Consumer Protection

  • October 01, 2025

    Amazon Must Cough Up Return Records In Consumer Suit

    Amazon must hand over certain information about its returns system to a group of consumers who claim that the company wrongfully denied them refunds for products they sent back, a Washington federal judge has determined, calling some of the company's objections "evasive" and "borderline frivolous."

  • October 01, 2025

    Quantum Can't Nix FTC Order Over $5.2B Natural Gas Deal

    Quantum Energy Partners is not going to be allowed out from under a consent order it inked with the Federal Trade Commission that had allowed a $5.2 billion oil and gas deal with EQT Corp. to go through, the agency has announced.

  • October 01, 2025

    HP Ditches Antitrust Suit Over Third-Party Ink, For Now

    HP customers accusing the printer maker of illegally using a firmware update to block them from using third-party ink cartridges in their machines have not outlined a viable antitrust claim to pursue, but they can try again, an Illinois federal judge has ruled.

  • October 01, 2025

    CFPB 'Will Continue Operations' As Gov't Shutdown Hits

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has told its staff to expect business as usual amid the government shutdown that began Wednesday, assuring them that operations, pay and benefits will continue uninterrupted, according to an internal email obtained by Law360.

  • October 01, 2025

    Biz Groups Say They Can Be Amici In 4th Circ. Pollution Suit

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Chemistry Council on Wednesday told the Fourth Circuit they should be allowed to file an amicus brief on behalf of Chemours in a row over PFAS contamination in the Ohio River, saying that there is nothing barring an association from filing in cases where its members are parties.

  • October 01, 2025

    Trump Moves To Elevate FDIC's Hill To Permanent Chair

    President Donald Trump has nominated the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s acting Chairman Travis Hill to lead the deposit insurer on a permanent basis, the White House confirmed Wednesday.

  • October 01, 2025

    EPA Seeks Dismissal Of Flint Bellwethers, Says It's Not Liable

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has defended its timing of using its authority to issue a Safe Drinking Water Act order regarding lead in the city of Flint's water, urging a Michigan federal judge to dismiss claims from bellwether plaintiffs who alleged the agency was negligent in its response to the crisis.

  • October 01, 2025

    NASCAR Exec Says Team Was Warned About LGB Sponsors

    A NASCAR executive told jurors on Wednesday that driver Brandon Brown's team had previously been warned the league would not sign off on any on-track promotion of the "Let's Go Brandon" phrase, but pursued approval of an LGBCoin sponsorship anyway in a manner the executive said was "disingenuous."

  • October 01, 2025

    States Accuse Zillow, Redfin Of Deal To End Competition

    A coalition of states followed their federal counterparts with an antitrust lawsuit in Virginia federal court Wednesday accusing Zillow of paying Redfin more than $100 million to stop competing for the sale of rental housing advertisements on their listing services.

  • October 01, 2025

    OpenAI Blasts X's Suit Over Apple Deal As 'Lawfare' Campaign

    Apple Inc. and OpenAI Inc. have asked a Texas federal court to toss an antitrust case from X targeting a deal to integrate ChatGPT into iPhones, with OpenAI saying X's billionaire owner Elon Musk is waging a multipronged "lawfare" campaign against it.

  • October 01, 2025

    FCC Sets Furlough Plan In Motion With Government Shutdown

    The Federal Communications Commission's staff halted most regular operations Wednesday as Congress failed to reach a deal to continue funding agencies after the end of the government's fiscal year.

  • October 01, 2025

    Lack Of Concrete Harm Dooms Bojangles Data Breach Case

    The fast-food chain Bojangles has dodged a proposed class action brought by former employees who claim their personal information was stolen in a data breach after a North Carolina federal judge said they failed to show how they were injured as a result of the hack.

  • October 01, 2025

    Mich. Judge Slashes RICO Claims Against Mortgage Lender

    A Michigan federal judge has dismissed the bulk of a proposed class action accusing United Wholesale Mortgage of forcing mortgage brokers to originate loans with UWM instead of shopping around for the best options for borrowers.

  • October 01, 2025

    Va. Biz Group Calls Charter, Cox Tie-Up Good For Consumers

    The Virginia Chamber of Commerce urged the Federal Communications Commission to approve the planned $34.5 billion merger of cable giants Charter and Cox, saying it would be good for consumers as the companies cut costs through scale.

  • October 01, 2025

    Opt-Outs Lacked Clarity About $100M Verizon Deal, Panel Told

    A New Jersey trial court exceeded its authority by validating opt-outs from a $100 million class deal based on signatures transposed from retainer agreements that never mentioned the settlement, counsel for Verizon Wireless told a state appellate panel during oral arguments Wednesday.

  • October 01, 2025

    Software Co. Not Covered For $3M Privacy Fight, Court Says

    Various Travelers units owe no coverage to a software provider that reached a nearly $3 million class action settlement over claims that it violated Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, a federal court ruled, finding that an exclusion relating to the "access or disclosure" of personal information is applicable.

  • September 30, 2025

    Apple, Google, Meta Get 'Casino Games' MDL Trimmed Again

    A California federal judge on Tuesday again trimmed multidistrict litigation against Apple, Google and Meta platforms over allegedly illicit "social casino games," though he refused to find that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act means they don't have to face the suits.

  • September 30, 2025

    Google Ad Tech Judge Says Court Order Is 'Elephant In Room'

    A Virginia federal judge again wondered Tuesday how far she must go to address Google's advertising placement technology monopolies, asking if a breakup is needed since, no matter what happens, the company will be under a court order banning efforts to put its thumb on the scales of competition.

  • September 30, 2025

    FTC Hits Sendit App Over Kids' Data, Fake Messages

    The operator of the anonymous messaging app Sendit and its top executive have been illegally collecting personal information from children that they're "well aware" were using their service, and tricking users with fake messages and other misleading tactics to entice consumers into buying paid subscriptions, the Federal Trade Commission alleged in a California federal lawsuit. 

  • September 30, 2025

    3rd Circ. Parses 'Could' And 'Would' In Lipitor Lawsuit

    A Third Circuit panel questioned Tuesday whether drug wholesalers and health plans had offered enough evidence that Pfizer Inc. and Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. conspired to delay generic competition for the cholesterol drug Lipitor, focusing on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would have approved the competitor earlier than November 2011.

  • September 30, 2025

    Amazon Settles $1.2M Lawsuit Over Immersion Heater

    Amazon and a Colorado church's insurer have reached a settlement in the insurer's suit alleging that an immersion heater the church purchased from the e-commerce giant's platform to heat a baptismal font caused a fire amounting to $1.2 million in damages.

  • September 30, 2025

    State Telecom Roundup: Age Verification Laws

    State laws requiring that websites verify the ages of users in order to access adult content have been picking up speed in recent years. Half the country now has laws on the books that require certain platforms to confirm that users are adults, a trend proponents say will protect children and that opponents have called an attack on the right to access free speech. Here, Law360 takes a look at some of those laws.

  • September 30, 2025

    LGBCoin Founder Says NASCAR Backtrack Cost $76M

    The attorney behind the LetsGoBrandon.com Foundation told jurors Tuesday that a decision by NASCAR to revoke the approval of its sponsorship of a racing team cost the foundation $76 million and destroyed the value of its cryptocurrency LGBCoin.

  • September 30, 2025

    Wash. MLS Asked About Fairness Of Banning 'Office Exclusives'

    A Washington federal judge pressed Northwest Multiple Listing Service at a hearing Tuesday to explain how its board of directors justified limiting homeowners' options when listing their residential properties for sale.

  • September 30, 2025

    Shimano Still Has To Face Bike Injury Lawsuit In RI

    Japanese bicycle parts manufacturer Shimano Inc., which has no physical presence in Rhode Island, can't escape a product liability lawsuit filed by a cyclist who claims its defective brake lever impaled his leg during a fall, a federal judge ruled Monday, saying the court has jurisdiction over the company because it made "deliberate efforts to serve the Rhode Island market."

Expert Analysis

  • Explicit Pic Takedown Law Casts A Wide Net

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    With a surprisingly broad range of online platforms potentially subject to the new Take It Down Act’s process for removing revenge porn or explicit deepfakes, all services that allow user interaction or content hosting should proactively evaluate their legal obligations and demonstrate compliance, say attorneys at Goodwin, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • How AI May Reshape The Future Of Adjudication

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    As discussed at a recent panel at Texas A&M, artificial intelligence will not erase the human element of adjudication in the next 10 to 20 years, but it will drive efficiencies that spur private arbiters to experiment, lead public courts to evolve and force attorneys to adapt, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.

  • When Legal Advocacy Crosses The Line Into Incivility

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    As judges issue sanctions for courtroom incivility, and state bars advance formal discipline rules, trial lawyers must understand that the difference between zealous advocacy and unprofessionalism is not just a matter of tone; it's a marker of skill, credibility and potentially disciplinary exposure, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

  • How Medical Practices Can Improve Privacy Compliance

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    In light of recent high-profile patient privacy violations, health practices — especially in California — should better position themselves to comply with medical privacy laws by shoring up strategies ranging from mapping electronic protected health information to building a better compliance culture, says Suzanne Natbony at Aliant Law.

  • Despite Rule Delay, FTC Scrutiny Looms For Subscriptions

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    Even though the Federal Trade Commission has delayed its click-to-cancel rule that introduces strict protocols for auto-renewing subscriptions, businesses should expect active enforcement of the new requirements after July, and look to the FTC's recent lawsuits against Uber and Cleo AI as warnings, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • 3 Corporate Deposition Prep Tips To Counter 'Reptile' Tactics

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    With plaintiffs counsel’s rising use of reptile strategies that seek to activate jurors' survival instincts, corporate deponents face an increased risk of being lulled into providing testimony that undercuts a key defense or sets up the plaintiff's case strategy at trial, making it important to consider factors like cross-examination and timing, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Class Standing Issues Still Murky After Justices Punt LabCorp

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    While litigants and district courts had hoped the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in LabCorp v. Davis would provide much-needed clarity on the interplay between Article III standing and class certification, the court's failure to rule on the issue leaves disagreement, confusion and uncertainty for stakeholders, says Erica Rutner at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Ore. Coinbase Case Charts New Path For State Crypto Suits

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    Oregon's recent lawsuit against Coinbase serves as a reminder for the crypto industry that not all states will simply defer to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's evolving stance on crypto-assets, highlighting why stakeholders should proactively assess the risks posed by state-level litigation and develop strategies to address distinct challenges, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • AGs Take Up Consumer Protection Mantle Amid CFPB Cuts

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    State attorneys general are stepping up to fill the enforcement gap as the Trump administration restructures the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, creating a new regulatory dynamic that companies must closely monitor as oversight shifts toward states, say attorneys at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Va.'s Altered Surcharge Law Poses Constitutional Questions

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    Virginia's recently amended consumer protection law requiring sellers to display the total price rather than expressly prohibiting surcharges follows New York's recent revision of its antisurcharge statute and may raise similar First Amendment questions, says attorneys at Stinson.

  • Series

    Volunteering At Schools Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Speaking to elementary school students about the importance of college and other opportunities after high school — especially students who may not see those paths reflected in their daily lives — not only taught me the importance of giving back, but also helped to sharpen several skills essential to a successful legal practice, says Guillermo Escobedo at Constangy.

  • Fed's Crypto Guidance Yank Could Drive Innovation

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    The Federal Reserve Board's recent withdrawal of guidance letters brings regulatory consistency and broadens banks' ability to innovate in the crypto-asset space, but key distinctions remain between the Fed's policy on crypto liquidity and that of the other banking regulators, says Dan Hartman at Nutter.

  • GM Case Highlights New Trends In AI-Related Securities Suits

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    Bold company statements about artificial intelligence have resulted in a rise in AI-related securities litigation, and a recent Michigan federal court decision in In Re: General Motors Co. Securities Litigation illustrates how courts are analyzing these AI-based claims and applying traditional securities concepts to new technologies, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Attacks On Judicial Independence Tend To Manifest In 3 Ways

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    Attacks on judicial independence now run the gamut from gross (bald-faced interference) to systemic (structural changes) to insidious (efforts to undermine public trust), so lawyers, judges and the public must recognize the fateful moment in which we live and defend the rule of law every day, says Jim Moliterno at Washington and Lee University.

  • Statistics Tools Chart A Path For AI Use In Expert Testimony

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    To avoid the fate of numerous expert witnesses whose testimony was recently deemed inadmissible by courts, experts relying on artificial intelligence and machine learning should learn from statistical tools’ road to judicial acceptance, say directors at Secretariat.

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