Consumer Protection

  • January 22, 2026

    Meta Fights Late Data Request In Instagram Addiction Suit

    Meta Platforms has told a judge that Massachusetts' attorney general should not be allowed to fill what the company said are holes in the state's Instagram addiction lawsuit with a late subpoena for records from two of its own health agencies.

  • January 22, 2026

    Drugmakers May Dodge Disgorgement In States' Antitrust Suit

    A Connecticut federal judge probed the limits of his equitable powers Thursday in a sprawling generic drug antitrust enforcement action, expressing doubt that he could order the drugmaker defendants to hand over their profits while also awarding multiplied damages and imposing civil penalties.

  • January 22, 2026

    FTC Cites 'Serious Concerns' With Epic-Google Play Deal

    A settlement resolving Epic Games' antitrust lawsuit against Google that would replace the injunction Epic won against Google's Play Store controls has drawn pushback from the Federal Trade Commission, which is urging strict scrutiny of the agreement currently under the eye of an already skeptical California federal judge.

  • January 22, 2026

    Google Can't Duck Case Over Paid Search, Privacy Claims

    A California federal court has refused to toss a proposed consumer class action alleging Google's default search agreements block competition from rival search engines that could provide more privacy or even pay users to search.

  • January 22, 2026

    Ga. Financial Firm CEO Cops To $380M Ponzi Scheme

    The CEO of an Atlanta-area financial advisory group has pled guilty to conducting a $380 million Ponzi scheme, which is likely the largest in Georgia history, according to prosecutors.

  • January 22, 2026

    Md. Judge Keeps Ship Manager Liability Shield Bid Alive

    A Maryland federal judge Thursday allowed the manager of the container ship that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge to press ahead, for now, with its request to invoke a nearly two-centuries-old maritime law to limit its liability for the 2024 wreck.

  • January 22, 2026

    T-Mobile Aims To Freeze Rate Action For Arbitration

    T-Mobile USA Inc. is asking a Washington federal judge to compel individual arbitration and stay a proposed class action over alleged wireless plan price hikes, arguing that customers agreed to arbitrate billing disputes and waive class claims.

  • January 22, 2026

    AGs Target Investor Advocacy Group As 'Climate Cartel'

    A group of state attorneys general led by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a warning letter Wednesday to climate advocacy organization Ceres claiming concerns about violations of antitrust and consumer protection laws.

  • January 22, 2026

    Marketers Who Sold Fraudulent StraightPath Funds Plead Out

    Two New York men who hawked pre-initial public offering shares for fraud-ridden vendor StraightPath from "boiler room" sales floors pled guilty Thursday to fraud charges, after Manhattan federal prosecutors charged them with raising $185 million by duping customers.

  • January 21, 2026

    Holmes Seeks Trump Clemency For Theranos Fraud Sentence

    Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has asked President Donald Trump to commute an 11-year prison sentence she's been serving for defrauding investors with bogus blood-testing technology, according to the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney.

  • January 21, 2026

    Senate Agriculture Unveils Crypto Bill Without Dem Backing

    The chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee released the text of a proposal to expand the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's authority over crypto Wednesday evening, despite failing to reach a bipartisan agreement on the text ahead of a markup slated for next week.

  • January 21, 2026

    CVS, UnitedHealth, Express Scripts Duck PBM Antitrust Suit

    A Missouri federal judge has thrown out a proposed class action accusing the country's three largest pharmacy benefit managers — owned by CVS, UnitedHealth Group and Cigna Group — of inflating prescription costs through their rebating practices.

  • January 21, 2026

    Apple Shakes Mobile Users' Suit Over App Data Collection

    A California federal judge released Apple from a putative class action accusing it of improperly collecting mobile device users' data when they interacted with Apple's App Store, Music and other proprietary apps, finding "perplexing" contradictory allegations and other deficiencies doomed plaintiffs' claims, including those under California and Pennsylvania's wiretap laws. 

  • January 21, 2026

    Stellantis North America Didn't Thwart Ransomware, Suit Says

    An Illinois couple sued Stellantis North America in Michigan federal court on Wednesday, alleging in a proposed class action that the carmaker's lax data security practices led to a cyberattack around Christmas Day on Chrysler's database that put their Social Security numbers and other personal information in the hands of a ransomware group.

  • January 21, 2026

    Comcast's $117.5M Data Breach Deal Gets Preliminary OK

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has granted initial approval to Comcast's deal to pay $117.5 million to resolve class claims alleging the internet, TV, phone, and mobile services provider didn't take adequate cybersecurity measures to protect more than 31 million customers' sensitive information from an October 2023 cybersecurity attack.

  • January 21, 2026

    Costco Nears Settlement With Insurer Over Store Injury Claims

    A Hartford unit has reached a tentative deal with Costco to end claims that the insurer wrongfully refused defense coverage for a lawsuit by a customer allegedly hurt while trying to move a grill box at a California store, according to a Wednesday filing in Seattle federal court.

  • January 21, 2026

    Texas AG Launches Investigation Into Vaccine Incentives

    The Texas attorney general launched what it characterized as a sweeping, multi-industry investigation into financial incentives for medical providers to recommend childhood vaccines, saying providers regularly dish out vaccines that "are not proven to be safe or necessary."

  • January 21, 2026

    Schwab Nixed From DOL Enforcement Suit Against Other Firm

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday dismissed two Schwab companies from a U.S. Department of Labor enforcement case, finding the financial services providers' participation was no longer needed in the agency's dispute against another firm.

  • January 21, 2026

    5th Circ. Leans Toward Vacating Airline Fees Disclosure Rule

    The full Fifth Circuit wanted to know Wednesday why it shouldn't just do away with a Biden-era rule requiring airlines to more clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, saying that the government seemed to be arguing that the court should just vacate the rule.

  • January 21, 2026

    Midwives Challenge Miss. Practice Limits In Antitrust Suit

    The American College of Nurse-Midwives launched a suit seeking to permanently block Mississippi rules requiring certified nurse-midwives to obtain collaboration agreements with physicians, arguing the rules unlawfully restrict competition and exacerbate public health challenges in the state.

  • January 21, 2026

    Feds Say Medicare Steering Case Meets FCA Legal Bar

    The government said Wednesday that its False Claims Act complaint accusing insurers and brokers of participating in a kickback scheme to steer customers to Medicare Advantage plans doesn't conflict with a First Circuit decision last year setting out the standard for such cases.  

  • January 21, 2026

    FTC Must 'Scale A Slick Wall' To Revive Meta Suit

    The Federal Trade Commission set itself up for a tough fight to overturn a D.C. federal judge's rejection of its lawsuit accusing Meta of monopolizing personal social media through its purchases of WhatsApp and Instagram.

  • January 21, 2026

    Feds Back Freight Broker In High Court Negligence Case

    The federal government urged the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to hold that federal law unequivocally shields freight brokers from state-based negligence and personal injury claims, throwing its support behind broker and logistics giant C.H. Robinson in a closely watched case.

  • January 21, 2026

    FINRA Says Firm Broke Reg BI By Not Spotting Risky Trading

    The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has accused a broker-dealer and its ex-CEO of violating Regulation Best Interest by failing to identify suspicious, excessive trading in a customer account by a representative of the firm, causing the client $1.2 million in losses.

  • January 21, 2026

    FCC Warns Shows To Follow Political 'Equal Opportunity' Reg

    The Federal Communications Commission cautioned TV broadcasters Wednesday that no exemption has been found that would let talk shows get around the agency's political equal opportunity rules.

Expert Analysis

  • How A 9th Circ. False Ad Ruling Could Shift Class Certification

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    The Ninth Circuit's July decision in Noohi v. Johnson & Johnson, holding that unexecuted damages models may suffice for purposes of class certification, has the potential to create judicial inefficiencies and crippling uncertainties for class action defendants, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Strategies For Merchants As Payment Processing Costs Rise

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    As current economic pressures and rising card processing costs threaten to decrease margins for businesses, retail merchants should consider restructuring how payments are made and who processes them within the evolving legal framework, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

  • 7 Areas To Watch As FTC Ends Push For A Noncompete Ban

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    ​​​​​​As the government ends its push for a nationwide noncompete ban, ​employers who do not want to be caught without protections for legitimate business interests should explore supplementing their noncompetes by deploying elements of seven practical, enforceable tools, including nondisclosure agreements and garden leave strategies, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Shifting Crypto Landscape Complicates Tornado Cash Verdict

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    Amid shifts in the decentralized finance regulatory landscape, the mixed verdict in the prosecution of Tornado Cash’s founder may represent the high-water mark in a cryptocurrency enforcement strategy from which the U.S. Department of Justice has begun to retreat, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 5 Crisis Lawyering Skills For An Age Of Uncertainty

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    As attorneys increasingly face unprecedented and pervasive situations — from prosecutions of law enforcement officials to executive orders targeting law firms — they must develop several essential competencies of effective crisis lawyering, says Ray Brescia at Albany Law School.

  • Del. Dispatch: Chancery Expands On Caremark Red Flags

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery’s recent Brewer v. Turner decision, allowing a shareholder derivative suit against the board of Regions Bank to proceed, takes a more expansive view as to what constitutes red flags, bad faith and corporate trauma in Caremark claims, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Compliance Tips Amid Rising FTC Scrutiny Of Minors' Privacy

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    The Federal Trade Commission has recently rolled out multiple enforcement actions related to children's privacy, highlighting a renewed focus on federal regulation of minors' personal information and the evolving challenges of establishing effective, privacy-protective age assurance solutions, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For The Judiciary To Fix Its Cybersecurity Problem

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    After recent reports that hackers have once again infiltrated federal courts’ electronic case management systems, the judiciary should strengthen its cybersecurity practices in line with executive branch standards, outlining clear roles and responsibilities for execution, says Ilona Cohen at HackerOne.

  • Tips For Cos. Crafting Enforceable Online Arbitration Clauses

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    Recent rulings from the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California indicate that courts are carefully examining the enforceability of online arbitration clauses, so businesses should review the design of their websites and consider specific language next to the "purchase" button, say attorneys at DTO Law.

  • Who Will Regulate Insider Trading In Prediction Markets?

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    The possibilities for insider trading have greatly expanded in the brave new world of prediction markets, and both the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and U.S. Department of Justice could bring enforcement actions in the space, so businesses should revisit their insider trading and confidential information policies, say attorneys at Fenwick.

  • Identifying The Sources And Impacts Of Juror Contamination

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    Jury contamination can be pervasive, so it is important that trial teams be able to spot its sources and take specific mitigation steps, says consultant Clint Townson.

  • 7 Lessons From The Tractor Supply CCPA Enforcement Action

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    The California Privacy Protection Agency's recent enforcement action targeting Tractor Supply for alleged violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act provides critical insights into the compliance areas that remain a priority for the California regulator, including businesses with significant consumer interactions, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Federal Debanking Scrutiny Prompts Compliance Questions

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    Recent U.S. Small Business Administration guidance sets forth requirements for preventing so-called politicized debanking and specific additional instructions for small lenders, but falls short on clarity for larger institutions, leaving lenders of all sizes with questions as they navigate this unique compliance challenge, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Writing my debut novel taught me to appreciate the value of critique and to never give up, no matter how long or tedious the journey, providing me with valuable skills that I now emphasize in my practice, says Daniel Buzzetta at BakerHostetler.

  • New Mass. 'Junk Fee' Regs Will Be Felt Across Industries

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    The reach of a newly effective regulation prohibiting so-called junk fees and deceptive pricing in Massachusetts will be widespread across industries, which should prompt businesses to take note of new advertising, pricing information and negative option requirements, say attorneys at Hinshaw.

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