Consumer Protection

April 23, 2024
TikTok Divestment Bill Heads To Biden's Desk

The Senate voted 79-18 on Tuesday night to pass a bill requiring ByteDance Ltd. to divest the popular social media app TikTok or face a ban in the U.S., which now goes to the president's desk.
April 23, 2024
BNSF Says Zurich Should Pay For Defense In Asbestos Cases

BNSF asked a Texas appeals court Tuesday to consider hundreds of asbestos exposures in Libby, Montana, as separate occurrences to trigger an insurance policy provision, saying during oral arguments that Zurich American Insurance Co. needed to cough up defense costs in cases relating to the exposures.
April 23, 2024
Kerrygold Butter-Maker Can't Nix 'Pure' Label False Ad Suit

A New York federal judge on Tuesday largely denied a bid by Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter's maker to discard a proposed class action alleging its product is misbranded as "pure" though it might contain "forever chemicals," finding the suit plausibly alleges chemicals from the packaging could migrate to the product.
April 23, 2024
Small Providers Can't Meet 'Vague' Title II Rules, FCC Hears

Small broadband providers will need at least a six-month buffer before they have to start complying with certain net neutrality mandates, should the Federal Communications Commission vote to restore open internet rules on Thursday, according to a communications industry trade group.
April 23, 2024
ACLU Backs States' Power To Preempt Feds' Net Neutrality

The ACLU is a supporter of the Federal Communications Commission's plans to usher in a new era of net neutrality later this month, but the civil rights organization is also pressing the agency to make sure that states are free to enact stricter open internet protections if they see fit.
April 23, 2024
Texas Orders Digital Gold Vault Scheme To Shut Down

Texas financial regulators have ordered the operators of a digital gold vault scheme to stop operating in the state, alleging individuals and companies were running a fraudulent multilevel marketing scheme to lure investors in unregistered securities.
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.

Expert Analysis

CFPB As Pay App Watchdog May Invite More Fintech Regs

While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent proposal to enhance federal oversight of the biggest consumer payment applications would impose no new regulatory obligations, the rulemaking could provoke heightened scrutiny for all participants in the digital payments market, say attorneys at Steptoe.
Emerging Risks Affecting The Tech Legal Landscape

The tech industry has become a battleground for various legal challenges shaped by geopolitical events, partisan politics, regulatory initiatives, patent disputes and class action trends, but companies can adopt several proactive legal strategies to safeguard their interests, say Natasha Allen and Louis Lehot at Foley & Lardner.
5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024

Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
A Look At Consumer Reporting In 2023, And What's To Come

The legal landscape of consumer reporting is evolving as courts, federal regulators and state legislatures continue to weigh in — and while last year may have seen a slight downtick in the overall volume of Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation, 2024 is set to be a watershed year for this area of the law, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
Breaking Down The New FCC Lead Generation Rules

The Federal Communications Commission's new rules to close the so-called lead generator robocall and robotexts loophole herald a transformative halt to the traditional lead generation industry, necessitating the development of entirely new marketplace solutions to align with the impending compliance requirements, says Alexis Buese at Bradley Arant.
What To Know About FCA Cybersecurity Enforcement

Now is a good time for practitioners, government contractors and potential relators to review recent developments in cybersecurity-related False Claims Act enforcement, and consider best practices for navigating this space in the new year, say Ellen London at London & Stout, and Li Yu and Molly Knobler at DiCello Levitt.
8 Privacy Law Predictions For 2024

As the new year begins, looking back to several of last year's privacy law developments may help companies forecast what to focus on when updating their privacy programs, including children's privacy, so-called dark patterns and the collection of data by connected cars, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
What One Litigator Learned Serving On A Jury

Kilpatrick attorney April Isaacson shares insights for trial lawyers from her recent experience serving on a jury for the first time, including lessons about the impact of frequent sidebars, considerations for using demonstratives, the importance of clear jury instructions, and the unconscious habits that can drive jurors mad.
Series

Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

As 2023 came to an end, we continued to see developments in California that are certain to have an impact on the financial services industry in 2024, including the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation's request for comments on the state's new digital asset law and the state's continued enforcement actions against debt collectors, say Jennifer Olivestone and Juan Azel at Winston & Strawn.
4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year

As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.
FTC Rite Aid Order Holds Biometrics And AI Compliance Tips

The Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement action against Rite Aid over its use of facial biometric technology on customers provides lessons that can be leveraged to reduce and manage the risk of regulatory scrutiny of biometrics and artificial intelligence, says David Oberly at Baker Donelson.
What Brands Need To Know About Consumer Reviews In 2024

Testimonials, endorsements and consumer reviews have been on the Federal Trade Commission's radar for years — and since this evolving area will continue to be an enforcement priority in 2024, now is the time to ensure your house is in order, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
Series

In The CFPB Playbook: Rulemaking Rush Before Election Year

In this quarterly Consumer Financial Protection Bureau activity recap by former bureau personnel, attorneys at McGuireWoods explain the regulator's recent push to finalize new rules about data aggregators, digital payment apps and more before the election-year Congressional Review Act window opens.
Ill. BIPA Ruling May Spark Violation-Of-Law Exclusion Fight

An Illinois appeals court's recent holding in National Fire Insurance v. Visual Pak that a violation-of-law exclusion didn't preclude coverage for an underlying Biometric Information Privacy Act suit contradicts an earlier Seventh Circuit decision that aligns with long-standing insurance law principles — which may lead the state's high court to weigh in, says Tae Andrews at Pasich.
Securities Question Stands After Contradicting Crypto Rulings

The debate about the regulation of crypto-assets came to a head in 2023 when two New York federal judges came to opposite conclusions about whether crypto-assets were securities by using the Howey test, highlighting the uncertainty facing the crypto industry as it seeks to resolve definitional questions, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.