Consumer Protection

  • April 23, 2024

    Realtors, Home Sellers Get OK For $418M Broker Rules Deal

    The National Association of Realtors and a nationwide class of home sellers on Tuesday scored a Missouri federal judge's initial approval of their $418 million settlement resolving claims that the trade group's broker commission rules caused home sellers across the country to pay inflated fees.

  • April 23, 2024

    Doctor Renews $20M Claim His Hospital Made Up 25 Murders

    An Ohio physician accused of 25 counts of murder and found guilty of none just renewed his $20 million malicious-prosecution suit against Trinity Health Corp., the parent company of his former employer, claiming that the company misled prosecutors to get him indicted as a distraction from the internal issues of the hospital where he worked.

  • April 23, 2024

    Nexstar Calls FCC's Floated $1.2M Fine Over WPIX 'Unlawful'

    Broadcast giant Nexstar slammed the Federal Communications Commission's proposed $1.2 million penalty over its "de facto control" of New York station WPIX, saying the fine is unconstitutional and that the agency is running afoul of both the Communications Act and procedural law.

  • April 23, 2024

    Hot Spot Co. Investors' Revised $2.4M Deal Gets Initial OK

    Investors in mobile hotspot-maker Franklin Wireless Corp. have received an initial green light for their $2.4 million deal to end claims the company knowingly sold devices with defective batteries that could burst into flames after a federal judge rejected an earlier iteration of the proposal.

  • April 23, 2024

    Crypto Industry Groups Sue SEC Over Dealer Definition

    Two crypto industry groups on Tuesday jointly sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to overturn the regulator's expanded dealer definition, claiming the regulator sidestepped a fair rulemaking process when it declined to address the myriad issues industry participants pointed out during the shortened comment process.

  • April 23, 2024

    FCA Says Virtual Order Spells End Of In-Person Depositions

    Automaker FCA is sounding the alarm that in-person depositions in the Eastern half of Michigan are in jeopardy if a federal magistrate judge's ruling allowing remote depositions in a class action isn't overturned, arguing the supposed "judicial efficiency" rationale is too easily satisfied.

  • April 23, 2024

    Sugar Giants Accused Of Using Shadow Analyst To Fix Prices

    A putative class action filed in Illinois federal court on Monday accuses top sugar producers of colluding with each other since at least 2019 to illegally fix the price for white, refined table sugar, driving up the prices of granulated sugar since in "one of the steepest climbs ever."

  • April 23, 2024

    Pa. Roller Coaster Closure Throws Pass Buyers For A Loop

    The flagship roller coaster at a Pittsburgh-area amusement park has had its ups and downs since its opening, but a last-minute announcement that it would be closed all year left season pass customers jolted and jilted, according to a potential class action one pass holder filed in state court.

  • April 23, 2024

    Broadcasters Support Bill To Revive Diversity Tax Certificate

    Broadcasters are supporting the recent reintroduction of a bill that seeks to increase diversity in the broadcasting industry by requiring the Federal Communications Commission to bring back a tax incentive program to facilitate the sale of broadcast stations to people of color and women.

  • April 23, 2024

    EPA Finishes Stronger Chemical Risk Evaluation Rule

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday announced stronger and broader regulations to assess chemicals' health and environmental risks, completing a process that started when the Ninth Circuit struck down parts of the initial rule as too weak.

  • April 23, 2024

    Judge Quiets NY Outdoor Stadium For Frazzled Neighbors

    A state judge has temporarily muffled the activities of a century-old outdoor stadium in New York, ordering it to hire an independent contractor to monitor noise levels and to place barricades that prevent concert-goers from wandering into nearby neighborhoods.

  • April 23, 2024

    Drugmakers Hit With RICO Suit Over Insulin Price Hikes

    The world's three largest insulin manufacturers engineered an enormous increase in the price of the lifesaving diabetes medication through an "unfair and deceptive conspiracy" with household-name pharmacies, letting all involved reap extraordinary profits for 20 years, according to a lawsuit in Connecticut federal court.

  • April 23, 2024

    Do Not Remand FDA Cigar Rule Without Vacatur, DC Circ. Told

    The New Civil Liberties Alliance is urging the D.C. Circuit not to remand a U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule regulating premium cigars without first vacating the regulation, saying federal agencies cannot enforce rules that have been declared unlawful.

  • April 23, 2024

    Williams-Sonoma To Pay $3.2M Over 'Made In America' Claims

    Williams-Sonoma has agreed to a $3.18 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly mislabeling Chinese-produced products as American-made.

  • April 23, 2024

    Md.-Based Career Public Servant Is The FTC's Newest ALJ

    The Federal Trade Commission announced the appointment of another administrative law judge on Tuesday, elevating a longtime public servant who had previously become the first female Muslim American administrative law judge at the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings.

  • April 23, 2024

    BofA Nears Deal Over 'Hidden' Wire Transfer Junk Fees

    Bank of America has agreed to resolve a proposed class action accusing it of tacking on $15 "junk fees" for incoming wire transfers, and a North Carolina federal judge on Monday gave the parties until May 24 to submit a motion for preliminary approval of the settlement.

  • April 23, 2024

    Colo. Neural Privacy Law Has Attys Scratching Their Heads

    Colorado's governor signed the nation's first law specifically protecting neural data last week, but privacy attorneys say key caveats in the legislation leave them unsure how far the measure really goes.

  • April 23, 2024

    FTC Bars Employers From Imposing Noncompete Contracts

    The Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 on Tuesday to ban essentially all noncompete agreements that employers frequently impose on workers, leaving an earlier draft of the ban mostly unchanged other than to allow existing noncompete agreements with senior executives to remain while banning future ones for top corporate officials.

  • April 22, 2024

    Ransomware Still On Rise Despite Better Defenses, Firm Says

    Companies are becoming more adept at fending off and responding to a steady stream of ransomware attacks, but hackers' ability to continue to profit from these incidents and increased scrutiny by regulators and the plaintiffs' bar will keep pressure on companies to remain vigilant, according to a new BakerHostetler report.

  • April 22, 2024

    T-Mobile Can't Dodge Stolen Nude Photos Suit

    T-Mobile can't dodge most of a suit seeking to hold the mobile behemoth liable for allegations that one of its employees stole nude photos from a customer's phone, which she turned in as part of a trade-in offer, a Washington federal court has ruled.

  • April 22, 2024

    DOJ Antitrust Concerns Topple $960M Insulation Biz Merger

    Insulation and building material provider TopBuild Corp. said Monday it has terminated its $960 million agreement to buy mechanical insulation provider Specialty Products & Insulation from private equity firm Incline Equity Partners, saying it was unable to reach a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice over antitrust concerns.

  • April 22, 2024

    NY's 'Buy-Now, Pay-Later' Oversight Bill Delayed But Not Dead

    A New York state proposal to start licensing and supervising buy-now, pay-later providers didn't make the final cut in lawmakers' just-approved $237 billion budget, but a version being advanced through standalone legislation could still make it into law.

  • April 22, 2024

    Kansas Gov. Signs Earned Wage Access License Bill Into Law

    Kansas has become the fourth state to approve new laws governing so-called earned wage access products, joining Nevada, Missouri and Wisconsin in regulating services for workers seeking cash advances.

  • April 22, 2024

    CFTC Says Gemini Can't Pin Misstatements On 'Intermediary'

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has told a New York federal court that cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust Co. LLC is seeking to "shirk responsibility" for misleading the agency's staff about the risks of a proposed bitcoin futures contract.

  • April 22, 2024

    Real Estate Investment Cos. Owe SEC $8.4M For $17.5M Fraud

    A pair of companies allegedly used in service of a fraudulent real estate investment scheme will pay over $8.4 million to end claims they were part of the $17.5 million ploy that took in more than 150 would-be investors with claims that the securities involved were "recession-proof."

Expert Analysis

  • Banks Should Continue To Prep For CFPB Data Rule Rollout

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    Consumer Financial Protection Bureau-supervised banks should not expect industry pressure to delay the rollout of proposed Section 1033 open banking rules, which regulate how consumer financial information flows between financial institutions, and prepare their required data access portals and compliance procedures now, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • How Calif. Video Recording Ruling May Affect Insured Exams

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    A recent California appellate decision, Myasnyankin v. Nationwide, allowing policyholders to video record all parties to an insurance examination under oath, has changed the rules of the road for EUOs and potentially opened Pandora's box for future disputes, say John Edson and Preston Bennett at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 5 Things Trial Attorneys Can Learn From Good Teachers

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    Jennifer Cuculich at IMS Legal Strategies recounts lessons she learned during her time as a math teacher that can help trial attorneys connect with jurors, from the importance of framing core issues to the incorporation of different learning styles.

  • Fintech 'Prenups': Planning For A Card Program Breakup

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    After a year of economic downturns, some banks and their fintech partners are realizing they may have rushed to the altar without a good prenup, but planning ahead can curb both foreseeable and unexpected issues in the event of a termination of a bank-fintech card-issuing agreement, say Andrew Grant at Ketsal and Richard Malish at Community Federal Savings Bank.

  • Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies

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    As circular economy goals — generating revenue at multiple points in a product's life cycle — become nearly ubiquitous in corporate sustainability practices, companies should reassess existing strategies by focusing on government incentives, regulations, and reporting and disclosure requirements, say Rachel Saltzman and Erin Grisby at Hunton.

  • 3 Notification Pitfalls To Avoid With Arbitration Provisions

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    In Lipsett v. Popular Bank, the Second Circuit found that a bank's arbitration provision was unenforceable due to insufficient notice to a customer that he was bound by the agreement, highlighting the importance of adequate communication of arbitration provisions, and customers' options for opting out, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Tips For Orgs Facing AI Data Privacy Compliance Challenges

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    Regulators around the world are actively seeking to enforce data privacy and consumer protection laws against companies providing artificial intelligence-related services, raising complex compliance questions in areas like transparency, data minimization, lawfulness of processing, data subject rights and higher risk activities, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • What's At Play In Rising Lanham Act Cases At The ITC

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    Amid an uptick in Lanham Act claims involving false advertising related to medical devices at the U.S. International Trade Commission, Brian Busey and Maryrose McLaughlin at MoFo discuss recent ITC complaints from Eli Lilly and R.J. Reynolds, Lanham Act claim limits under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the issues practitioners face in this realm.

  • Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims

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    Food products like bottled water are increasingly likely to be targets of consumer fraud complaints due to alleged microplastics contamination — but depending on the labeling or advertising at issue, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act can provide a powerful preemption defense, say Tariq Naeem and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.

  • Enforcement Risk Amid Increased Consumer Data Use

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    While no state has introduced a private right of action for noncompliance with a comprehensive consumer privacy law — except for the California Consumer Privacy Act's data breach provision — organizations and retailers face risk from enforcement actions by state attorneys general and privacy regulators, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Business Litigators Have A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • What FTC's 'Killer Acquisition' Theory Means For Pharma Cos.

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent lawsuit to block Sanofi's acquisition of a pharmaceutical treatment developed by Maze Therapeutics builds on previous enforcement actions and could indicate the agency's growing willingness to use its so-called killer acquisition theory against perceived attempts to eliminate nascent competition, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Fla. Bankruptcy Ruling Is Cautionary Tale For Debt Collectors

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    A Florida bankruptcy court recently rejected the assertion that a debt purchaser was entitled to enforce a debt not correctly listed on the debtor's bankruptcy schedules, and the sanctions imposed provide a stark reminder on due diligence in debt collection practices, say Deborah Kovsky-Apap and Stefanie Jackman at Troutman Pepper.

  • Opinion

    The Problems In Calif. Draft Behavioral Ad Privacy Regs

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    The California Privacy Protection Agency has an opportunity with its automated decision-making technology and profiling rulemaking to harmonize California's regulation of data-driven advertising, but this will be a failure unless several things are changed in its proposed treatment of behavioral advertising, say Alan Friel and Kyle Fath at Squire Patton.

  • 5 Ways To Hone Deposition Skills And Improve Results

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Depositions must never be taken for granted in the preparations needed to win a dispositive motion or a trial, and five best practices, including knowing when to hire a videographer, can significantly improve outcomes, says James Argionis at Cozen O'Connor.

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