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Consumer Protection
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March 18, 2024
Google Defeats BIPA Suit Over IBM Face Dataset, For Now
Google has defeated a proposed class action by Illinois residents who accused the company of violating the state's biometric privacy laws with facial data collected by IBM, after a California federal judge said their claims don't establish that Google's alleged violations took place in the Prairie State.
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March 18, 2024
2 Investment Firms To Pay SEC $400K For 'AI Washing'
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday said it had reached settlements totaling $400,000 with a pair of investment advisers over claims that they made false and misleading statements about their use of artificial intelligence.
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March 18, 2024
Home Solar Co.'s Ex-CEO Wants Out Of Faulty-Panel Suit
The CEO of a bankrupt solar company asked a Michigan federal judge on Monday to toss a lawsuit from a couple who purchased a solar system they claim was defective, saying having a "distinctive leadership style" does not make him an alter ego for the company.
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March 18, 2024
EPA Bans Most Common Asbestos In 'Cancer Moonshot' Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday finalized a ban on the most prevalent variety of asbestos, the first asbestos risk management rule issued since the Toxic Substances Control Act was amended in 2016.
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March 18, 2024
Marriott Must Face Suit For Booting Kidswear Wholesalers
Marriott International must face a suit by two clothing wholesalers who were kicked out of rooms at a Fairfield Inn just outside Boston for violating an undisclosed "non-solicitation" policy, a Massachusetts appellate court said Monday.
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March 15, 2024
Hagens Berman Defends Bid To Lead Yardi Price-Fixing Suit
A putative class on Friday continued to push for the appointment of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP as interim lead counsel for a rent price-fixing class action in Washington federal court after property management software company Yardi Systems Inc. and multiple landlords opposed the bid.
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March 15, 2024
Google Wants Facebook Pact Kept Out Of Ad Tech Discovery
Google urged a Texas federal judge on Friday to reject state-level enforcers' bid to lift a stay on discovery for documents related to a bidding agreement between Google and Facebook in the suit accusing the search giant of monopolizing key digital ad technology, saying the plaintiffs' antitrust claims based on the agreement have already been dismissed.
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March 15, 2024
NYC Taxi Drivers Convince Judge To Reconsider RICO Claims
A New York federal judge has agreed to rethink her decision throwing out New York City cab drivers' racketeering suit claiming the city artificially inflated the values of once highly coveted taxi licenses, admitting that she "committed clear error" in finding that certain claims were filed too late.
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March 15, 2024
Awning Maker Can't Shade Itself From CPSC Defect Lawsuit
Awning maker SunSetter can't evade claims it concealed an allegedly deadly defect by arguing that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is unconstitutional, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled, leaning on a Fifth Circuit ruling that may not be long for this world.
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March 15, 2024
9th Circ. Says No Arbitration For Rent-To-Own Class Claims
The Ninth Circuit on Thursday said a rent-to-own company can't get a putative class action over its furniture rental fees sent to arbitration, saying the contract provision is unenforceable under California law.
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March 15, 2024
FTC Inks $26M Deal With Two Cypriot Tech Scheme Cos.
The Federal Trade Commission said it has reached a $26 million settlement in D.C. federal court with two Cyprus-based companies that it accuses of defrauding elderly consumers out of tens of millions of dollars in a tech support scam.
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March 15, 2024
Meta Can't Block FTC Plans To Stop Kids' Data Monetization
Meta filed its second appeal Friday after suffering another D.C. federal court loss against proposed Federal Trade Commission tweaks to a $5 billion data privacy settlement meant to block its monetization of children's data.
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March 15, 2024
Bank Groups Defend Texas Home For CFPB's Late-Fee Rule Suit
A trade group coalition suing to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new credit card late-fee rule pressed Thursday in Texas federal court for an immediate injunction against the measure, pushing back on the agency's claims that the case should be bounced for ineffective "forum shopping."
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March 15, 2024
Ex-Prisoners Partially Settle Prepaid Card Suit For $2.8M
Central National Bank NA and a class of former inmates who were charged fees for using the bank's prepaid debit cards from partner Numi Financial reached a $2.8 million settlement following mediation, but the parties have requested the court stay the case while class counsel investigates Numi's potential insolvency.
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March 15, 2024
Paxton Joins Feds In Fraud Suit Against Houston Developer
The Texas Office of the Attorney General sued a Houston-area real estate developer for deceptive trade, fraud in real estate transactions and other offenses, joining previously announced federal litigation accusing the company and its affiliates of widespread predatory practices.
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March 15, 2024
Roblox's Casino Games Are 'Preying On Children,' Suit Says
Online game platform Roblox Corp. has been hit with another proposed class action suit in California federal court accusing it and other companies of "preying on children nationwide" through an "illegal gambling ecosystem" that specifically targets minors.
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March 15, 2024
Feds Streamline Historic Reviews For Broadband Projects
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation is heeding the call to make it easier for historical preservation checks to be done on any broadband projects that use federal funds, announcing that it will amend the rules to add that flexibility.
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March 15, 2024
Judge Asks Colo. Why Grocery Merger Case Can't Wait
A state judge in Denver has asked Colorado enforcers why they need to have a hearing on their bid to block Kroger's planned $24.6 billion purchase of fellow grocery store giant Albertsons before other hearings in challenges from federal enforcers and Washington state.
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March 15, 2024
AT&T Outage Calls For FirstNet Review, Group Tells Lawmakers
An emergency telecommunications industry group is calling for a full congressional investigation of the AT&T-run FirstNet emergency response network, saying the company's massive network outage last month demonstrates the need for competition and redundancy in first responder networks.
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March 15, 2024
Apple Wants 'Convoluted' IPhone App Antitrust Suit Tossed
Apple Inc. asked a California federal judge Thursday to toss a proposed antitrust class action alleging that Apple Inc. illegally controls which apps are viewed on iPhone web browsers to boost iPhone prices, arguing that the consumers don't have standing to bring their "highly convoluted and speculative" claims.
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March 15, 2024
Sanderson Beats Chicken Buyers' Antitrust Retrial Attempt
Direct chicken purchasers who lost a price-fixing trial against Sanderson Farms cannot have another shot at bringing their case to a jury because their first trial was fair, and their circumstantial evidence couldn't defeat the company's competing proof, an Illinois federal judge has ruled.
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March 15, 2024
Firm Can't Drop Snoop Dogg Robocall Suit Like It's Hot
A cost-cutting firm will have to face claims that it used a Snoop Dogg soundalike to make illegal robocalls in an attempt to get people to enlist their help signing up for a tax credit, promising the company could "have them funds in your hands quicker than you can roll up your favorite ... well, you know what I mean."
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March 15, 2024
Pa. Court Can Hear NY Borrowers' Class Action Against Bank
The Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled in a precedential opinion that a Philadelphia court can preside over class claims brought by borrowers from New York as well as Pennsylvania, claiming Five Star Bank violated both states' uniform commercial codes by repossessing their vehicles.
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March 15, 2024
Enfamil Maker Hit With $60M Jury Verdict In Infant Death Suit
An Illinois jury has awarded $60 million to the mother of an infant who died after using Mead Johnson's Enfamil formula, a loss for the company in the first of hundreds of suits to go to trial alleging certain cow's milk-based formulas cause a fatal illness in premature infants.
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March 15, 2024
Hospitals Say Constitutional Defenses Valid In FTC Merger Row
Two North Carolina hospital systems shot back at the Federal Trade Commission's contention that constitutional defenses are immaterial to the agency's challenge of a $320 million merger plan, arguing that case law shows that striking the positions would be premature.
Expert Analysis
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The Questions Around Prometheum's SEC-Compliant Strategy
While the rest of the crypto industry has been engaged in a long-running battle to escape the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's jurisdiction, a once-obscure startup called Prometheum has instead embraced the SEC's view to become the first crypto special-purpose broker-dealer, but it's unclear whether it can turn its favored status into a workable business, says Keith Blackman at Bracewell.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ramy Djerassi discusses how Super Bowl 52, in which the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots, provides an apt metaphor for alternative dispute resolution processes in commercial business cases.
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NC TikTok Order Holds Lessons On Handling State AG Probes
Earlier this month, a North Carolina appeals court compelled TikTok to give the state attorney general information relating to 98,000 recorded Zoom meetings, reminding companies that successful civil litigation strategies may have the opposite effect in the state or regulatory investigation context, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Money Transmitter Licensing: An Issue Too Costly To Ignore
Money transmitter licensing has become particularly relevant in recent years as digital currencies and payment technologies have piqued regulator interest, and companies should consider whether they need to be licensed to avoid disruption of operations, as well as significant fines and penalties, says Clayton Swears at Hudson Cook.
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CFPB's Proposed Overdraft Rule Evokes A Dickensian Tale
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new proposed rule, declaring overdraft credit to be under Truth In Lending Act protection, creates tension between vigorous agency action and judicial concerns about administrative overreach that calls to mind Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities," say Eric Mogilnicki and David Stein at Covington.
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Considerations For Lawyer Witnesses After FTX Trial
Sam Bankman-Fried's recent trial testimony about his lawyers' involvement in FTX's business highlights the need for attorney-witnesses to understand privilege issues in order to avoid costly discovery disputes and, potentially, uncover critical evidence an adversary might seek to conceal, says Lawrence Bluestone at Genova Burns.
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Changes To Note In New AAA Mass Arbitration Rules
The American Arbitration Association updated its mass arbitration rules earlier this month — clarifying issues that were previously being litigated in front of the AAA, and significantly streamlining the process of getting to a merits arbitration for claimants who have suffered similar wrongs and are bound by mandatory arbitration clauses, say attorneys at Labaton Keller.
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What Businesses Should Know About NJ Privacy Bill
New Jersey’s recently passed comprehensive privacy bill S.B. 332 presents businesses with a nuanced framework and compliance obligations, including opt-in consent requirements for sensitive data, with recommendations for businesses to organize data, review consent requirements and more, says Trisha Sircar at Katten.
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Staying Ahead Of The AI Policymaking Curve
With artificial intelligence poised to be the hottest legislative and regulatory topic in 2024, expect the AI policymaking toolbox to continue to expand and evolve as stakeholders in the U.S. and abroad develop, deploy, use and learn more about these technologies, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
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10 Years Of Retail Battles: Unpacking Pricing Litigation Trends
A close look at a decade of pricing class actions against retailers reveals evolving trends, plaintiffs bar strategies, and the effects of significant court decisions across states, say attorneys at Benesch.
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Employee Experience Strategy Can Boost Law Firm Success
Amid continuing business uncertainty, law firms should consider adopting a holistic employee experience strategy — prioritizing consistency, targeting signature moments and leveraging measurement tools — to maximize productivity and profitability, says Haley Revel at Calibrate Consulting.
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Opinion
CFPB Must Clarify When Anti-Fraud Benefits Offset Harms
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ill-explained orders against two banks, concerning legitimate unemployment accounts that were frozen in attempts to control COVID-era fraud, illustrate an urgent need for bureau guidance on when the systemwide benefits of a potentially unfair practice outweigh the risk of harming a minority of consumers, says Jonathan Joshua at Joshua Law Firm.
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And Now A Word From The Panel: A Strong Year For MDLs
While the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation granted even fewer MDL petitions last year than in 2022, hitting a 21st-century low, a closer look at the record-setting number of total actions encompassed within current proceedings reveals that MDL practice is still quite robust, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.
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What Cos. Can Learn From 2023 Export Enforcement Report
A January report summarizing key actions and policy changes undertaken at the Office of Export Enforcement in 2023 is a valuable indicator of future government priorities and the factors companies should consider as they conduct export operations amid what may be a turbulent international trading environment in 2024, says Thaddeus McBride at Bass Berry.
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How Consumer Product Cos. Can Keep Up With Class Actions
Recent cases show California's federal courts and the Ninth Circuit remain the preferred arena for consumers pursuing false advertising and trade deception claims against companies — so manufacturers, distributors and retailers of consumer products should continue to watch these courts for guidance on how to fight class actions, say attorneys at Dechert.