Consumer Protection

  • February 17, 2026

    Unilever's Deal Over Benzene Allegations Hits Speed Bump

    A Connecticut federal judge on Tuesday declined to grant preliminary approval to a proposed $3.6 million class action settlement with Unilever to end claims that certain aerosol dry shampoo propellants contained benzene, saying the settlement class is too broad and that the covered time period goes back too far. 

  • February 17, 2026

    Walgreens Can't Ditch 'Dishwasher Safe' Cutlery Dispute

    An Illinois federal judge largely rejected a bid from Walgreen Co. and other companies to ditch a proposed class consumer suit targeting plastic cutlery that melted in a dishwasher, saying the customer has plausibly alleged that the utensils' front packaging label features a misleading claim that they are "dishwasher safe."

  • February 17, 2026

    Waste Co. Republic Sued Over Alleged Seattle River Pollution

    Waste management company Republic Services was hit with a Clean Water Act lawsuit in Washington federal court Friday by an environmental watchdog group for allegedly releasing polluted water from an industrial site near Seattle's Duwamish River.

  • February 17, 2026

    AI's Needs Outpace Broadband Infrastructure, Report Says

    The "artificial intelligence boom" is going to mean slower internet speeds for consumers if Congress doesn't do something to make commercial spectrum less scarce, according to a new report from a conservative-leaning policy group.

  • February 17, 2026

    CFTC Backs Prediction Markets In 9th Circ. Fight With Nevada

    U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig told state gaming regulators Tuesday that he intends to defend his agency's "exclusive jurisdiction" over prediction markets, starting with a brief to the Ninth Circuit backing Crypto.com in an ongoing brawl with Nevada regulators over its sports wagers.

  • February 17, 2026

    Colo. Utility Advocates Dispute Energy Financing Program

    The Colorado Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate, or UCA, claimed in Colorado state court Friday that a recent decision to approve a tariffed on-bill financing program to help customers purchase energy efficiency upgrades violates state law.

  • February 17, 2026

    FCC Investigating Possible Lifeline Fraud In Calif., Beyond

    Lifeline providers in states that were allowed to opt out of the federal verification process might soon find themselves in the hot seat, as the Federal Communications Commission revealed Tuesday it has launched investigations into certain providers from three states.

  • February 17, 2026

    9th Circ. Clears Way For Nev. Gaming Action Against Kalshi

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday denied Kalshi's request to keep its sports event contracts safe from Nevada gaming regulators, clearing the way for the state to bring a civil enforcement action against the online trading platform.

  • February 17, 2026

    FCC's Equal Time Stance Blasted As Colbert Tanks Interview

    Progressives called the Federal Communications Commission's rollout of equal-time policies against late-night talk shows slanted after Stephen Colbert blamed the FCC for being forced to move an interview with a Democratic Senate candidate off the air.

  • February 17, 2026

    Atty Can't Both Lead And Rep Class In Lawsuit, NJ Court Says

    An attorney can't be both the lead plaintiff and class counsel in a class action, a New Jersey appeals court ruled Tuesday, leaning on a more than 40-year-old state supreme court decision in denying class certification in a lawsuit accusing an electric bike maker of selling defective products.

  • February 17, 2026

    Judge Rips Drugmakers' Borderline 'Disingenuous' Appeal Bid

    A Connecticut federal judge has rejected generic-drug makers' request for a quick appeal of his ruling denying them summary judgment on states' claims they engaged in an "overarching conspiracy" to fix prices, slamming the request for being borderline "disingenuous," mischaracterizing his reasoning and ignoring direct evidence of alleged wrongdoing.

  • February 17, 2026

    CFTC Lands $1.3M Settlement In Immigrant Fraud Case

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has reached a $1.3 million settlement with the operator of an unlicensed commodity pool who allegedly targeted dozens of Spanish-speaking immigrants in a $1.5 million Ponzi-like scheme that used a fictitious license containing a counterfeit CFTC seal and a forged commissioner's signature to falsely promise investors guaranteed monthly returns.

  • February 17, 2026

    Globe Life Reaches $4.66M Deal Over Client Data Breach

    Globe Life Inc. and a subsidiary have agreed to pay up to $4.66 million to resolve a proposed class action alleging the life insurance companies failed to protect the private information of policyholders and applicants from an October 2024 data breach, according to a filing in Texas federal court.

  • February 17, 2026

    FCC Threatens To Nix Mich. Radio Licenses Over Unpaid Fees

    The Federal Communications Commission said it will yank the licenses for seven Michigan radio stations if the company that holds the licenses fails to pay the regulatory fees it has been delinquent on for several years.

  • February 17, 2026

    Union Says Express Scripts Diverted Billions In Kickback Fees

    A Chicago plumbers union healthcare fund told an Illinois federal court Tuesday that the nation's largest pharmacy benefit manager, Express Scripts, violated federal criminal law when it used a Switzerland-based company to hide kickbacks it generated by charging drug companies fees for key placement on prescription plan drug lists.  

  • February 17, 2026

    Pepsi And Walmart Inflated Soda Prices, ND Businesses Say

    Pepsi and Walmart devised a plan to inflate prices for Pepsi soft drinks above competitive levels, two North Dakota businesses said in a proposed class action in New York federal court that alleges the companies violated federal antitrust laws.

  • February 17, 2026

    Aviation, Wireless Biz Work On 'Consensus' For C-Band

    Federal aviation experts are working closely with the wireless industry to develop a "consensus framework" for next-generation aircraft safety gear to avoid congestion of 5G and flight signals in the C-band, a carriers' group says.

  • February 17, 2026

    Boeing, Ex-CEO Escape Fund's 737 Max Fraud Suit

    An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday tossed a securities fraud suit accusing Boeing of misrepresenting the safety of its 737 Max 8 jets after two deadly crashes overseas, saying a Massachusetts-based investment fund cannot pursue claims purportedly assigned to it by a defunct assignor.

  • February 17, 2026

    Kalshi Wins Stay Of Mass. Injunction Amid Appeal

    Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court on Tuesday granted prediction market Kalshi a reprieve from having to comply with an order blocking it from offering sports-related event contracts in the state, pending the outcome of an expedited appeal.

  • February 17, 2026

    Kids Cup Brand Says Testing Co. Missed High Lead Levels

    A Massachusetts testing firm failed to identify higher-than-allowed lead levels in a line of stainless steel tumblers marketed for children, leading to a recall of about 400,000 cups, the brand's owner alleged in a state court complaint docketed Tuesday.

  • February 17, 2026

    J&J Fights Beasley Allen's Bid To Pause Talc DQ Ruling

    A New Jersey state court lacks standing to block an appellate panel's removal of Beasley Allen from representing hundreds of women with ovarian cancer pursuing claims against Johnson & Johnson over talcum powder, the pharmaceutical company has argued in an opposition brief.

  • February 17, 2026

    Sick Juror Delays Meta Trial Ahead Of Zuckerberg Testimony

    The first bellwether trial over thousands of claims that social media companies harm young people's mental health was delayed Tuesday due to a juror being hospitalized with an illness, although the California state judge in the case said the trial will resume one way or another on Wednesday, when Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify. 

  • February 17, 2026

    Sens. Concerned About Live Nation Case After DOJ 'Ousting'

    A group of Senate Democrats is raising concerns about potential political influence at the U.S. Department of Justice, following the abrupt departure of the agency's top antitrust enforcer weeks before Live Nation is set to face trial in the government's monopolization case.

  • February 13, 2026

    Stanford Prof Tells Jury Studies Confirm Social Media Addiction

    A Stanford University professor of psychiatry and addiction returned to the witness stand Friday in a California bellwether trial over claims that social media companies harm young people's mental health, saying studies have concluded that addiction to platforms such as YouTube and Instagram is real and can hurt mental health.

  • February 13, 2026

    Novel Calif. Data Deletion Tool Off To Hot Start, Director Says

    Despite a relatively quiet rollout, more than 170,000 California residents have signed up for a first-of-its-kind system that allows them to ask all registered data brokers to delete their personal information in a single request, positioning the tool as a strong model for other states similarly looking to boost consumer protections, the executive director of the state's privacy regulator told Law360.  

Expert Analysis

  • UK Tribunal's Clearview Decision Expands GDPR Application

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    The Upper Tribunal’s recent decision in Information Commissioner v. Clearview AI is an important ruling on the extraterritorial reach of the European Union and U.K. General Data Protection Regulations, broadening behavioral monitoring to include not only activity by the company, but also its client, says Edward Machin at Ropes & Gray.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: November Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five recent rulings and identifies practice tips from cases involving claims related to oil and gas royalty payments, consumer fraud, life insurance, automobile insurance, and securities violations.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Dynamic Databases

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    Several recent federal court decisions illustrate how parties continue to grapple with the discovery of data in dynamic databases, so counsel involved in these disputes must consider how structured data should be produced consistent with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Assessing The SEC's Changing Approach To NFT Regulation

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    Early U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission actions on nonfungible tokens pushed for broad regulation, but subsequent court decisions — including a recent California federal court ruling in Adonis Real v. Yuga Labs — and SEC commissioners' statements have narrowed the regulatory focus toward a more fact-specific approach, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.

  • Where Crypto Mixing Enforcement Is Headed From Here

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    Recent developments involving crypto mixers, particularly the Tornado Cash verdict, demonstrate that the Justice Department's shift away from regulation by prosecution does not mean total immunity, rather reflecting an approach that prioritizes both innovation and accountability, says David Tarras at Tarras Defense.

  • The Legal Issues With AI Agents In Consumer Transactions

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    Enabling artificial intelligence agents to handle not just research and recommendations, but the execution of purchases themselves, fundamentally alters commercial relationships and introduces new practical and legal questions for card issuers, merchants, acquirers and consumers, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Wash. Email Subject Line Ruling Puts Retailers On The Hook

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    The Washington state Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Old Navy, finding that a state law prohibits misleading email subject lines, has opened the door to nationwide copycat litigation, introducing potential exposure measured not in thousands, but in millions or even billions of dollars for retailers, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • How Nasdaq, SEC Proposals May Transform Listing Standards

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    Both Nasdaq and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have increasingly focused their recent regulatory efforts on small and foreign issuers, particularly those from China, reflecting an intention to strengthen the overall quality of companies accessing U.S. markets, but also potentially introducing a chilling effect on certain issuers, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • New NCAA Betting Policy Fits Trend Of Eased Restrictions

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    Allowing NCAA student-athletes to bet on professional sports fits into a decade-long trend of treating college athletes more like adults in a commercial system, but decreasing player restrictions translates to increased compliance burdens for schools, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

  • Series

    Building With Lego Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Building with Lego has taught me to follow directions and adapt to unexpected challenges, and in pairing discipline with imagination, allows me to stay grounded while finding new ways to make complex deals come together, says Paul Levin at Venable.

  • How Banks Can Safely Handle Payments For Gambling Biz

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    As the betting market continues to expand, it's crucial for banks and fintechs to track historical developments in wagering and ongoing prediction markets litigation that can factor into a risk analysis for payment processing with respect to gambling operators, says Laura D'Angelo at Jones Walker.

  • SEC Focused On Fraud As Actions Markedly Declined In 2025

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement activity in its fiscal year 2025 was its lowest in 10 years, reflecting not only a significant decline in the commission's workforce, but also Chairman Paul Atkins' stated focus on fraud and individual wrongdoing and a new approach to crypto regulation, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Networking 101

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    Cultivating a network isn't part of the law school curriculum, but learning the soft skills needed to do so may be the key to establishing a solid professional reputation, nurturing client relationships and building business, says Sharon Crane at Practising Law Institute.

  • Defeating Estoppel-Based Claims In Legal Malpractice Actions

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    State supreme court cases from recent years have addressed whether positions taken by attorneys in an underlying lawsuit can be used against them in a subsequent legal malpractice action, providing a foundation to defeat ex-clients’ estoppel claims, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

  • How Cos. Can Prep For Tightened Calif. Data Breach Notices

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    Amid California's recent enactment of S.B. 446, which significantly amends the state's data breach notification laws, companies should review and update their incident response plans by establishing processes to document and support any delayed notification, and ensure the notifications' accuracy, say Mark Krotoski and Alexandria Marx at Pillsbury.

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