Consumer Protection

  • August 20, 2025

    Visa Deal Does Not Bar Other Swipe Fee Claims, Judge Rules

    A New York federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Visa cannot enforce a $5.54 billion settlement in long-running multidistrict antitrust litigation against a class of Visa debit cardholders in a separate, similar suit, finding that the deal does not cover their claims, and therefore the claims can't be released.

  • August 20, 2025

    GOP Sens. See Path To Crypto Market Structure Law This Year

    Republican lawmakers and regulators this week previewed plans to finish cryptocurrency market structure legislation before year's end and continue reducing scrutiny from banking regulators during a multiday event that brought officials and industry participants together in Wyoming.

  • August 20, 2025

    TikTok Profits From Addicting Children, Minnesota Says

    TikTok Inc. knowingly designed its social media platform to be addictive to children, according to a state court lawsuit filed by Minnesota, which also accuses the company of operating an unlicensed virtual currency system that facilitates financial and sexual exploitation of minors.

  • August 20, 2025

    Civil Rights Org. Urges FCC Not To Ditch Nat'l Ownership Cap

    A civil rights group founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton said it would be a bad idea for the Federal Communications Commission to strip away ownership regulations that cap how many television stations any one company can own.

  • August 20, 2025

    9th Circ. Told Apple, Google CEO Meeting Aids Antitrust Claim

    A California crane operator training school's attorney told a Ninth Circuit panel Wednesday that a lower court erred in dismissing his client's suit alleging an antitrust conspiracy between Apple and Google because a meeting between the companies' CEOs should have been taken into consideration as supporting the claim.

  • August 20, 2025

    Character.AI Founder Seeks Exit From Teen's Suicide Suit

    The co-founder of Character.AI has asked a Florida federal judge to toss certain claims in a suit alleging a teen's suicide was caused by a negligently designed artificial intelligence chatbot, saying he can't be sued individually in Florida because he's never done any business in the state.

  • August 20, 2025

    FTC Sues LA Fitness Over Difficult Gym Cancellation Policies

    The Federal Trade Commission sued gym chain LA Fitness in California federal court Wednesday, alleging it employs burdensome cancellation practices, such as requiring customers to come to the gym in-person to cancel memberships or send cancellation forms through registered or certified mail. 

  • August 20, 2025

    Alaska Telecom Fights Changes To Buildout Rules

    A small Alaskan telecom is continuing its fight against a proposal from GCI Communication Corp. that would lower standards for carriers to receive Alaska Connect Fund support, telling the Federal Communications Commission that GCI should lose funding if it can't meet its commitments.

  • August 20, 2025

    TikTok Can't Dodge NC Claims Over Addictive App Design

    Chinese internet behemoth ByteDance Inc. and its social media subsidiary TikTok Inc. can be sued in the Tar Heel State, North Carolina's business court ruled Tuesday, preserving a lawsuit that accuses the companies of exploiting minors through addictive app design.

  • August 20, 2025

    10th Circ. Says NM Gun Waiting Period Is Unconstitutional

    The Tenth Circuit has struck down New Mexico's seven-day waiting period on gun purchases as unconstitutional, finding in reversing a lower court's decision that the law aimed at reducing violence, including suicides, unduly limits the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment.

  • August 20, 2025

    Texas AG Threatens Suit Over Orgs. Mailing Abortion Pills

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sent cease-and-desist letters to three organizations he's accused of shipping abortion drugs to women in the state in violation of state and federal laws.

  • August 20, 2025

    WR Grace Beats Rival's False Ad, Patent Claims

    A Maryland federal judge has ruled in favor of chemical supplier W.R. Grace on one Lanham Act false advertising claim that competitor GW Aru LLC brought against Grace over disparaging claims it made about GWA in advertisements, finding that while Grace's actions might not have been commendable, GWA hadn't shown it suffered monetary harm as a result.

  • August 20, 2025

    Google To Pay $35M For Australian Search Antitrust Violations

    Google has agreed to pay $55 million to settle antitrust claims brought by Australia's competition regulator over deals to preinstall its search engine on Australian phones.

  • August 20, 2025

    Receiver Shielded In Senior Home Shutdown, 1st Circ. Says

    A court-appointed receiver for a Massachusetts assisted living facility is shielded by quasi-judicial immunity from claims that it orchestrated a "resident dumping" scheme, the First Circuit said Tuesday, reversing a lower court's decision.

  • August 20, 2025

    Crypto Groups Resist Banks' Stablecoin 'Loophole' Claims

    Cryptocurrency groups have told U.S. Senate lawmakers that banking industry groups are attempting to relitigate issues put to rest with a recently enacted federal law to regulate stablecoins, arguing that the banking groups' proposals to use separate, pending legislation to close alleged "loopholes" would disadvantage the crypto sector.

  • August 20, 2025

    State AGs Sidelined From Sandoz Price-Fixing Deal

    A group of over 40 states and territories cannot intervene in a $275 million settlement resolving generic-drug price-fixing claims against Sandoz because they only have a nominal interest in the suit that fails to confer standing, a Pennsylvania federal judge said.

  • August 20, 2025

    2nd Circ. Says Section 230 Can't Block EPA Defeat Device Suit

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday said makers of software that allegedly enables vehicles to bypass pollution controls can't use a Communications Decency Act provision intended to protect companies from third-party use of their products to dodge a federal lawsuit.

  • August 20, 2025

    Chemours Says Injunction Appeal Warrants Stay Of CWA Suit

    Chemours urged a federal judge to pause a Clean Water Act suit while it appeals a preliminary injunction ordering it to stop its Washington Works plant from discharging excessive amounts of a "forever chemical" into the Ohio River.

  • August 20, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Rethink $190M TM Verdict Against Vivint

    The Fourth Circuit has declined Vivint Smart Home Inc.'s requests to rethink its decision affirming a $190 million verdict in a case accusing the company of deceiving customers of a rival home security business.

  • August 20, 2025

    FCC Denies Carrier's Bid To Avoid Rural Fund Clawback

    The Federal Communications Commission denied a Midwest broadband provider's request to waive a $24 million penalty for defaulting on its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund commitments, saying the company's due diligence was inadequate when it decided to pursue fund money for buildouts in areas that were already served by others.

  • August 20, 2025

    Property Manager Settles With Mass. AG Over Data Breaches

    One of the largest property management firms in Massachusetts will pay $795,000 to settle allegations by the state attorney general's office that it failed to prevent or address a series of five data breaches between 2019 and 2021.

  • August 20, 2025

    Insurers Say Gov't Misusing FCA To Get Medicare Cost Cap

    Insurers accused of paying brokers to steer customers to their Medicare Advantage plans asked a Massachusetts federal judge to dismiss a False Claims Act lawsuit, saying the government is mischaracterizing legal payments for marketing as kickbacks in an attempt to impose caps it has thus far been unable to obtain.

  • August 20, 2025

    Trump Says Fed's Cook 'Must Resign' Amid Loan Fraud Claim

    President Donald Trump's Federal Housing Finance Agency chief on Wednesday accused Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook of potential mortgage fraud and said he has referred the matter to federal prosecutors, prompting Trump to call for Cook's immediate resignation — a call she has rejected.

  • August 19, 2025

    CFPB Ends 'Biased' Investigation Of Gun-Financing Fintech

    Credova, a fintech firm specializing in buy-now, pay-later financing for firearms and outdoor recreational goods purchases, is no longer facing what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau now says was a "politically motivated" investigation on its part, the firm's parent company announced Tuesday.

  • August 19, 2025

    Another Suit Says Roblox Didn't Protect Child From Predator

    The mother of a 10-year-old girl has hit Roblox Corp. with a lawsuit joining the many that accuse the popular gaming platform of putting children in danger, claiming that a man the girl met on the company's app groomed her until she shared sexually explicit images of herself with him.

Expert Analysis

  • How NJ's Proposed Privacy Rules Could Reshape AI Data Use

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    Although not revolutionary, New Jersey's proposed privacy rules would create obligations around the management and processing of consumer personal data that will require careful planning before they can be successfully implemented, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Business Takeaways Following CCPA Enforcement Actions

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    Advisories and recent enforcement activity by the California Privacy Protection Agency against Honda and Todd Snyder underscore the agency's enforcement interest in the intersection of data minimization and consumer rights, and could make it more challenging for a business to provide a streamlined consumer rights process, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Compliance Lessons From 1st-Ever Product Safety Sentences

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    A California federal judge’s recent sentencing of two former Gree USA executives in a landmark Consumer Product Safety Act case serves as a reminder of the federal government’s willingness to pursue criminal prosecution of individuals who fail to report safety hazards, as well as companies’ need to strengthen their reporting and compliance programs, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • 9th Circ. Decisions Help Clarify Scope Of Legal Lab Marketing

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    Two Ninth Circuit decisions last week provide a welcome development in clarifying the line between laboratories' legal marketing efforts and undue influence that violates the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act, and offer useful guidance for labs seeking to mitigate enforcement risk, says Joshua Robbins at Buchalter.

  • Feds' Shift On Reputational Risk Raises Questions For Banks

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    While banking regulators' recent retreat from reputational risk narrows the scope of federal oversight in some respects, it also raises practical questions about consistency, reputational management and the evolving political landscape surrounding financial services, say attorneys at Smith Anderson.

  • Series

    Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator

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    Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.

  • FTC Staff Cuts Unlikely To Curb Antitrust Enforcement Agenda

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    While Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson's recent commitment to reducing agency staff may seem at odds with the Trump administration's commitment to antitrust enforcement, a closer analysis shows that such reductions have little chance of derailing the president's efforts, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma

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    Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.

  • What To Expect As UK, US Gov'ts Develop Stablecoin Policies

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    While the U.K. and U.S. governments’ policies both suggest that fiat-backed stablecoins can improve efficiency and safety in payments systems, a perception that crypto-assets remain high risk means consumers are unlikely to use them in significant volume anytime soon, say lawyers at Cadwalader.

  • Challenging A Class Representative's Adequacy And Typicality

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    Recent cases highlight that a named plaintiff cannot certify a putative class action unless they can meet all the applicable requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, so defendants should consider challenging a plaintiff's ability to meet typicality and adequacy requirements early and often, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

  • Yacht Broker Case Highlights Industry Groups' Antitrust Risk

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    The Eleventh Circuit recently revived class claims against the International Yacht Brokers Association, signaling that commission-driven industries beyond real estate are vulnerable to antitrust challenges after the National Association of Realtors settled similar allegations last year, says Miles Santiago at the Southern University Law Center and Alex Hebert at Southern Compass.

  • Opinion

    Juries Are Key In Protecting The Rule Of Law

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    Absent from the recent discourse about U.S. rule of law is the crucial role of impartial jurors in protecting the equitable administration of justice, and attorneys and judges should take affirmative steps to reverse the yearslong decline of jury trials at this critical moment, says consultant Clint Townson.

  • Opinion

    4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

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    As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • What To Know About Bill Aiming To Curb CIPA

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    A bill pending in the California Assembly would amend the California Invasion of Privacy Act to allow for the use of website tracking technologies for commercial business purposes, limiting class actions seeking damages under the act for industry standard practices, say Katherine Alphonso and Avazeh Pourhamzeh at Kaufman Dolowich.

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