Nasdaq and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have increasingly focused their recent regulatory efforts on small and foreign issuers, particularly those from China, reflecting an intention to strengthen the overall quality of companies accessing U.S. markets, but also potentially introducing a chilling effect on certain issuers, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • New NCAA Betting Policy Fits Trend Of Eased Restrictions

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    Allowing NCAA student-athletes to bet on professional sports fits into a decade-long trend of treating college athletes more like adults in a commercial system, but decreasing player restrictions translates to increased compliance burdens for schools, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

  • Series

    Building With Lego Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Building with Lego has taught me to follow directions and adapt to unexpected challenges, and in pairing discipline with imagination, allows me to stay grounded while finding new ways to make complex deals come together, says Paul Levin at Venable.

  • How Banks Can Safely Handle Payments For Gambling Biz

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    As the betting market continues to expand, it's crucial for banks and fintechs to track historical developments in wagering and ongoing prediction markets litigation that can factor into a risk analysis for payment processing with respect to gambling operators, says Laura D'Angelo at Jones Walker.

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