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Consumer Protection
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April 17, 2024
Judge Merges Axos Bank Suits But Won't Appoint Counsel Yet
A California federal judge has agreed to consolidate a pair of cases over how Axos handled interest rates on savings deposit accounts offered through an online banking division, but rejected its customers' bid to name three law firms as interim co-lead counsel, saying it is not necessary at this time since more consolidation could occur.
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April 17, 2024
IBM Privacy Head Says AI Needs Transparency To Be Trusted
To combat artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes, disinformation and bias requires transparent, open-sourced AI models and swift regulations that protect elections, creators and the public, says IBM's Chief Privacy & Trust Officer Christina Montgomery.
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April 17, 2024
American Urges 1st Circ. To Reject 'Radical' JetBlue Ruling
American Airlines has told the First Circuit that a judge's "radical vision of the antitrust laws" that blocked its Northeast Alliance joint venture with JetBlue shouldn't stand, arguing that federal enforcers are relying on misleading claims and outdated precedent to prop up the lower court's mistaken conclusion.
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April 16, 2024
House Panel Takes Aim At Change Healthcare, FTC Over Hack
A House subcommittee exploring ways to boost cybersecurity in the healthcare industry on Tuesday blasted Change Healthcare for failing to take appropriate steps to block a damaging cyberattack that echoed another recent strike on critical infrastructure and the Federal Trade Commission for not stopping the provider from controlling such a large market share.
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April 16, 2024
Split 5th Circ. Won't Rehear Case Over Agency Protections
A divided Fifth Circuit on Tuesday denied en banc rehearing of a panel decision that likely sets up a U.S. Supreme Court challenge of long-standing limits to the president's power to fire executive branch subordinates.
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April 16, 2024
Eli Lilly's Insulin Price Cap Deal Collapses After Cert. Denial
Eli Lilly & Co. and insulin buyers have called off a proposed nationwide settlement that would've capped insulin prices and been worth up to $500 million over several years, a decision that was made after the buyers lost a class certification bid early this year, according to the buyers' counsel.
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April 16, 2024
Cashed Check Kills VW Emissions Deal Appeal, 9th Circ. Says
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday threw out an attempt to unravel an $80 million deal resolving consolidated consumer litigation alleging Volkswagen and Porsche manipulated emissions and fuel-economy tests for nearly 500,000 gas-powered vehicles, saying the objector has already cashed his portion of the settlement.
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April 16, 2024
'Wide As The Ocean': Apple Judge Pans Investor Deal Release
A California federal judge declined Monday to preliminarily approve Apple's nonmonetary settlement in a derivative-shareholder suit over claims it secretly slowed iPhones, criticizing the deal's release of claims that "relate" to the case as overbroad and noting that, "in practice, lawyers argue that 'relate' is as wide as the ocean."
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April 16, 2024
Justices Asked To Review Texas' Online Porn Age Check Law
Texas' law requiring all visitors to adult-oriented websites to prove their age before accessing the content is unconstitutional under the First Amendment, a trade group for the pornography industry told the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to overturn a split Fifth Circuit decision that allowed the age-verification requirement to go into effect.
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April 16, 2024
BofA Draws Scorn From Republican AGs Over 'De-Banking'
Republican state attorneys general are calling out Bank of America over what they claim has been its discriminatory account closures of Christian religious groups and hostile treatment of conservative customers, allegations the banking giant strongly denies.
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April 16, 2024
NC Treasurer Backs FTC On Hospital Merger Challenge
North Carolina's treasurer agreed Monday that Novant Health's $320 million plan to pick up a pair of hospitals is a bad idea, throwing its weight behind the Federal Trade Commission's challenge to the deal in federal court.
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April 16, 2024
Tai Sidesteps As GOP Reps Try To Pin Down Trade Timeline
Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee castigated U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Tuesday for the administration's vague agenda regarding future trade deals and a long-awaited tariff review that she described as "optimistic" and "coming soon."
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April 16, 2024
White House Opposes Bill To Close Data 'Loophole'
The White House on Tuesday came out against a bipartisan bill that would prevent law enforcement and intelligence agencies from buying Americans' personal information, an issue critics say is a "loophole" to get around the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
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April 16, 2024
Mercedes Rusty Subframe Suit Is Too Vague, Judge Is Told
Mercedes-Benz argued in court Tuesday that a proposed class action over a claimed subframe defect should be dismissed as an improper shotgun pleading as it directs allegations at "Mercedes" without specifying whether the German parent company or its Atlanta subsidiary are supposedly to blame.
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April 16, 2024
Broadband Subsidy Backers Seek To Force House Vote
Nearly 300 groups urged Congress to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program, but as a bill to do so picked up support from more than half of U.S. House lawmakers, a vote on replenishing the fund remains up in the air.
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April 16, 2024
NY Outdoor Stadium Can Host Concerts During Noise Row
A century-old outdoor stadium in New York where the Beatles once played can continue operating as it battles disgruntled neighbors after a state judge denied the residents' request for a preliminary injunction because they had not shown that noise from the stadium was unreasonable.
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April 16, 2024
CFPB Moves To 'Streamline' How It Tags Nonbanks For Exams
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday unveiled procedural adjustments to its process for singling out fintech firms and other nonbanks for examination, changes the agency attributed in part to plans for an internal reorganization of its supervision and enforcement unit.
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April 16, 2024
Feds, PPG Reach $22.8M Deal To Clean Up NJ Superfund Site
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a settlement with PPG Industries Inc. on Tuesday under which the company has agreed to cough up more than $22.8 million to cover the estimated future cleanup costs and maintenance at the Riverside Industrial Park Superfund Site in Newark, New Jersey.
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April 16, 2024
Terraform Creditors Say All Clear To Hire Crypto Tracing Firm
The creditors committee for bankrupt cryptocurrency startup Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd. said on Tuesday it had resolved the only issues the U.S. Trustee's Office had with the committee's request to hire an investment bank to advise it on tracing cryptocurrency in Terraform's Chapter 11 case.
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April 16, 2024
Buttigieg, State AGs To Probe Consumer Airline Complaints
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday announced a new partnership with Colorado and over a dozen other states to investigate consumer complaints about air travel, vowing to hold airlines and ticket agents accountable for excessive flight cancellations and unfair business practices.
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April 16, 2024
Flyers Challenge $1.9B Hawaiian-Alaska Airlines Merger
Alaska Airlines is facing an antitrust lawsuit from flyers alleging that its proposed $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines will reduce competition in the airline industry, raise prices and potentially cause layoffs.
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April 16, 2024
South State Bank Breach Exposed 1 Million People, Suit Says
South State Bank is facing a proposed class action accusing it of negligence following a February data breach that allegedly compromised the personal information of more than a million current and former customers.
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April 16, 2024
Public Advocates Say Surveillance Cams Could Disrupt Wi-Fi
Advocacy groups are banding together against Axon's bid for a Federal Communications Commission rule waiver to operate high-powered surveillance cameras, saying their signals could disrupt Wi-Fi use, especially in low-income neighborhoods.
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April 16, 2024
Court Urged Not To Quash Google's Agency Subpoenas
A special master has recommended that a Texas federal court allow Google to interview witnesses from three state agencies as the tech giant defends against a case from state-level enforcers accusing it of monopolizing key digital advertising technology.
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April 16, 2024
Zuckerberg Dodges Liability In Meta Addiction MDL, For Now
A California federal judge has tossed certain fraud-by-omission claims seeking to hold Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally liable in sprawling multidistrict litigation over social media platforms' allegedly addictive design, but she allowed the plaintiffs to amend their allegations to assert a new theory of corporate officer liability against Zuckerberg.
Expert Analysis
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Regulatory Trends Offer 4 Lessons For Debt Relief Providers
A string of enforcement actions, including a New York lawsuit filed last month by seven states and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, underscore the regulatory scrutiny that debt relief and credit repair companies face and offer important lessons on telemarketing and deceptive practices compliance, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Opinion
Contractors Need Protection From NJ Homeowner Protections
A recently passed New Jersey law, combined with the state's Consumer Fraud Act, is intended to protect innocent homeowners, but legislative action must be taken to prevent homeowners from abusing the law to avoid paying hardworking contractors, say Gary Strong and Madison Calkins at Gfeller Laurie.
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Bracing Cos. For Calif. Privacy Agency's Restored Authority
A recent California state appeals court decision greenlights the California Privacy Protection Agency's enforcement of certain consumer privacy regulations, which may speed up compliance requirements, so businesses considering use of artificial intelligence, for instance, may want to reassess their handling of privacy notices and opt-out requests, say Kevin Angle and Matthew Cin at Ropes & Gray.
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7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves
As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.
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Basics Of Bank Regulators' Push For Discount Window Use
As the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency emphasize short-term liquidity risk management as central to preventing spring 2023-style bank collapses, banks should carefully tune into regulators’ remarks encouraging use of the Fed’s discount window, which some policymakers identify as a key component in the evolution of liquidity regulation and backstop lending, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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2 Emerging Defenses For Website Tracking Class Actions
Putative class actions premised on state wiretapping statutes that bar website activity tracking continue to be on the rise, but they are increasingly being dismissed on two procedural grounds, says Sheri Pan at ZwillGen.
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Series
Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.
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Communication Is Key As CFPB Updates Appeals Process
Though a recently updated Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule expands financial institutions' abilities to appeal supervisory decisions, creating strong relationships and open communication channels with CFPB examiners may help resolve disputes faster than the more cumbersome formal process, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.
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Considerations For Disclosing AI Use In SEC Filings
Recent remarks from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler should be heard as a clarion call for public companies to disclose artificial intelligence use, with four takeaways on what companies should disclose, says Richard Hong at Morrison Cohen.
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Args In APA Case Amplify Justices' Focus On Agency Power
In arguments last week in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve, the U.S. Supreme Court justices paid particular importance to the possible ripple effects of their decision, which will address when a facial challenge to long-standing federal rules under the Administrative Procedure Act first accrues and could thus unleash a flood of new lawsuits, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
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Setting The Stage For High Court BofA Escrow Interest Case
Dori Bailey and Curtis Johnson at Bond Schoeneck examine relevant legislation and case law dating back 200 years ahead of oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in Cantero v. Bank of America, the outcome of which will determine whether state laws governing mortgage escrow accounts can be enforced against national banks.
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What To Know About OCC Proposals For Bank Merger Review
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's proposed changes to the agency's bank merger review process could exacerbate industry concerns with long and unpredictable processing periods because the proposal is ambiguous with respect to how the OCC will view certain transactions, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Using Arbitration And Class Waivers As Privacy Suit Tools
Amid a surge in data breach class actions over the last few years, several federal court decisions indicate that arbitration clauses and class action waiver provisions can be possible alternatives to public court battles and potentially reduce the costs of privacy litigation, say Mark Olthoff and Courtney Klaus at Polsinelli.
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6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media
In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.
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5 Lessons For SaaS Companies After Blackbaud Data Breach
Looking at the enforcement actions that software-as-a-service provider Blackbaud resolved with state attorneys general, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission in the past year can help SaaS companies manage these increasingly common forms of data breaches, say attorneys at Orrick.