Consumer Protection

  • May 17, 2024

    FCC Asked To Clarify PEG Capital Costs Aren't Franchise Fees

    Cities want the Federal Communications Commission to make clear in a new rule requiring "all-in" cable pricing disclosures that capital costs involved in public and educational channels don't fall under the definition of franchise fees.

  • May 17, 2024

    Co-Lead Counsel Named In Baby Food Toxins MDL

    A California federal judge has tapped attorneys from Wisner Baum LLP and the Wagstaff Law Firm PC to lead multidistrict litigation alleging products from baby food manufacturers and distributors, including Walmart Inc. and Gerber Products Co., contain toxic metals and caused children to develop autism spectrum disorder and other conditions.

  • May 17, 2024

    T-Mobile Must Face Sprint Merger Suit Before Appealing

    The Seventh Circuit summarily rejected T-Mobile's move for interlocutory appeal in a proposed consumer class action targeting the company's 2020 merger with Sprint, allowing the case to advance to discovery after the district court denied T-Mobile's motion to dismiss in the fall.

  • May 17, 2024

    Peloton Says Investors Are 'Manufacturing' Bike Recall Suit

    Fitness equipment company Peloton urged a New York federal judge on Friday to toss a suit alleging it overstated the safety of its bikes before the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled roughly 2.2 million Peloton products over a bike seat defect, saying the investors are trying to "manufacture" a case from a voluntary recall.

  • May 17, 2024

    Crypto Firms Back FIT 21 Legislation Ahead Of House Vote

    The advocacy group Crypto Council for Innovation gathered 60 industry signatories for a Friday letter to House leaders expressing support for an anticipated vote on a framework to regulate digital assets.

  • May 17, 2024

    Feds Seek 10 Years In First Product Safety Conviction

    The government is asking for a pair of 10-year prison sentences for two Gree USA Inc. executives convicted of failing to report defective humidifiers, after the two were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

  • May 17, 2024

    Bettors Say 6th Circ. Erred In Ruling Over Doped Derby Horse

    A group of gamblers who claim they had winning bets on the 2021 Kentucky Derby after officials stripped the lead horse of its title has petitioned the Sixth Circuit to rehear arguments after a panel of the court earlier this month affirmed the lower court's decision to toss the case.

  • May 17, 2024

    Chicago Wants Climate Deception Claims Back In State Court

    The city of Chicago says it should be in state court hashing out climate change deception claims against several of the nation's largest oil producers because the companies lodged "objectively baseless" arguments to remove its case to federal court.

  • May 17, 2024

    Broadband Advocates Decry Delays On Senate Spectrum Bill

    Broadband advocates who work on fixing the "digital divide" said they are dismayed the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee again delayed a markup Thursday to advance legislation renewing the soon-to-expire Affordable Connectivity Program.

  • May 17, 2024

    Dolce & Gabbana Sued Over 'Worthless' Digital Outfit NFTs

    Luxury fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana has been hit with a shareholder class action in New York federal court, alleging it sold consumers "essentially worthless" non-fungible tokens that it misrepresented as high-value and abandoned the project while retaining over $25 million that was used to fund it.

  • May 17, 2024

    Utilities Need More Airwaves To Drive Growth, FCC Hears

    Utilities need more spectrum to keep their networks running smoothly as they move toward digitizing the electric grid, which is already under significant strain, a wireless service provider has told the Federal Communications Commission.

  • May 17, 2024

    Google Says Payment Means No Need For DOJ Ad Tech Jury

    Google is arguing in Virginia federal court the government has no right to a jury trial in a case accusing the company of monopolizing key digital advertising technology, especially after Google issued a check for the money enforcers could be awarded if they won.

  • May 17, 2024

    $5M Candy Recall Coverage Dispute Moved To Texas Court

    An insurer's lawsuit disclaiming coverage for a candy manufacturer over a near $5 million recall over metal fragments found in certain gummy candies belongs in Texas, a New York federal judge has ruled, finding that the action was "filed preemptively to deprive the natural plaintiff of its choice of forum."

  • May 17, 2024

    Industry Emboldened After Justices Galvanize Agency Attacks

    In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court said "extraordinary" and "far-reaching" attacks on administrative enforcers can skip agency tribunals and go straight to federal district court, ambitious challenges to regulatory powers are rapidly gaining traction, and the high court is poised to put them on an even firmer footing.

  • May 17, 2024

    Day After High Court Win, 'Full Strength' CFPB Sues Fintech

    Fresh off its landmark victory at the U.S. Supreme Court, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday filed its first contested enforcement action in months while its director separately pledged to push full-speed ahead with the agency "firing on all cylinders."

  • May 16, 2024

    Buckle Up: CFPB's High Court Win Will Thaw Frozen Docket

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is walking away from the U.S. Supreme Court with its funding and rulebook intact, a victory that caps off years of constitutional wrangling over how the agency was set up and will usher in a wave of activity that has financial services attorneys bracing for impact.

  • May 16, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Let Alexa Users Revive Voice Data Privacy Row

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday refused to reinstate a proposed class action alleging Amazon's Alexa software illegally collects voice data to target users with advertisements, agreeing with the lower court that the e-commerce giant had clearly disclosed the practice and the plaintiffs hadn't shown they were harmed.

  • May 16, 2024

    $2B Default Recommended For Making Fair Trial 'Impossible'

    Years of lies should put a pair of Chinese electronics companies on the hook for over $2 billion in default judgment, a special master told a California federal judge, adding that their yearslong no-show and disregard of U.S. counsel advice to retain documents have rendered a fair trial "impossible."

  • May 16, 2024

    Albertsons Sued Over 'Naturally Flavored' Fruit Bar Labels

    Albertsons Cos. Inc. was hit with a proposed class action Wednesday in California federal court by a shopper who alleges the grocer falsely labels its breakfast cereal bars as containing natural flavors even though they're made with artificial ingredients derived from petrochemicals.

  • May 16, 2024

    Thomas, Alito: Two Originalists, Two Takes On CFPB Case

    U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito — often birds of a feather — butted heads Thursday over the original meaning and purpose of the U.S. Constitution's appropriations clause in a decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's unique funding scheme, highlighting what experts describe as the pair's different approaches to originalism.

  • May 16, 2024

    FCC Told Rural Aid Can't Lean Too Much On Broadband Maps

    Wireless providers are calling out flaws in the Federal Communications Commission's national broadband map, telling the agency to require more certification from providers to verify that they can actually serve areas they say they can before allocating broadband deployment funding.

  • May 16, 2024

    Bitcoin ATM Operator Ran Illegal Money Transmitter, Jury Says

    A New York state jury has convicted the operator of a network of bitcoin kiosks that allegedly catered to criminal activity of operating an unlicensed money transmitter and tax fraud, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said Thursday.

  • May 16, 2024

    FTC Can't Make Albertsons, Kroger Produce Divestiture Docs

    An administrative law judge on Thursday denied the Federal Trade Commission's "premature" bid to compel Kroger and Albertsons to fork over documents related to negotiations for the companies' expanded divestiture plan amid the commission's in-house challenge to the grocers' merger.

  • May 16, 2024

    BofA Customers Get Final OK For $8M Deal In ACH Fee Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge has granted final approval to an $8 million settlement for Bank of America customers who claim they were unfairly charged fees for Automated Clearing House transfers.

  • May 16, 2024

    BIC Hit With Class Action Over PFAS-Containing Razors

    The makers of BIC razors intentionally use so-called forever chemicals in several of their products but failed to mention that to customers, who say they wouldn't have bought the razors if they'd known they were exposing themselves to toxic chemicals.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.

  • Key Priorities In FDIC Report On Resolving Big Bank Failures

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    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s report last month on the resolvability of large financial institutions contains little new information, but it does reiterate key policy priorities, including the agency's desire to enhance loss-absorbing capacity through long-term debt requirements and preference for single-point-of-entry resolution strategies, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Microplastics At The Crossroads Of Regulation And Litigation

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    Though there are currently not many federal regulations specifically addressing microplastics as pollutants, regulatory scrutiny and lawsuits asserting consumer protection claims are both on the rise, and manufacturers should take proactive steps to implement preventive measures accordingly, say Aliza Karetnick and Franco Corrado at Morgan Lewis.

  • New Federal Bill Would Drastically Alter Privacy Landscape

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    While the recently introduced American Privacy Rights Act would eliminate the burdensome patchwork of state regulations, the proposed federal privacy law would also significantly expand compliance obligations and liability exposure for companies, especially those that rely on artificial intelligence or biometric technologies, says David Oberly at Baker Donelson.

  • Opinion

    CFPB Could, And Should, Revise Open Banking Rulemaking

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    In light of continued global developments in open banking, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should evaluate whether it actually should use its proposed rule on Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act to amplify personal financial data rights in the U.S., says Brian Fritzsche at the Consumer Bankers Association.

  • FDIC Bank Disclosure Rules Raise Important Questions

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    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new rules mandating disclosures for nonbanks offering deposit products leave traditional financial institutions in a no-man's land between fintech-oriented requirements and the reality of personal service demanded by customers, say Paul Clark and Casey Jennings at Seward & Kissel.

  • Setting Goals For Kicking Corruption Off FIFA World Cup Field

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    The unprecedented tri-country nature of the 2026 men's World Cup will add to the complexity of an already complicated event, but best practices can help businesses stay on the right side of anti-corruption rules during this historic competition, say Sandra Moser and ​​​​​​​Emily Ahdieh at Morgan Lewis.

  • Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert

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    As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

  • Takeaways From FDIC's Spring Supervisory Highlights

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    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s spring 2024 consumer compliance supervisory report found that relatively few institutions had significant consumer compliance issues last year, but the common thread among those that did were inadequacies or failures in disclosures to consumers, says Matthew Hanaghan at Nutter.

  • Online Portal Helps Fortify Feds' Unfair Health Practices Fight

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    The Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently launched an online portal where the public can report potentially unfair healthcare practices, effectively maximizing enforcers' abilities to police anti-competitive actions that can drive up healthcare costs and chill innovation, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Series

    Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

  • Key Issues Raised By Colorado's Brain Data Privacy Bill

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    Colorado recently became the first state to provide consumer privacy protections for data generated from a person's brain waves, and despite the bill’s ambiguity and open questions introduced, the new law has helped turn the spotlight on neurodata, says Sara Pullen Guercio at Alston & Bird.

  • Birkin Bag Case Carries Competition Lessons For Retailers

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    A recently proposed antitrust class action alleging that Hermès violated federal and California law when selling its iconic Birkin and Kelly handbags highlights some issues that other brands and retailers should consider, particularly given a prevailing landscape that seems to prioritize antitrust scrutiny, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Expect Tougher Bank Exams 1 Year After Spring 2023 Failures

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    With federal banking agencies still implementing harsher examinations with swifter escalations a year after the spring 2023 bank failures, banks can gain insight into changing expectations by monitoring how the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are coordinating and updating their exam policies, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic

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    Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

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