Consumer Protection

  • June 12, 2024

    ZoomInfo's $30M Privacy Deal Gets Initial Green Light

    An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday granted preliminary approval to a proposed settlement in which ZoomInfo will shell out roughly $30 million to resolve claims it used people's names and identities, without their consent, to advertise paid access to its full database.

  • June 12, 2024

    FTC Tells DC Circ. It Can Modify $5B Meta Privacy Deal

    The Federal Trade Commission told the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday that it has the authority to reopen its in-house proceedings in order to revise a $5 billion privacy settlement with Meta Platforms, saying the courts do not have oversight of the agency's administrative order.

  • June 12, 2024

    Ex-Rehab Biz Manager Gets Prison For Theft From Resident

    The former business manager of a Connecticut rehabilitation center will serve at least nine months in prison for stealing money from an elderly resident's bank account, state prosecutors said.

  • June 12, 2024

    'Tiger-Wolf' Trader Cops To Wire Fraud For $700K Scheme

    A 26-year-old Charlotte man on Wednesday pled guilty to federal prosecutors' claims that he defrauded over 100 would-be investors in his purported hedge fund, Tiger-Wolf Capital LLC, spending much of their money on his own lavish lifestyle.

  • June 12, 2024

    FTC's Amazon Prime Trial Moved To June 2025 Amid Doc Fight

    A Washington federal judge agreed Wednesday to push back to June 2025 a high-stakes bench trial over the Federal Trade Commission's claims Amazon.com Inc. tricks consumers into enrolling in its Prime service, delaying the trial by months after the FTC accused Amazon of delaying discovery production.

  • June 12, 2024

    Chopra Rejects Fresh 'Earnings' Attack On CFPB Funding

    Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra told U.S. senators on Wednesday that an emerging line of attack on his agency's funding doesn't hold water, brushing aside a legal theory that has bubbled up in the aftermath of a recent U.S. Supreme Court defeat for critics of the agency.

  • June 12, 2024

    Teams Can't Prop Up Fox Philly TV License, Group Says

    The group of advocates calling for Fox's Philadelphia affiliate to lose its broadcast license over its parent company's 2020 election coverage is pushing back against claims from three of the city's sports teams, saying the station's sports content is beside the point.

  • June 12, 2024

    Wells Fargo Accused Of Mismanaging Forfeited 401(k) Funds

    A former Wells Fargo employee hit the San Francisco-based bank with a proposed class action in California federal court Tuesday, alleging Wells Fargo and its fiduciaries violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by using forfeited retirement funds to reduce its own contributions to other workers' 401(k)s.

  • June 12, 2024

    Texas Anesthesia Co. Appealing To Duck FTC Suit To 5th Circ.

    U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc. gave notice Wednesday that it will ask the Fifth Circuit to review a Texas federal judge's mid-May decision refusing to toss Federal Trade Commission allegations of a monopolistic "roll-up" of Lone Star State anesthesia practices.

  • June 12, 2024

    Judge Says Biden Admin Must Allow Show Loophole, For Now

    A Texas federal judge has ordered the Biden administration to stop enforcing a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rule that seeks to close what is known as the gun show loophole by requiring many private sellers to register as dealers and perform background checks before transacting gun sales.

  • June 12, 2024

    Oil Cos. Ignore Precedent In Climate Change Row, Tribes Say

    Two Washington tribes seeking to remand their consolidated cases against several oil industry giants to state court say the defendants' arguments of complete preemption in their efforts to keep the climate change litigation in the federal circuit misconstrues precedent, including claims to vindicate aboriginal title.

  • June 12, 2024

    Cabot Execs Misled Investors On Fracking Impact, Suit Says

    Insiders of Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., now known as Coterra Energy Inc., were hit with a shareholder derivative suit alleging they did not disclose that Cabot was not safeguarding drinking water from the company's fracking operations, which eventually led to criminal charges and reputational and financial damages.

  • June 12, 2024

    FCC Told Alaska Needs More Broadband Support

    A major telecommunications provider in Alaska is telling the Federal Communications Commission that the government will need to boost its funding if it wants providers to meet high-speed broadband deployment goals for the state.

  • June 12, 2024

    Something Fishy With Conagra's '100% Whole Fish,' Suit Says

    Customers alleged in Illinois federal court Tuesday that Conagra misled them by marketing its popular Van de Kamp's and Mrs. Paul's frozen fish products as "100% whole fish," despite artificially adding weight to those fish with an industrial filler and extra water.

  • June 12, 2024

    Mobile Game Maker Ruled Liable For Illegal Gambling In Wash.

    Two of High 5 Games' mobile apps are illegal gambling games, a Washington federal judge has ruled in an order that said the "virtual coins" used by players were things of value under Washington law, even though they are sometimes free and can't be cashed in for real money.

  • June 12, 2024

    Miss. Social Media Age Law Faces Free-Speech Challenge

    Mississippi is the latest state to enact a law that requires social media companies to verify the age of all users, but a challenge seeking to block that law from taking effect is already on the docket in federal court with a preliminary injunction hearing slated for this month.

  • June 12, 2024

    Judge Won't Trim $18M Shareholder Settlement Coverage Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge declined to toss certain bad faith allegations against an insurer accused of wrongfully denying coverage for an $18 million settlement between an asset management company and a group of shareholders, adopting a magistrate judge's recommendation that the company sufficiently alleged its claim of bad faith.

  • June 12, 2024

    Okta, Investors Reach $60M Deal In Cyberattack Coverup Suit

    Okta Inc. investors have asked a California federal judge to give the first OK to a $60 million settlement reached in a suit alleging the software company misled the certified class about a 2022 cyberattack.

  • June 12, 2024

    'Natural' Toothpaste Brand Loaded With PFAS, Moms Say

    Natural toothpaste company RiseWell LLC falsely advertised its kids toothpaste as "natural" and "safe to swallow," two mothers alleged Tuesday in a proposed class action, saying a U.S. Department of Defense-certified laboratory test found 750 times more "forever chemicals" in the toothpaste than researchers found in heavily tainted kale.

  • June 12, 2024

    Faulty Sig Sauer Pistol 'Betrayed' Ga. Gun Owner, Jury Told

    A life-altering injury that occurred when a man's Sig Sauer pistol accidentally fired into his leg could have been prevented had the company bothered to install a $5 safety feature in the trigger of its flagship​​ P320, counsel for the man told a Georgia federal jury Wednesday.

  • June 12, 2024

    FTC Asks 4th Circ. To Pause Novant Hospital Purchase

    The Federal Trade Commission has asked the Fourth Circuit to pause Novant Health's purchase of a North Carolina hospital while enforcers appeal an order from the lower court that refused to put the deal on hold for the commission's in-house merger challenge.

  • June 12, 2024

    Lawmakers Reach Deal With DOD On Spectrum Sharing

    A Senate committee said late Tuesday that lawmakers reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense that will allow legislation for new sales of commercial spectrum licenses to move forward.

  • June 12, 2024

    Transit Insurer Seeks To Limit Loss From $60M No-Fault Scam

    A taxi and livery insurer told a Brooklyn federal judge Wednesday that it is pursuing settlement in its effort to recoup $3.2 million lost in a massive, $60 million no-fault scam led by a former clinic operator now headed for prison.

  • June 12, 2024

    Terraform To Settle With SEC For $4.5B After Fraud Trial

    Crypto firm Terraform Labs has agreed to a $4.47 billion settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after a Manhattan jury found the firm and its founder Do Kwon liable for fraud in April.

  • June 12, 2024

    Ashley Furniture Faces Data Breach Suit Over 2023 Hack

    Ashley Furniture customers hit the home furnishing retailer with a proposed class action in Texas federal court Monday, accusing the company of negligence over its failure to safeguard their personal information — which was compromised during a cyberattack a year ago — and of waiting months to notify them.

Expert Analysis

  • 'Food As Health' Serves Up Fresh Legal Considerations

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    The growth of food as medicine presents a significant opportunity for healthcare organizations and nontraditional healthcare players to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs, though these innovative programs also bring compliance considerations that must be carefully navigated, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Aviation Watch: Mostly Smooth Landing For New FAA Law

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    The recently signed Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act enhances air safety in several key ways, including strengthened passenger rights and cockpit voice recorder requirements, but an expansion of slot exemptions at Reagan National Airport is a notable misstep, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • Series

    In The CFPB Playbook: Regulatory Aims Get High Court Assist

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    Newly emboldened after the U.S. Supreme Court last month found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding is constitutional, the bureau has likely experienced a psychic boost, allowing its already robust enforcement agenda to continue expanding, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • FTC Theories Of Harm After Anesthesia Co. Ruling

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    As Federal Trade Commission litigation against U.S. Anesthesia Partners proceeds following a Texas federal court's recent decision to dismiss a private equity sponsor from the suit, the case attempts to incorporate and advance some of the commission's theories of competitive harm from the final 2023 Merger Guidelines, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • FTC Hearing On Fake Review Rule Stressed Compliance Costs

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    The Federal Trade Commission is likely to finalize its proposed rule to prohibit marketers from using deceptive practices in their product reviews after an informal hearing covered arguments over whether costs of implementing the rule, such as review moderation and software maintenance, would be minimal, says Jeffrey Edelstein at Manatt.

  • FTC Focus: Exploring The Meaning Of Orange Book Letters

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently announced an expansion of its campaign to promote competition by targeting pharmaceutical manufacturers' improper Orange Book patent listings, but there is a question of whether and how this helps generic entrants, say Colin Kass and David Munkittrick at Proskauer.

  • 3 Recent Decisions To Note As Climate Litigation Heats Up

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    Three recent rulings on climate-related issues — from a New York federal court, a New York state court and an international tribunal, respectively — demonstrate both regulators' concern about climate change and the complexity of conflicting regulations in different jurisdictions, say J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 12 Keys To Successful Post-Trial Juror Interviews

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    Post-trial interviews offer attorneys an avenue to gain valuable insights into juror decision making and get feedback that can inform future litigation strategies, but certain best practices must be followed to get the most out of this research tool, say Alexa Hiley and Brianna Smith at IMS Legal.

  • How Employers, Attorneys Can Respond To Noncompete Ban

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    As the Federal Trade Commission's recently issued noncompete ban faces ongoing legal challenges, now is a good time for employers to consider whether they want to take a wait-and-see approach before halting use of noncompetes and for practitioners to gain insight into other tools available to protect their clients' business interests, says Jennifer Platzkere Snyder at Dilworth Paxson.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: May Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from automobile insurance to securities — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including circuit-specific ascertainability requirements and how to conduct a Daubert analysis prior to class certification.

  • New TSCA Risk Rule Gives EPA Broad Discretion On Science

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent final amendments to its framework for evaluating the risks of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act give it vast discretion over consideration of scientific information, without objective criteria to guide that discretion, say John McGahren and Debra Carfora at Morgan Lewis.

  • Perspectives

    Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys

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    As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.

  • CFPB's Expanding Scope Evident In Coding Bootcamp Fine

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent penalty against a for-profit coding bootcamp that misrepresented its tuition financing plans is a sign that the bureau is seeking to wield its supervisory and enforcement powers in more industries that offer consumer financing, say Jason McElroy and Brandon Sherman at Saul Ewing.

  • Fintech Compliance Amid Regulatory Focus On Sensitive Data

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent, expansive pursuit of financial services companies using sensitive personal information signals a move into the Federal Trade Commission's territory, and the path forward for fintech and financial service providers involves a balance between innovation and compliance, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.

  • 4 Arbitration Takeaways From High Court Coinbase Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's May 23 decision in Coinbase v. Suski, which provides clarity to parties faced with successive contracts containing conflicting dispute resolution provisions, has four practical impacts for contracting parties to consider, say Charles Schoenwetter and Eric Olson at Bowman and Brooke.

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