Consumer Protection

  • April 26, 2024

    Orgs Ask Biden, Congress To Impel Ligado Order's Reversal

    It's time for the Federal Communications Commission to retract its controversial order allowing satellite communications company Ligado Networks to operate over a slice of spectrum known as the L-band, over 100 groups have banded together to tell Congress and the Biden administration.

  • April 26, 2024

    L'Occitane's Claim Zimmerman Reed Weaponized Law Tossed

    A California federal judge has thrown out L'Occitane's allegations that Zimmerman Reed LLP and thousands of clients conspired to "weaponize" a California wiretapping law against the luxury retailer, while chastising both sides' counsel in a footnote for their "overwrought, unjustified and misguided" arguments during litigation.

  • April 26, 2024

    CFTC Receives Competing Visions For AI's Regulatory Future

    Business lobbyists have urged the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to lean on existing regulations to address the financial industry's use of artificial intelligence, while skeptics say those regulations don't go far enough to guard against the technology's potential to spur market crashes and data breaches.

  • April 26, 2024

    Wash. Judge Doubts He Can Block Kroger Merger

    A Washington state judge expressed "serious doubts" Friday he could block the $24.6 billion Kroger and Albertsons merger but declined to dismiss the state attorney general's lawsuit seeking to derail the deal, saying that the state still had more narrowly tailored remedies to address its anti-competition concerns.

  • April 26, 2024

    Sen. Panel Set To Vote On Dems' Spectrum Auction Bill

    A Senate panel plans to vote on a bill that would renew the Federal Communications Commission's spectrum auction powers and address a shortfall in the agency's national security program.

  • April 26, 2024

    Feds Probe Tesla Autopilot Recall Fix Amid 'Misuse' Risks

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating whether Tesla's software update following a December recall, intended to more clearly warn drivers to stay alert and attentive while using its vehicles' Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system, effectively addressed the risks of "driver misuse."

  • April 26, 2024

    Crypto Atty's Senate Bid Takes Detour For SEC-Coinbase Suit

    The pro-cryptocurrency attorney vying to unseat Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts added to his pro bono work in the digital asset space on Friday by taking up the mantle for Coinbase users in the crypto exchange's ongoing battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • April 26, 2024

    Google Urges Va. Court To End DOJ's Ad Tech Case

    Google urged a Virginia federal court on Friday to toss the U.S. Department of Justice case accusing it of monopolizing key digital advertising technology ahead of trial, saying the government cannot use antitrust law to force a company to help its competitors.

  • April 26, 2024

    Alaska Airlines Rogue Pilot Suit Not Grounded Yet

    A Washington state court judge ruled Friday that Alaska Airlines passengers' state negligence claims were entirely preempted by federal regulations, but gave them a chance to revise their suit to claim the airline violated federal safety rules by allowing an off-duty pilot into the cockpit who allegedly tried to sabotage the flight.

  • April 26, 2024

    Soccer Star Says Binance Is Target Of $1B Fla. Suit, Not Him

    Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has urged a Florida federal judge to dismiss a $1 billion proposed class action lawsuit against him over promoting Binance.US, saying the embattled cryptocurrency exchange is listed as the target of the suit — in an "apparent Freudian slip" — instead of him.

  • April 26, 2024

    HomeServices Brokerage Reaches Deal With Home Sellers

    Berkshire Hathaway-owned brokerage firm HomeServices of America reached a deal Friday to settle claims that it forced a class of home sellers to pay inflated commissions, closely following the approval of a $418 million deal between the class and the National Association of Realtors.

  • April 26, 2024

    Wells Fargo Clients Seek Class Cert. In Race Bias Suit

    Mortgage applicants accusing Wells Fargo of discriminating against borrowers from racial minorities with higher interest rates, worse terms and more scrutiny than white clients have asked a California federal judge to approve their class.

  • April 26, 2024

    FTC's Bedoya Says Labor Concerns In Mergers Matter

    Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya said Friday that it's important for enforcers to consider the impact mergers can have on labor, even if they never did in the past, contending that concentration can lead to lower wages and dangerous working conditions.

  • April 26, 2024

    Apple Keeps Win Over Fortnite Player In Calif. Antitrust Suit

    A California state appeals court on Thursday refused to revive a putative class action brought by Fortnite players alleging that Apple's App Store policies violate the state's antitrust and unfair competition laws, saying because the tech giant's conduct is immune from antitrust liability it can't be held to be "unfair."

  • April 26, 2024

    Republic First Bank Fails In Biggest Bust Since 2023 Turmoil

    Republic First Bank, a roughly $6 billion bank based in Philadelphia, was shuttered Friday by Pennsylvania state banking regulators and sold to Fulton Bank NA, capping off a prolonged decline that only worsened in the wake of last spring's regional bank failures.

  • April 26, 2024

    NJ Solar Co. To Settle Claims It Ignored Do Not Call List

    Apollo Energy Co. and the Pennsylvania man who accused it of repeatedly calling consumers who had put their phone numbers on the national Do Not Call registry or who had already asked not to call them again have agreed to settle their dispute, the parties said.

  • April 26, 2024

    Insurers Say BASF Can't Seek Same PFAS Coverage In 3 Suits

    BASF Corp.'s insurers have said a South Carolina federal court lacked jurisdiction and should toss the chemical manufacturer's case in favor of similar New Jersey state litigation seeking coverage for thousands of underlying allegations that a substance made for firefighting foam caused pollution and injury.

  • April 26, 2024

    CVS Customers Say Colo. Co. 'Eavesdrops' On Web Activity

    Two consumers who used CVS.com to order prescription refills have filed a putative class action against a Colorado software service provider claiming it illegally eavesdrops on visitors' interactions with the website without their knowledge, even gathering information about specific drugs and dosages they purchased.

  • April 26, 2024

    Blackstone Must Face Claims Of Price-Fixing At Vegas Hotels

    A Las Vegas hotel price-fixing suit against Blackstone and others has survived the private equity firm's motion to dismiss, with a Nevada federal judge ruling the plaintiffs had shown enough to allege Blackstone was in control of one of the target hotels, the Cosmopolitan Hotel, at the time of the alleged scheme.

  • April 26, 2024

    FTC Claims Amazon Execs Destroyed Antitrust Evidence

    The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general urged a Washington federal judge to force Amazon to produce documents detailing its preservation efforts in their high-stakes antitrust fight, arguing that discovery has revealed that ex-CEO Jeff Bezos and other executives used the encrypted app Signal to destroy relevant antitrust evidence.

  • April 26, 2024

    2 NC Sens. Seek Atty Fee Cap In Debt Collection Suits

    Two Republican North Carolina lawmakers have proposed state legislation that would close a loophole for attorney fees in debt collection actions while giving courts more power to determine a reasonable charge.

  • April 26, 2024

    Insurer Can't Avoid Coverage Suit Against Escrow Agent

    First American Title Insurance Co. must continue to be a party in Wesco Insurance Co.'s declaratory action seeking to avoid covering claims that Wesco's insureds improperly diverted escrow funds in real estate transactions to third parties with no valid claims to the funds, a Florida federal court ruled.

  • April 26, 2024

    Pa. Regulators To Probe FirstEnergy's $503M Rate Hike Bid

    The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is opening an investigation into a FirstEnergy unit's proposed annual rate increase that would boost its revenue by over $503 million and raise consumer power bills in four districts by between 9.2% and 11.8%, according to a new order from the regulator.

  • April 25, 2024

    FTC Sues Bill-Payment Co. Over Misleading Ads, Junk Fees

    The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday filed suit against a Seattle-based, third-party bill-paying company for allegedly tricking online consumers into using the company's service by disguising itself as consumers' billers' official payment channel and tacking on junk fees.

  • April 25, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Legal Battles Set To Begin On Broadband 'Neutrality' Regs

    Now that the Federal Communications Commission's Democratic leadership brushed past GOP members' opposition to net neutrality rules, it faces what could be a higher hurdle — growing resistance in the courts to expansive views of agency powers.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Litigation Strategies To Combat 'Safetyism'

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    Amid the rise of safetyism — the idea that every person should be free from the risk of harm or discomfort — among jurors and even judges, defense counsel can mount several tactics from the very start of litigation to counteract these views and blunt the potential for jackpot damages, says Ann Marie Duffy at Hollingsworth.

  • How AI May Be Used In Fintech Fraud — And Fraud Detection

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    Recent enforcement actions in the fintech and finance industries show that the government is increasingly pursuing fraud enabled by artificial intelligence — at the same time it’s using AI innovations to enforce regulations and investigate fraud, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 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.

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