Consumer Protection

  • October 31, 2025

    CFPB Union Sounds Alarm As Funding 'Approaches Zero'

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's employee union warned that the agency is on the verge of running out of money and called for its acting Director Russell Vought to immediately request additional funds from the Federal Reserve.

  • October 31, 2025

    OpenAI Opposes 'Cookie-Cutter' Google Search Fixes

    OpenAI waded into the Justice Department's case against Google's search monopoly Friday to urge the D.C. federal judge to apply flexibility to mandates requiring Google to syndicate its search results to would-be rivals, arguing that permitting Google's more rigid "ten blue links" proposal would stifle "innovative uses."

  • October 31, 2025

    PVC Pipe Makers Say Price 'Conspiracy' Is 'Basic Economics'

    Polyvinyl chloride pipe manufacturers facing antitrust claims over 2020 price increases have told an Illinois federal judge the purchaser plaintiffs have failed to plausibly show there was a per se price-fixing conspiracy, so their suit should be dismissed.

  • October 31, 2025

    NJ Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Ban Kratom Extract

    A New Jersey state senator is looking to ban a kratom-derived compound, 7-hydroxymitragynine or 7-OH, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says should be highly restricted and is at the center of several proposed consumer class actions.

  • October 31, 2025

    Ed Dept. Pushing Millions Of Borrowers Into Default, Suit Says

    The secretary of the U.S. Department of Education and three major credit bureaus were hit with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court for allegedly forcing millions of student loan borrowers into delinquency and default due to operational failures in loan servicing after the COVID-19 deferment period ended earlier this year.

  • October 31, 2025

    4 Mass. Rulings You May Have Missed In October

    Massachusetts state court judges in October dealt with missing details in a trade secrets case, missing lawyers in a proposed class action over COVID-19-related refund demands, and missing evidence during summary judgment proceedings.

  • October 31, 2025

    Federal Action Sought To Boost Low Earth Orbit Satellites

    Federal officials need to update rules governing low Earth orbit satellites to allow the space-based communications industry to keep expanding at a time of rising congestion, according to a pair of think tanks.

  • October 31, 2025

    Gov't Shutdown Puts Pause On Firefighting Foam PFAS Suits

    A South Carolina federal judge on Friday agreed to stay 22 cases in a multidistrict litigation seeking to hold the U.S. government liable for so-called forever chemical contamination from firefighting foam as the government shutdown continues.

  • October 31, 2025

    FCC Plans To Drop More Regs Covering 'Obsolete' Techs

    When the Federal Communications Commission convenes for its monthly meeting in November, it will vote on a measure that would nix nearly two dozen more rules that the agency has deemed obsolete in one fell swoop.

  • October 31, 2025

    Students Defend Law School Application Fee Antitrust Suit

    Plaintiffs in a proposed class action accusing the Law School Admission Council of fixing application fees with its member schools claim in a new filing their complaint is strong enough to survive a motion to dismiss.

  • October 31, 2025

    RealPage, Landlords Flag 'Fatal Deficiencies' In Antitrust Suit

    Property management software company RealPage Inc. and multiple landlords are urging a New Jersey federal court to toss the state's rent price-fixing suit, arguing that the suit contains "fatal deficiencies" and that the state is relying on circumstantial evidence in its attempt to show that the defendants made anticompetitive agreements.

  • October 30, 2025

    Snowflake, Clients Can't Escape MDL Over Cloud Data Breach

    Cloud storage provider Snowflake, along with its clients Ticketmaster and LendingTree, will continue to face sprawling multidistrict litigation over a data breach that hit Snowflake last year, after a Montana federal judge refused several bids to ax or force arbitration of negligence and other claims brought by a wide range of consumers who were impacted by the incident. 

  • October 30, 2025

    Sling TV Settles Privacy Claims From Calif. Streaming Sweep

    Sling TV has agreed to pay $530,000 to settle California's allegations that the streaming television service made it hard for consumers to stop the sale of their personal information and failed to provide sufficient privacy protections for children, California's attorney general announced Thursday.

  • October 30, 2025

    Lufthansa Must Face Same-Sex 'Outing' Suit, 9th Circ. Says

    Deutsche Lufthansa AG cannot ground a same-sex couple's lawsuit accusing the German airline of outing their marriage to the Saudi Arabian government, a split Ninth Circuit panel ruled Thursday, saying there are enough strings tying the case to California to meet jurisdiction requirements.

  • October 30, 2025

    Philly Accuses PBMs Of Knowingly Enabling Opioid Crisis

    Philadelphia on Thursday sued CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum, accusing the pharmacy benefit managers of contributing to the city's opioid epidemic via deceptive marketing and conspiring with drugmakers to increase the sale of OxyContin and other prescription opioids.

  • October 30, 2025

    Apple, Google Fight Bids To Depose CEOs In Antitrust Suit

    Google LLC and nonparty Apple Inc. have fired back in California federal court on a proposed class of consumers' effort to depose Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai in their antitrust case alleging Google suppressed rival search engines with anticompetitive deals.

  • October 30, 2025

    BetterHelp Wins Defense Costs From Insurer For Privacy Case

    A California federal judge said a CNA Financial Corp. insurance unit must pay for BetterHelp's legal defense costs in underlying consumer litigation claiming the online therapy provider unlawfully disclosed private health information without consent, saying the timing of the alleged Electronic Communications Privacy Act violation triggered the duty to defend.

  • October 30, 2025

    Small Biz Groups Seek Quick Win In CFPB Lending Data Fight

    A coalition of consumer-aligned advocacy groups is seeking summary judgment in Washington, D.C., federal court in their suit aiming to compel the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to implement a 15-year-old Congressional mandate to collect lending data for women- and minority-owned small businesses.

  • October 30, 2025

    Judge Says FCA Qui Tam Provisions Don't Violate Constitution

    A Wisconsin federal judge has rejected Wisconsin Bell's attempt to shutter a whistleblower's claims it overcharged schools and libraries for connectivity services provided under the federal E-Rate program by arguing the False Claims Act's qui tam provisions are unconstitutional.

  • October 30, 2025

    Garden Supply Co. Faces Suit Claiming PFAS In Products

    A gardening supply company was hit on Wednesday with a proposed class action in California federal court alleging that it falsely advertises its soil and fertilizer products as organic even though they contain synthetic and dangerous "forever chemicals."

  • October 30, 2025

    FCC Dem Concerned About Broadband 'Bridge To Nowhere'

    The Federal Communications Commission's lone Democrat said Thursday she's worried the government will end up building a "bridge to nowhere" by leaning too heavily on broadband deployment projects at the expense of connectivity aid.

  • October 30, 2025

    Florida Tribe Sues PFAS Makers Over Health Risks, Cleanup

    A Florida tribe has brought a civil action in South Carolina federal court against several makers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, alleging their land is contaminated by products containing the so-called forever chemicals. 

  • October 30, 2025

    State AGs Target 'Anticompetitive Recycling Practices'

    The attorneys general of Florida and several other states have said they're concerned that environmental groups are coordinating with large corporations to implement "anticompetitive recycling practices" that could violate state or federal antitrust law.

  • October 30, 2025

    NASCAR Driver Says Life Insurer Pitched Him 'Financial Trap'

    NASCAR driver Kyle Busch and his wife said they lost $8.5 million after they were allegedly bamboozled by Pacific Life Insurance Co. and an insurance producer to invest in complex life insurance policies as a form of tax-free retirement income, according to a North Carolina state court complaint.

  • October 30, 2025

    Nicaraguan Businessman Sues Citi Over $270K Account Freeze

    A Nicaraguan businessman has sued Citibank in Florida federal court, alleging the bank froze and closed his accounts holding more than $270,000 without explanation and has failed to return the money to him.

Expert Analysis

  • Justices' Age Verification Ruling May Lead To More State Laws

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton ruling, permitting a Texas law requiring certain websites to verify users’ ages, significantly expands states' ability to regulate minors’ social media access, further complicating the patchwork of internet privacy laws, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Relevance Redactions

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    In recent cases addressing redactions that parties sought to apply based on the relevance of information — as opposed to considerations of privilege — courts have generally limited a party’s ability to withhold nonresponsive or irrelevant material, providing a few lessons for discovery strategy, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How DOJ's New Data Security Rules Leave HIPAA In The Dust

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recently effective data security requirements carry profound implications for how healthcare providers collect, store, share and use data — and approach vendor oversight — that go far beyond the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

  • Opinion

    Section 1983 Has Promise After End Of Nationwide Injunctions

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the practice of nationwide injunctions in Trump v. Casa, Section 1983 civil rights suits can provide a better pathway to hold the government accountable — but this will require reforms to qualified immunity, says Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice.

  • Now Is The Time To Prep For SEC's New Data Breach Regs

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    Recent remarks from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s acting director of the Division of Examinations suggest that the commission will support exams for compliance with its new data breach detection and reporting regulations, and a looming deadline means investment advisers and broker-dealers must act now to update their processes, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • How Banks Can Harness New Customer ID Rule's Flexibility

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    Banking regulators' update to the customer identification process, allowing banks to collect some information from third parties rather than directly from customers, helps modernize anti-money laundering compliance and carries advantages for financial institutions that embrace the new approach, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • What To Know About NCAA Deal's Arbitration Provisions

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    Kathryn Hester at Jones Walker discusses the key dispute resolution provisions of the NCAA's recently approved class action settlement that allows for complex revenue sharing with college athletes, breaking down the arbitration stipulations and explaining how the Northern District of California will handle certain enforcement, administration, implementation and interpretation disputes.

  • Opinion

    Premerger Settlements Don't Meet Standard For Bribery

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    Claims that Paramount’s decision to settle a lawsuit with President Donald Trump while it was undergoing a premerger regulatory review amounts to a quid pro quo misconstrue bribery law and ignore how modern legal departments operate, says Ediberto Román at the Florida International University College of Law.

  • Texas Med Spas Must Prepare For 2 New State Laws

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    Two new laws in Texas — regulating elective intravenous therapy and reforming healthcare noncompetes — mark a pivotal shift in the regulatory framework for medical spas in the state, which must proactively adapt their operations and contractual practices, says Brad Cook at Munsch Hardt.

  • What EPA Chemical Data Deadline Extension Means For Cos.

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's extension for manufacturers and importers of 16 chemical substances to report unpublished health and safety studies under the Toxic Substances Control Act could lead to state regulators stepping into the breach, while creating compliance risks and uncertainty for companies, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.

  • Compliance Changes On Deck For Banks Under Texas AI Law

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    Financial services companies, including banks and fintechs, should evaluate their artificial intelligence usage to prepare for Texas' newly passed law regulating AI governance, noting that the enforcement provisions provide for an affirmative defense to liability, say attorneys at Mitchell Sandler.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Learning From Failure

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    While law school often focuses on the importance of precision, correctness and perfection, mistakes are inevitable in real-world practice — but failure is not the opposite of progress, and real talent comes from the ability to recover, rethink and reshape, says Brooke Pauley at Tucker Ellis.

  • 23andMe Fine Signals ICO's New GDPR Enforcement Focus

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    Many of the cybersecurity failures identified by the Information Commissioner’s Office in its investigation of 23andMe, recently resulting in a £2.3 million fine, were basic lapses, but the ICO's focus on several new U.K. General Data Protection Regulation considerations will likely carry into the future, say lawyers at Womble Bond.

  • How Courts Are Addressing The Use Of AI In Discovery

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    In recent months, several courts have issued opinions on handling discovery issues involving artificial intelligence, which collectively offer useful insights on integrating AI into discovery and protecting work product in connection with AI prompts and outputs, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

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