Consumer Protection

  • March 28, 2024

    CFPB Scores Win As Banks' Late Fee Rule Lawsuit Sent To DC

    A Texas federal judge ruled Thursday that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups suing to block the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $8 credit card late-fee standard must take their case to D.C. federal court, granting the agency's bid to fight the challenge on its home turf.

  • March 28, 2024

    White House Directs Agencies To Install AI Risk Safeguards

    The White House on Thursday issued a new directive requiring all federal agencies to address safety and civil rights risks in their use and procurement of artificial intelligence in an array of settings, including conducting screenings at airports and making decisions affecting Americans' healthcare, employment and housing.

  • March 28, 2024

    Oracle Exec Admitted Tech 'Scaring The Lawyers,' Judge Told

    Consumers urged a California federal judge Thursday to keep alive Federal Wiretap Act and Florida common law claims in a proposed class action alleging Oracle illegally sold internet users' "electronic profiles," arguing that executive Larry Ellison admitted to the alleged misconduct by stating Oracle's new technology was "scaring the lawyers."

  • March 28, 2024

    FCC Lacks Legal Power To Collect Blackout Info, Stations Say

    TV network affiliates and their national lobbying arm say the Federal Communications Commission lacks legal authority to collect data on impasses between broadcasters and cable and satellite providers that lead to programming "blackouts."

  • March 28, 2024

    Prolific Consumer Atty Beats Fireball Maker's Sanctions Bid

    An Illinois federal judge has declined to sanction a prolific plaintiffs' attorney over alcoholic beverage company Sazerac Co. Inc.'s allegations the attorney sues without regard to the facts and law, saying the complaint "was not entirely baseless" and the suit was dropped within a "safe harbor" period under civil procedure rules.

  • March 28, 2024

    DOJ, FTC Weigh In On Another Pricing Algorithm Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission intervened in another alleged algorithmic collusion case Thursday with a statement of interest arguing that Atlantic City casino-hotels can't duck room rate price-fixing allegations simply by arguing there's no evidence they communicated directly or that pricing recommendations were binding.

  • March 28, 2024

    Judge Rejects Amazon's Bid To 'Backpedal' In BIPA Suit

    A Delaware federal judge will allow more plaintiffs to join a proposed class action accusing Amazon of violating Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act by collecting their voice data during calls to a financial services provider without consent, overriding the tech giant's apparent attempt to backtrack on standing concerns by instead seeking summary judgment.

  • March 28, 2024

    United Airlines Beats Class Cert. Bid In COVID Refund Suit

    Passengers who say United Airlines used the COVID-19 pandemic as cover for refusing to reimburse them for cost-cutting cancelations cannot pursue their case as a class because their claims turn on too many individual questions, an Illinois federal judge determined Wednesday.

  • March 28, 2024

    Texas Judge Lifts Discovery Stay On Google's Bidding Deals

    A Texas federal judge agreed to lift a discovery stay in the Texas-led antitrust suit challenging Google's ad technology, allowing the 16 plaintiff states and Puerto Rico access to additional information about a network bidding agreement between Google and Facebook that they claim stymied competition in the digital advertising market.

  • March 28, 2024

    FinCEN Eyes Relaxing Bank Duties For Customer ID Numbers

    The U.S. Treasury Department's anti-financial crimes unit moved Thursday to revisit a long-standing requirement for banks to collect full Social Security numbers from people at account sign-up, saying it is looking at possibly relaxing this identity verification measure amid fintech calls for more flexibility.

  • March 28, 2024

    Judge Powers Down Lenovo Computer Crashing Claims

    A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday scrapped a proposed class action claiming Lenovo marketed a computer as reliable when it allegedly suffered from performance issues, saying the company never promised the computer wouldn't freeze or crash.

  • March 28, 2024

    Delta Allowed In-Flight Sexual Assault, Passenger Alleges

    Delta Air Lines failed in March to protect a passenger from her seatmate, an off-duty airline employee who has since pled guilty to groping her while she slept, according to a Thursday complaint in Washington state court that alleges flight attendants served the assailant alcohol after he was obviously drunk.

  • March 28, 2024

    Google Wants Apple Search Pact Antitrust Suit Axed For Good

    Google urged a California federal judge to permanently dismiss an amended antitrust suit over an agreement with Apple that would make Google the default iPhone search engine, calling it an untimely effort to "piggyback" on the U.S.'s monopolization case against Google without asserting any specified, antitrust injury.

  • March 28, 2024

    Claims Trimmed In Trader Joe's Chocolate Heavy Metals Suit

    A California judge has dismissed five out of nine claims in a consolidated complaint alleging that Trader Joe's Co. misled consumers by failing to disclose that its dark chocolate bars contain heavy metals, finding that the complaint doesn't do enough to allege that the amounts are actually dangerous.

  • March 28, 2024

    Adidas Defeats Hockey Fan's Red Wings Jersey Suit

    A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday tossed a hockey fan's lawsuit alleging Adidas misled customers into thinking its retail Red Wings jerseys were identical to the in-game uniforms, saying the customer couldn't point to any such promise from the sportswear company.

  • March 28, 2024

    Advocates Push For More Hot Spot Options If E-Rate Expands

    The Federal Communications Commission needs to consider a tech-neutral approach to funding wireless hot spots in schools to make sure that low-income and rural areas do not get left out if mobile carrier signals aren't adequate, an advocacy group said.

  • March 28, 2024

    Meta Says Speech Immunity Dooms Instagram Addiction Case

    Meta on Thursday asked a Massachusetts judge to toss a lawsuit alleging it has intentionally misled users about Instagram features purportedly designed to addict children and teens, saying it is shielded both by federal law and the First Amendment.

  • March 28, 2024

    MLS, Trade Group Say DOJ Deal Fix Itself Anti-Competitive

    The U.S. Department of Justice drew fire Wednesday for pushing what a real estate trade group argued would itself be an anti-competitive rule, as the DOJ and other outside groups vie to influence a proposed $3 million settlement over house broker commissions in Massachusetts federal court.

  • March 28, 2024

    FCC Urged To Reject T-Mobile Network 'Slicing' Proposal

    The Federal Communications Commission shouldn't heed T-Mobile's call to craft network slicing rules that would essentially allow any mobile service provider to escape the agency's net neutrality rules against paid prioritization, according to one advocacy group.

  • March 28, 2024

    Reynolds Falsely Hypes Foil As 'Made In USA,' Suit Says

    Reynolds Wrap misleadingly claims its aluminum is made in the United States although a significant amount of aluminum production takes place elsewhere, and none of the bauxite ore used to make it is mined in the U.S., according to a proposed class action filed in New York federal court.

  • March 28, 2024

    Spokeo Accused Of Flouting NJ Judicial Protection Law

    Spokeo Inc., the people search database provider, violated New Jersey state law by not removing information about law enforcement personnel from its database after requests were filed, a data privacy company contends in a lawsuit.

  • March 28, 2024

    Feds Finalize Restraints On Short-Term Health Insurance

    President Joe Biden's administration finalized regulations Thursday that shrink the window for short-term, limited-duration health insurance from three years to no more than four months, but it backed off more sweeping changes from its July proposal that would have affected fixed indemnity insurance.

  • March 28, 2024

    Bankman-Fried Gets 25 Years For 'Very Bad Bet' Of FTX Fraud

    FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for stealing more than $11 billion from customers, investors and lenders of his now-collapsed cryptocurrency empire, with a Manhattan federal judge saying the infamous risk-taker "made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught."

  • March 27, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Claims Against Apple In Crypto Theft Row

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday partially reinstated a putative class action accusing Apple of misrepresenting the safety of its App Store after users' cryptocurrency was stolen from an app, finding that while a federal tech immunity law shielded Apple from an array of fraud and wiretapping claims, three consumer protection claims could move forward. 

  • March 27, 2024

    Kim Kardashian Accused Of Touting Fake Donald Judd Tables

    Kim Kardashian bought knockoff Donald Judd tables and chairs for her Skkn By Kim office space and then touted the furniture in a video to her 2 million YouTube subscribers as authentic pieces designed by the late artist, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in California federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • Antitrust Ruling Shows Limits Of US Law's Global Reach

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    Antitrust plaintiffs often cite the legislative history of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act to support application of U.S. antitrust law to alleged injuries abroad, but as a California federal court recognized recently in Figaro v. Apple, the cited history does no such thing, say Daniel Swanson and Eli Lazarus at Gibson Dunn.

  • Overdraft Opt-In Practices Hold Risks For Banks

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    A recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau action against Atlantic Union Bank regarding overdraft opt-in sales practices highlights compliance risks that financial institutions must be aware of, especially when enrolling customers by phone, says Kristen Larson at Ballard Spahr.

  • Opinion

    Intoxicating Hemp Products: It's High Time For Clarity

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    Thanks to ambiguity in the 2018 Farm Bill, intoxicating hemp cannabinoid products are largely unregulated and are widely available without restrictions on who can buy the products, and although there are several possible solutions, voluntary industry action by good actors is the best option, say Andrew Kline and Tommy Tobin at Perkins Coie.

  • Calif. High Court Ruling Has Lessons For Waiving Jury Trials

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    The California Supreme Court’s recent decision in TriCoast Builders v. Fonnegra, denying relief to a contractor that had waived its right to a jury trial, shows that litigants should always post jury fees as soon as possible, and seek writ review if the court denies relief from a waiver, say Steven Fleischman and Nicolas Sonnenburg at Horvitz & Levy.

  • HHS' Updated Tracking Tech Guidance Offers Little Clarity

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights' updated guidance on the use of online tracking technologies appears more focused on legal issues raised in ongoing litigation with the American Hospital Association and less on practical guidance for covered entities, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Take AG James' Suit Over Enviro Claims As A Warning

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    New York Attorney General Letitia James' recent suit against JBS USA Food Co. over allegedly misleading claims about its goal to reach net zero by 2040 indicates that challenges to green claims are likely to continue, and that companies should think twice about ignoring National Advertising Division recommendations, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: Benefits Of MDL Transfers

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    A recent order from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation highlights a critical part of the panel's work — moving cases into an existing MDL — and serves as a reminder that common arguments against such transfers don't outweigh the benefits of coordinating discovery and utilizing lead counsel, says Alan Rothman at Sidley Austin.

  • How Experian, Apple Aid CFPB's 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Goals

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    Experian’s recent voluntary addition of Apple's “buy now, pay later” loans to consumer credit reports makes now a useful occasion to reflect on past Consumer Financial Protection Bureau calls for wider transparency around these products, and to analyze how its stated priorities for regulating them may shape coming bureau guidance and rules, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

  • Ready Or Not, Big Tech Should Expect CFPB Surveillance

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    In light of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposed plan to supervise large companies providing the vast majority of digital money transfers, not only will Big Tech have to prepare for regulation previously reserved for traditional banks, but the CFPB will also likely face some difficult decisions and obstacles, says Meredith Osborn at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.

  • Examining The Arbitration Clause Landscape Amid Risks

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    Amid a new wave of mass arbitrations, recent developments in the courts and from the American Arbitration Association suggest that companies should improve arbitration clause drafting to protect themselves against big-ticket settlements and avoid major potential liability, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Takeaways From The 2023 DOJ Fraud Section Report

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    Attorneys at Wiley discuss notable trends from the U.S. Department of Justice's recently reported Fraud Section activity last year and highlight areas of enforcement to watch for in the future, including healthcare fraud and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.

  • 2nd Circ. Baby Food Ruling Disregards FDA's Expertise

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in White v. Beech-Nut Nutrition, refusing to defer litigation over heavy metals in baby food until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration weighs in on the issue, provides no indication that courts will resolve the issue with greater efficiency than the FDA, say attorneys at Phillips Lytle.

  • Conn. Loan Law Tweaks May Have 3 Major Effects On Lenders

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    Recently proposed minor amendments to Connecticut’s consumer protection laws could nonetheless mean major and unexpected changes to state consumer financial services regulations that dictate how lenders and their customer-facing service providers handle fee payments, mortgage servicer licensing and private student loans, says Jonathan Joshua at Joshua Law Firm.

  • Past CCPA Enforcement Sets Path For Compliance Efforts

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    The California Privacy Protection Agency and the California Attorney General's Office haven't skipped a beat in investigating potential noncompliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act, and six broad issues will continue to dominate the enforcement landscape and inform compliance strategy, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

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