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Consumer Protection
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January 27, 2025
Lummis Tells 2nd Circ. SEC 'Flouts' Congress In Crypto Cases
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R.-Wyo., told the Second Circuit that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ongoing suit against Coinbase Inc. has complicated congressional efforts to set rules for digital assets, filing her support for the crypto exchange's bid for a quick ruling from the appeals court on how securities laws apply to the transactions on its platform.
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January 27, 2025
States Back In Spotlight As Feds Exit Net Neutrality Debate
The Sixth Circuit might have recently hammered the last nail into the coffin of federal net neutrality rules, but states are poised to fill the void — just as some did when the last Trump administration tanked a previous broadband regulatory regime.
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January 27, 2025
CFPB Says Acima Can't Use 'Lease' Label To Exit Suit
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau urged a Utah federal court to not dismiss its predatory lending suit against Acima Leasing, arguing the fintech company and Rent-A-Center affiliate can't hide offering functional credit products by calling them rental purchases.
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January 27, 2025
UnitedHealth Raises Cyberattack Estimate To 190M Individuals
A debilitating cyberattack last year that sabotaged vital billing and prescribing services operated by a UnitedHealth Group unit affected personal information belonging to roughly 190 million individuals, the health insurer disclosed Friday, nearly doubling its previous estimate of the scope of the incident.
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January 27, 2025
4th Circ. Says Servicemembers Law Doesn't Bar Arbitration
The Fourth Circuit ruled Monday that the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a federal law that grants financial protections to members of the U.S. armed forces, does not override mandatary arbitration agreements in lenders' contracts with military borrowers.
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January 27, 2025
Cruz Files Bill To Repeal FCC's Student Wi-Fi Plan
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has filed a bill to prevent the Federal Communications Commission from carrying out a Democratic plan to fund Wi-Fi for students off campus.
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January 27, 2025
FCC No Longer Mulling Broadband Bulk Billing Restrictions
With the Federal Communications Commission now under Republican leadership, the agency has decided to pull its plan to restrict bulk billing for broadband services from the FCC's regulatory agenda.
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January 27, 2025
Judge Refuses To Stop Amazon Data Suit In Ill. State Court
A Delaware federal judge refused on Monday to block a lawsuit in Illinois state court accusing Amazon Web Services of illegally collecting voice data, saying the Illinois privacy case involves different claims and parties than the federal case, which was dismissed because some plaintiffs lacked standing.
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January 27, 2025
3rd Circ. Says Class Cert. Won't Work In Junk Fax Suit
Since Fox Rehabilitation Services used "highly individualized methods" to seek consent from the entities it sent faxes to, it would be too difficult for a lawsuit accusing the company of sending unsolicited ads to proceed as a class action, a split Third Circuit panel has ruled.
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January 27, 2025
Gerber, Nestle Sued Over Claims Of Metal In Baby Food
A mother has filed suit against baby food manufacturers, including Gerber Products Co., Beech-Nut Nutrition Co. and Walmart Inc., claiming her child developed autism after consuming their products, which were tainted with heavy metals, and she is seeking to join the larger multidistrict litigation.
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January 27, 2025
DC, Council Aim To Stop Block On Pot Shop Closures
The D.C. Council and other city government agencies are urging the D.C. federal court to deny bids from cannabis retailers for injunctions to block enforcement of city cannabis regulations that has resulted in closures of some of the plaintiff stores.
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January 27, 2025
So-Called 'Face' Of $14M Crypto Ponzi Scheme Gets 2½ Years
A Manhattan federal judge sentenced a Florida house cleaner to 2½ years in prison Monday for her role in promoting the $14 million, international Forcount cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme to fellow Latinos over three years.
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January 27, 2025
Justices Won't Review $90M Facebook Privacy Settlement
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a case involving a $90 million settlement for claims Facebook illegally tracked logged-out users' browsing activity, rejecting an argument from an objector who challenged plaintiff service awards and $26.1 million in attorney fees.
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January 27, 2025
MGM's $45M Deal To End Data Breach Suits Wins Initial OK
A Nevada federal judge has preliminarily approved MGM Resorts International's $45 million deal — with class counsel seeking up to $13.5 million in fees — to settle consolidated proposed class action litigation alleging that MGM failed to protect 37 million customers' personal information from multiple data breaches in 2019 and 2023.
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January 27, 2025
Walmart Hit With False Ad Suit Over Instant Mac And Cheese
Walmart Inc. was hit with a putative false advertising class action in California federal court by customers who say the retail giant falsely markets its Great Value brand of instant macaroni and cheese products as containing no artificial preservatives and flavors, despite citric acid being part of the ingredients list.
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January 27, 2025
'Guesswork' Dooms Class Cert. In Meta Privacy Antitrust Suit
A California federal judge has refused to certify a class of consumers who say Meta would have to pay users for their data if it didn't lie about privacy safeguards, finding that the motion was undone by the opinions of an economist who cannot get from general economics to market reality.
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January 27, 2025
Multiple Cannabis Cos. Hit With THC Potency Class Actions
A single litigant has filed two proposed consumer class actions in Illinois federal court against cannabis companies, alleging that their wares exceeded lawful levels of psychoactive THC.
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January 27, 2025
Pool Co. To Face Rival's Contempt Bid Over $16M Judgment
A Chinese pool parts supplier will have to appear for a show cause hearing to address whether it should be held in contempt for allegedly funneling money out of the country to avoid paying a $16 million judgment, a North Carolina federal judge said Monday.
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January 24, 2025
Deel Blasts Racketeering Suit Over Alleged Money Laundering
Deel Inc. asked a Florida federal judge to permanently end a putative class action alleging it enabled money laundering and facilitated illegal transfers for Surge Capital, which allegedly scammed investors out of $35 million, arguing the plaintiff is trying to pursue liability of "an innocent party for the wrongdoing of another."
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January 24, 2025
SEC Gets Kraken's Major Questions Doctrine Defense Axed
A California federal judge on Friday partially granted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's bid to ax some of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken's key defenses to allegations it violated securities laws by offering crypto assets without proper registration, saying the case wasn't the type to implicate the so-called major questions doctrine defense.
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January 24, 2025
FTC Signals Unified Focus On Kids' Privacy With Rule Update
The Federal Trade Commission's recent unanimous move to strengthen longstanding online privacy protections for children demonstrated that the agency won't be easing up on enforcement in this space as a new Republican regime takes over, despite lingering questions over whether further changes or expansions may be on the horizon.
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January 24, 2025
Colo. Judge Asks If Uber Pay Law Is Like Cigarette Warning
A Colorado federal judge asked the state whether a law requiring Uber to disclose driver pay to riders can be compared to cigarette warning labels if riders are getting the information after a ride is completed, at a hearing Friday to consider whether to block the law from taking effect.
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January 24, 2025
11th Circ. Overturns FCC One-To-One Marketing Consent Rule
The Eleventh Circuit late Friday overturned a Federal Communications Commission rule requiring individual consumer consent to receive contacts from companies through comparison shopping sites.
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January 24, 2025
CFPB, NY's Updated Claims Against MoneyGram Move Ahead
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the New York attorney general's updated claims against payments firm MoneyGram aren't futile and can move forward despite a yearslong pause in the enforcement suit, a New York federal judge ruled Friday.
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January 24, 2025
Justices To Clarify Article III Standing For Certified Classes
The U.S. Supreme Court granted LabCorp's request on Friday to clarify federal law regarding whether district courts can certify class actions when some members of the proposed class may lack a cognizable injury in fact.
Expert Analysis
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How CFPB Rule Would Affect Data Brokers And Beyond
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently proposed a rule that would not only expand data broker oversight by classifying many as consumer reporting agencies, but would also impose new limitations on companies seeking to obtain information from them, potentially requiring such entities to alter their business models, say attorneys at Orrick.
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Firms Still Have The Edge In Lateral Hiring, But Buyer Beware
Partner mobility data suggests that the third quarter of this year continued to be a buyer’s market, with the average candidate demanding less compensation for a larger book of business — but moving into the fourth quarter, firms should slow down their hiring process to minimize risks, say officers at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.
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Reviewing 2024's State Consumer Privacy Law Enforcement
While we are still in the infancy of state consumer privacy laws, a review of enforcement activity this year suggests substantial overlaps in regulatory priorities across the most active states and gives insight into the likely paths of future enforcement, says Thomas Nolan at Quinn Emanuel.
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Preparing For The New Restrictions On Investment Into China
In light of a new regulatory program governing U.S. investments in China-related technology companies of national security concern, investors should keep several considerations in mind, including the rules' effect on existing and new investments, compliance hurdles, and penalties for noncompliance ahead of the rules' January implementation, say attorneys at Gunderson Dettmer.
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Teaching Your Witness To Beat The Freeze/Appease Response
In addition to fight-or-flight, witnesses may experience the freeze/appease response at trial or deposition — where they become a deer in headlights, agreeing with opposing counsel’s questions and damaging their credibility in the process — but certain strategies can help, says Bill Kanasky at Courtroom Sciences.
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Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out
In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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FTX Exec's Sentencing Shows Pros And Cons Of Cooperation
The sentencing of former FTX tech deputy Gary Wang, whose cooperation netted him a rare outcome of no prison time, offers critical takeaways for attorneys and clients navigating the burgeoning world of crypto-related prosecutions, says Andrew Meck at Whiteford.
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SEC Custody Rule Creates Crypto Compliance Conundrum
While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's application of the custody rule may be a good faith attempt to enhance consumer protections for client assets, it doesn't appreciate the unique characteristics of crypto-assets, forcing advisers to choose between pursuing their clients' objectives and complying with the rule, say attorneys at Willkie.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity
Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Tracking The Uncertainty Of The FTC's Negative Option Rule
The fate of the Federal Trade Commission's final rule requiring businesses that utilize negative options to provide consumers with a simple cancellation method remains in limbo as it faces multiple legal challenges and the threat of possible congressional action looms, say attorneys at Manatt.
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Antitrust in Retail: Handbag Ruling Won't Go Out Of Fashion
Although a New York federal court’s recent decision to enjoin a proposed $8.5 billion merger between the owners of Michael Kors and Coach applied noncontroversial antitrust interpretations, several notable aspects of the opinion stand out as likely candidates for further discussion in future merger litigation, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Series
Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.
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SEC Prioritized Enforcement Sweeps As Cases Slowed In '24
Following three consecutive years of increasing activity, fiscal year 2024 marked the lowest number of cases the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has brought since Gary Gensler assumed office in April 2021, buttressed by some familiar enforcement sweeps, say attorneys at Covington.
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Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review
For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Key Takeaways From FDA's Latest Social Media Warnings
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's latest untitled letter concerning a drug company's social media promotion provides lessons for how companies should navigate risk presentation, FDA labeling requirements and superiority claims, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.