Consumer Protection

  • August 28, 2026

    'Exemplary Performance' Earns Google Users' Attys $146.8M

    A California federal judge Friday awarded plaintiffs' attorneys $146.8 million in fees after they secured a $425 million jury verdict against Google LLC in a privacy class action covering about 98 million people, calling the one-third fee award "extraordinary" but justified given their "exemplary performance."

  • August 28, 2026

    ConocoPhillips Can't Dodge Climate Torts, Wash. Tribes Say

    Two Native American tribes urged a Washington state judge Friday to preserve their climate change tort claims against ConocoPhillips, contending there's a "clear connection" between the oil company's Washington ties, its alleged actions downplaying the dangers of burning fossil fuels and the tribes' purported injuries.

  • August 28, 2026

    Amazon Beats Calif AG's 'Ill-Conceived' Injunction Bid

    A California judge refused to block what the state attorney general's office has cast as Amazon's coercive price-fixing imposed on Walmart, Target and others via major brands like Levi Strauss, critiquing enforcers for the "last-minute request" targeting conduct they have not shown is ongoing.

  • August 28, 2026

    Reform For Upper Microwave Bands Needed Soon, FCC Told

    A satellite industry group urged the Federal Communications Commission to move quickly on reforms to rules covering the upper microwave spectrum bands to make it easier to deploy satellite earth stations.

  • August 28, 2026

    NJ Says TikTok Is Withholding Key Child Usage Data

    New Jersey urged a state judge to force TikTok to hand over detailed user engagement data the state said was essential in proving that the platform's design harmed children, accusing the company of months of evasive answers, shifting explanations and contradictory statements about whether the information even exists.

  • August 28, 2026

    9th Circ. Rules Against Kalshi In Sports Wager Circuit Split

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday backed a Nevada federal court decision that cleared the way for the state's gambling regulators to pursue Kalshi's sports offerings, creating a circuit split in the sprawling litigation over prediction market regulation.

  • August 28, 2026

    Real Estate Co. Can't Dodge Pa. Brokerage Kickback Claims

    A Pennsylvania federal judge refused on Thursday to dismiss the state attorney general's kickbacks lawsuit against a real estate settlement services provider accused of running a kickbacks scheme that involved, among other things, transferring his mortgage brokerages' stock to real estate agents that would send their clients to his mortgage brokerages.

  • August 28, 2026

    FCC Creates New Innovation Zone In Iowa, Expands Old Ones

    For the first time in five years, the Federal Communications Commission has greenlit the creation of a new "innovation zone," which will give a university an experimental spectrum license that allows it to conduct wireless research, this time at Iowa State University.

  • August 28, 2026

    FCC Urged To Act On 5G Broadcast Petition

    Low power TV station operator HC2 Broadcasting wants the Federal Communications Commission to allow low-power broadcasters to transmit local programming via 5G signals if they want to.

  • August 28, 2026

    DOJ Says KKR's $250M Deal Will Deter HSR Violations

    The U.S. Department of Justice has issued its formal defense of a $250 million settlement with KKR & Co. and affiliated entities resolving allegations that the private equity firm repeatedly violated the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act's premerger notification and waiting period rules.

  • August 28, 2026

    AMC Hit With Class Claims Over Online Ticket 'Junk Fees'

    Movie theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. has been hit with class claims in Pennsylvania state court alleging the company charges customers "junk fees" when they purchase tickets through the company's online system.

  • August 28, 2026

    Consumer Groups Back Ore. In Fight Over Rate Opt-Out Law

    Consumer advocacy groups have rallied to Oregon's defense in litigation over its new law aimed at capping interest rates on loans from out-of-state banks, arguing the state's financial industry challengers don't have history or federal law on their side.

  • August 28, 2026

    Medical Marijuana Industry Grapples With DEA's New Role

    After years of allowing the state-sanctioned medical marijuana industry to operate without interference, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is stepping in to regulate a drug it once treated exclusively as contraband, but attorneys and regulators say the cannabis industry's interactions with the agency are off to a rocky start.

  • August 28, 2026

    Fla. Says PBMs Fixed Prices For Prescription Drugs

    Florida's attorney general on Thursday sued two competing pharmacy benefit managers for allegedly colluding to fix prescription drug reimbursement rates to pharmacies, which the state said threatens Floridians' access to affordable medications.

  • August 28, 2026

    NJ Law Requires Data Centers To Report Utility Usage

    New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed a bill into law Thursday that requires data centers in the state to provide the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities with semiannual water and energy usage reports.

  • August 28, 2026

    Mazda Driver Avoids Sanctions In Oil-Burning Defect Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge has refused to sanction a Mazda driver and his attorneys for their attempt to revive a proposed class action over an alleged oil‑burning defect, finding the effort unlikely to succeed but not improper.

  • August 27, 2026

    Albertsons Loses Bid For Midtrial Win In Wash. Opioid Case

    Albertsons can't escape the state of Washington's lawsuit accusing the pharmacy chain and its Safeway subsidiary of contributing to the state's opioid crisis, a state judge ruled Thursday in denying the company's bid to dismiss the case midtrial.

  • August 27, 2026

    Binance.US Beats Sherman Claims, Rest Sent To Arbitration

    Cryptocurrency exchange Binance.US and a digital asset market data website have beaten for good antitrust claims in a proposed class action accusing them of working together to suppress a cryptocurrency's value by misstating its ranking, but Binance must face other claims in arbitration.

  • August 27, 2026

    Google Users' Atty Fee To Be In 'Realm' Of $147M, Judge Says

    A California federal judge indicated Thursday that he won't give the full $147 million in fees sought by lawyers who won a $425 million class action verdict against Google for unlawfully collecting user information, but he said their "really excellent lawyering" deserves an amount "within that realm."

  • August 27, 2026

    Colo. AG Accuses EarnIn Of Making Illegal Payday Loans

    Colorado's attorney general has accused the financial firm EarnIn of illegally providing "predatory" payday loans to tens of thousands of Coloradans through its earned wage access product, charging annual percentage rates of 1,000% or more.

  • August 27, 2026

    Google Beats Cert. Bid Over User Tracking In Safari Browser

    A Delaware federal court denied class certification Thursday in a long-running litigation over allegations that Google bypassed privacy settings on Apple's Safari browser to track users without consent, saying the plaintiffs failed to show that the encryption keys Google destroyed would have provided a reliable way of identifying class members.

  • August 27, 2026

    FCC Ends Caption Reg On Public Channel Video Programmers

    The Federal Communications Commission has scrapped a requirement that video programmers show they comply with closed captioning rules if they only provide content to local public, educational and governmental channels that are exempt from captioning mandates.

  • August 27, 2026

    Food Processor Says Tribe's Request Would Hinder Its Ops

    A Michigan produce processor fired back at a tribe's request that it stop releasing water into local wetlands, telling a federal judge Wednesday that even though it may have dumped untreated wastewater in the past, it's no longer in violation and that any restrictions would hurt its business.

  • August 27, 2026

    Chamber Says FTC's Meta Appeal Trying To 'Rewrite' Law

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other amicus filers urged the D.C. Circuit not to revive the Federal Trade Commission monopolization lawsuit targeting Meta's purchases of WhatsApp and Instagram, taking issue Thursday with how the FTC characterizes social media competition, consumer behavior and the law allowing it to sue.

  • August 27, 2026

    SpaceX Seeks Green Light On Gen3 System

    Since the FCC is already in the middle of overhauling its satellite licensing framework to presume applications are in the public interest if they follow certain rules, SpaceX wants the agency to apply that presumption to the 100,000-satellite constellation it has proposed.

Expert Analysis

  • Banks Face Lighter CRA Burdens Under Regulators' Proposal

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    Banking regulators' recently proposed rule to redo the framework under the Community Reinvestment Act would materially change which banks are subject to its most demanding requirements and how regulators evaluate lending, services, community development activities and strategic plans, says James Williams at Venable.

  • 10 Ways To Avoid Privacy Risks Revealed In AI Notetaker Suits

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    Litigation claiming Otter.ai trained its AI-powered transcription tool on user conversations and a recent complaint alleging Granola’s notetaking bot joined video calls unbeknownst to participants show companies should assess these technologies as communications-capture tools with privacy and wiretap risks, says Jennifer Ruehr at Hintze Law.

  • FTC IonQ Review Unearths A Divide In Vertical Merger Remedy

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent split decision to close its investigation into the merger between IonQ and SkyWater Technology offers a candid window into how enforcers may approach vertical merger concerns after a string of difficult government cases, says Nicholas Cheolas at Wiley.

  • Series

    Taekwondo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Taekwondo has taught me to recognize when to fight for a position and when to focus on finding a solution, and that the best outcomes are often achieved by solving problems — all of which has improved my work as a bankruptcy lawyer, mediator and Subchapter V trustee, says Amy Denton Mayer at Berger Singerman.

  • NC Crypto Kiosk Law Opens Door To Stricter Fraud Regs

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    North Carolina's new cryptocurrency kiosk law will force operators to build fraud-screening, disclosure and compliance systems before the end of the year, while also providing an opening for more stringent city and county limits on kiosk placement and operations, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Student Loan Suit Draws Line On Testimony In Trust Litigation

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    A recent interlocutory opinion from the Southern District of New York shows securitization experts can explain servicing practices but cannot substitute for authenticated loan-level ownership proof or intent evidence, signaling that parties in student loan trust cases should sharpen recordkeeping and tracing strategies, says attorney Stanley Tate.

  • 3rd Circ. Hotel Ruling Flags Key Issues In Dynamic Pricing

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    The Third Circuit's recent decision in Cornish-Adebiyi v. Caesars Entertainment relies on allegations that competitors used nonpublic data to set real-time rates considered exorbitant, highlighting both the potential risks and substantial benefits of utilizing emerging technologies, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • When And How To Use 4 Types Of Cross-Exam Questions

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    Perceptions of a great cross-examination are often shaped by aggressive courtroom exchanges, but to be truly effective, this stage of trial requires strategically selecting confirmation, confinement, contrast or confrontation questions at key moments, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

  • Youth Center Investigation Shows Rising Governance Scrutiny

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    A recent New Hampshire attorney general report following its investigation into the state's Sununu Youth Services Center shows how organizations serving vulnerable populations can face scrutiny of their governance, safety practices and preparedness, even when investigators find no abuse, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    A Guiding Principle For The SEC On Exempt Capital Markets

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently proposed Regulation Crypto Assets borrows selectively from other capital-raising exemptions while giving crypto issuers materially different terms, and those unexplained differences reveal the need for a regulatory approach of presumptive parity, says Brian Christie at the Crowdfunding Professional Association.

  • What To Know As Legal Duty To Consider AI Takes Shape

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    While the U.K. Jurisdiction Taskforce’s recent statement on liability for artificial intelligence harms is nonbinding for both U.K. and U.S. lawyers, it highlights the importance of being able to distinguish between the availability of a tool and a professional obligation to use it, say Jonny Frank and Michael Costa at StoneTurn.

  • NC Dental Review Change Counters Tougher National Trend

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    North Carolina’s elimination of its prior review requirement for dental management agreements departs sharply from the national trend toward expanded corporate practice of medicine oversight, but stakeholders should not view this regulatory shift as a relaxation of compliance expectations, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • NY Bill Would Boost Litigation Risk For Cosmetics Cos.

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    The Beauty Justice Act, now pending in the New York Legislature, would not only present compliance challenges for companies making cosmetics and personal care products, but could also be used by private plaintiffs to bring consumer fraud, false advertising, toxic exposure and product liability claims, says Kadeejah Kelly-Previl at Faegre Drinker.

  • Appellate Vape Rulings May Expand State Regulation Powers

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    Two recent federal appeals courts decisions rejecting Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act preemption challenges to state electronic nicotine delivery systems directory laws signal an emerging appellate consensus that could significantly expand states' power to regulate vaping product sales where federal enforcement falls short, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • How Solar Fraud Case Affects Lender Oversight Of Dealers

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to review the Third Circuit's ruling in Migliore v. Sunlight Financial means that residential solar finance companies are protected from vicarious liability for deceptive acts by independent solar dealers — but lenders must still take steps to guard against dealer misconduct, says Rand Manasse at Green Lane Partners.

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