Consumer Protection

  • May 06, 2024

    CFPB Sues Pa. Student Loan Servicer, Trusts For $5M

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking $5 million in penalties against a Pennsylvania public corporation that services almost $18 billion in student loans and a group of 15 securitization trusts, accusing them in federal court of ignoring or wrongly denying borrowers who requested relief.

  • May 06, 2024

    UChicago Can't Ditch Data Sharing Privacy Claim

    A University of Chicago Medical Center patient accusing the hospital of illegally sharing her and other patients' identifying information with Meta can pursue her claims that the info sharing constitutes a federal wiretap violation, an Illinois federal judge said.

  • May 06, 2024

    Ga. Insurance Agency Hit With Suit Over 'Unwanted Calls'

    A Georgia-based insurance agency was hit with a proposed class action Monday alleging it makes "aggressive" telemarketing calls to seniors advertising final expense and life insurance products, even when the seniors are on the national do-not-call list or ask that the calls stop.

  • May 06, 2024

    5th Circ. Revives Airline Workers' Hearing-Loss Suit

    A pair of flight attendants seeking to hold Boeing liable over hearing loss they suffered due to an aircraft's allegedly faulty smoke alarm have successfully convinced a Fifth Circuit panel to allow them to refile their case, bringing their claims back from the brink almost three years after the appeals court tossed them.

  • May 06, 2024

    Class Actions Target Conn. Dealership Prices For 'VIN Etching'

    Three proposed class actions seeking to represent thousands of automobile buyers have accused Connecticut dealerships of overcharging for a service called VIN etching, which is designed to make it harder for thieves to offload stolen vehicles.

  • May 06, 2024

    Schools, Towns Reach Deal With Artificial Turf Maker

    A class of New Jersey school districts and municipalities has asked a New Jersey federal judge to give preliminary approval to a settlement with FieldTurf USA Inc. to resolve multidistrict litigation over claims its synthetic turf fields are defective.

  • May 06, 2024

    FCC Calls High Court Telecom Subsidy Challenge Premature

    The Federal Communications Commission has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to forgo review in two constitutional challenges to the agency's Universal Services Fund brought by free-enterprise groups, arguing that the appeals were filed too early and are based on a speculative circuit split that hasn't formed yet.

  • May 06, 2024

    Fashion Cos. Aim To Make FTC Define Market In Merger Suit

    Fashion companies Tapestry Inc. and Capri Holdings Ltd. have asked a New York federal court to order the Federal Trade Commission to define the proposed relevant market in its suit attempting to block the companies' planned $8.5 billion merger, saying they need a specific definition of the market in order to properly defend the deal.

  • May 06, 2024

    Chamber's Noncompete Challenge On Hold For Earlier Case

    A Texas federal court has paused the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's case challenging the Federal Trade Commission's pending ban on noncompetes and encouraged the group to join a case filed a day earlier by tax services and software company Ryan LLC.

  • May 06, 2024

    Redfin To Pay $9.2M To Exit Broker Fee Class Action

    Redfin disclosed to regulators on Monday that it will pay $9.25 million to end claims that it caused home sellers to pay inflated commissions under rules set by the National Association of Realtors, allowing the company to exit a class action that ensnared several brokerage firms.

  • May 06, 2024

    Ohio AG Says Social Media Age Limit Fight Hurts Democracy

    Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and the internet technology trade association that sued to block him from enforcing the Buckeye State's new law requiring parental consent for children under 16 to create online accounts have filed competing bids for early wins.

  • May 06, 2024

    Data Privacy Co. Wants Personal Info Suits In NJ State Court

    Most of the recently moved lawsuits alleging violations of a New Jersey judicial privacy law should be moved back to state court since the plaintiffs and defendants reside in the Garden State, the data privacy company behind the first-of-their-kind cases has told a New Jersey federal judge.

  • May 06, 2024

    Nothing Super About GNC 'Super Magnesium' Pills, Suit Says

    GNC Holdings was hit with a putative class action filed Friday in Illinois federal court alleging it falsely markets its brand of "Super Magnesium" dietary supplements as containing 400 milligrams of magnesium per serving, despite independent testing that revealed the supplements contain far less than what is advertised.

  • May 03, 2024

    The Privacy Report: Legislative Moves You May Have Missed

    Tennessee's enactment of new restrictions on teens' social media use led the charge this week amid a flurry of state and federal efforts to increase protections for minors online, while Connecticut faces a looming deadline to become the first state with a comprehensive framework for regulating artificial intelligence. 

  • May 03, 2024

    Judge Asks About Ad Quality As Google Search Trial Wraps

    The D.C. federal judge overseeing the government's search monopolization case against Google peppered attorneys from both sides on Friday during the final day of trial arguments about how to address Google's contention that it raises ad prices to coincide with product improvements.

  • May 03, 2024

    NY's Citi Suit Imperils Wire Transfer Market, Bank Groups Say

    Major banking trade groups are backing Citibank NA in its fight against the New York attorney general's lawsuit over the bank's payment fraud protocols, warning that the state's claims seek to change how wire transfers are regulated in a way that could "upend" the marketplace for such services.

  • May 03, 2024

    Phone Carriers Still Want More Time On SIM Swap Deadline

    Telecom trade groups have once again told the Federal Communications Commission that their members are going to struggle to meet the deadline for complying with the agency's new rules aimed at combating SIM card swapping fraud.

  • May 03, 2024

    5th Circ. Stands By Keeping CFPB Late Fee Case In Texas

    A Fifth Circuit panel will not reconsider its decision rejecting the cross-country transfer of a bank industry-backed challenge to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $8 credit card late fee standard, denying the agency's bid to move the case back to Washington, D.C., from Texas.

  • May 03, 2024

    Charities Can't Get 'Second Bite Of The Apple' Against PayPal

    An Illinois federal judge on Friday trimmed a second lawsuit by charities challenging the way PayPal solicits and distributes charitable contributions, saying they can't get a "second bite of the apple" after their nearly identical claims were dismissed because they'd agreed to individually arbitrate disputes.

  • May 03, 2024

    6th Circ. Drops Bettors' Appeal Over Doped Derby Horse

    Kentucky Derby gamblers who claimed they had winning bets after officials disqualified the race's lead horse cannot sue Churchill Downs or the horse's Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, the Sixth Circuit ruled, saying courts can't "turn a losing wager into a winning one."

  • May 03, 2024

    Ill. Hilton Operators Slapped With Time-Tracking BIPA Suits

    Hilton workers have hit several hotel operators in the Chicago area with a proposed class action and an individual lawsuit in Illinois state court, accusing the hotels of illegally collecting and retaining workers' biometric data to keep track of workers' hours in violation of the state Biometric Information Privacy Act.

  • May 03, 2024

    Walmart Hit With False Ad Suit Over 'Reef Friendly' Sunscreen

    A consumer hit Walmart Inc. with a proposed class action on Friday in New York federal court accusing the retail giant of falsely labeling its sunscreen as "Reef Friendly," when it actually contains ingredients that are harmful to coral reefs.

  • May 03, 2024

    Hospital In Novant Merger Beset By Staff Turnover, Court Told

    The Federal Trade Commission and two healthcare companies used witness testimony Friday to paint competing pictures of a North Carolina hospital at the center of a $320 million merger dispute: one in which the hospital has focused on making quality improvements, and another where it's been plagued by poor ratings and high staff turnover.

  • May 03, 2024

    DOJ Seeks Info Sharing With Texas In Google Ad Tech Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice objected on Friday to a Virginia magistrate judge's refusal to coordinate discovery in its suit accusing Google of monopolizing key digital advertising technology with a similar case from state enforcers pending in Texas, contending the information sharing is needed to maintain a level playing field.

  • May 03, 2024

    Google Blasts Epic's Post-Verdict Play Store Reforms Bid

    Google is hitting back at Epic Games' proposed injunction following its jury win on antitrust claims related to the Google Play Store and Android apps, telling a California federal judge Thursday that Epic's proposed rules cover conduct that was not presented to the jury and is "purely hypothetical."

Expert Analysis

  • Takeaways From Groundbreaking Data Transfer Order

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    A recent first-of-its-kind executive order and related proposed rulemaking lay the groundwork for important outbound U.S. data protections, but they may have unintended consequences related to the types of data and the subjects within their scope, say attorneys at Kirkland.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • Innodata Suit Highlights 'AI Washing' Liability Risk For Cos.

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    A class action against software company Innodata over so-called AI washing, one of the first of its kind, underscores the litigation and enforcement risks that can arise from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's novel theory about misleading artificial intelligence capabilities, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • The Epic Antitrust Cases And Challenges Of Injunctive Relief

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    The Epic cases against Apple and Google offer a window into the courts' considerable challenges in Big Tech litigation and establishing injunctive relief that enhances competition and benefits consumers, say Kelly Lear Nordby and Jon Tomlin at Ankura Consulting.

  • 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.

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