Analysis

CFPB's Debanking Push Puts Enforcement Reset To The Test

By Jon Hill

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is pledging to crack down on allegedly discriminatory debanking practices, but this enforcement initiative could put the agency on a collision course with both the limits of its authority and its commitment to avoiding "novel legal theories."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

CFTC's Selig Says Agency Is Building AI To Police Markets

By Jessica Corso

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig spoke to an audience in Washington, D.C., Tuesday about his agency's use of artificial intelligence, whether regulations adopted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis had gone "too far" and how he is pressing ahead with crypto rules despite Congress' inability to pass regulations before the midterm elections.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Feds Offer Up-Front Payments For Fraud Whistleblower Tips

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday announced the creation of a whistleblower incentive program offering up-front monetary awards for tips that lead to criminal fraud charges.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Albertsons Says It Offered $800M To Save Kroger Deal

By Jarek Rutz

Albertsons Cos. Inc.'s general counsel testified Tuesday that The Kroger Co. passed on proposed store divestitures that could have helped save their $24.6 billion merger, while Kroger's lawyers pointed to information shared with Albertsons and challenged its complaints about the process.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Broad Street Monitor Flags Risks For Investor Redemptions

By Carolina Bolado

The court-appointed monitor for private equity firm Broad Street Global Management LLC testified Tuesday that he is concerned about more than 600 investors in the $1 billion fund who asked to redeem their investments in cash but have yet to receive their money nearly five months after the deadline.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Flagstar Bank Sued Over Nussbaum Escrow Account Fraud

By Hailey Konnath

A purported victim of ex-attorney Michael J. Nussbaum's Ponzi scheme on Monday accused Flagstar Bank NA of helping to facilitate the alleged $149 million escrow account fraud, claiming that the bank long knew about questionable transactions but didn't shut it down.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Polymarket Calls Ohio's Gaming Enforcement Unconstitutional

By Craig Clough

Polymarket has sued Ohio officials in federal court to stave off an enforcement action under the state's gambling laws, arguing its sports event contracts are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and that the state's gaming regulations unlawfully discriminate against interstate commerce.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Utah Sues Kalshi, Susquehanna For Violating Gambling Ban

By Sarah Jarvis

Utah sued Kalshi, its related entities and Susquehanna International Group in state court Tuesday over a "brazen pattern of unlawful conduct" by offering sports event contracts that allegedly violate the state's constitutional ban on gambling, after the Tenth Circuit declined to shield Kalshi from Utah gaming regulators last month.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Rejects DOJ Bid To End NAACP Suit Over XAI Pollution

By Tom Lotshaw

The Trump administration can intervene in a NAACP citizen suit alleging X.AI Corp. unlawfully installed dozens of polluting gas turbines to power a data center, but cannot unilaterally dismiss the suit as it claimed, a Mississippi federal judge has ruled.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Staffing App Will Pay $2.3M, Treat Drivers As Employees

By MJ Koo

A gig staffing company has agreed to pay $2.3 million and treat all its California workers as employees to end San Francisco's lawsuit in state court claiming it wrongly labeled delivery drivers as independent contractors, the city's top lawyer announced Tuesday.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

UNC Settles Fed Probe Over Admissions, Antisemitism

By Hayley Fowler

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has agreed to shore up its antisemitism policies and refrain from using race as a factor in admission decisions in a settlement with the federal government that allows the public university to keep its federal funding, the Justice Department said.

Settlement attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FBI, FTC Tip Sites Vulnerable To Spying, Sen. Wyden Warns

By Rae Ann Varona

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Trade Commission's online tip lines and other government websites are vulnerable to spying, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a letter urging the executive branch to upgrade security technology for the websites.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Google Makes Last DC Circ. Push Against DOJ's Search Win

By Bryan Koenig

Google took one final swing Monday at upending a D.C. federal judge's rulings faulting it for monopolizing online search and forcing it to prop up search engine rivals with data and syndicated results, telling the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Department of Justice's case targets earned market dominance.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FCC Making 'Zero' Plans To Ease Political Robocall Rules

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday it does not intend to float changes to its anti-robocall rules to allow AI-generated political calls to consumers ahead of the midterm elections after a conservative group made the proposal in August.

Comments attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Sinclair Says 5G Broadcast Bid Rests On 'Speculation'

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

TV station chain Sinclair Inc. has opposed a petition before the Federal Communications Commission that would allow low-power TV stations to use the emerging 5G Broadcast standard, saying petitioners haven't provided evidence that would help the agency evaluate the technology's risk of potential interference. 

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Baker Donelson Hires Ex-White House Info Director In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC has hired a former Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP partner, who previously worked as director of White House Information Governance for the Executive Office of the President, the firm announced Tuesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Freshfields Hires Gibson Dunn Life Sciences Lawyer In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Freshfields LLP has hired a former Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP lawyer who focuses his practice on identifying, assessing and mitigating risks associated with U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversight, the firm recently announced.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

AGs' Paramount Settlement Reflects States' Growing Influence

The recent California federal court approval of the California v. Paramount Skydance settlement illustrates how state attorneys general are gaining new independence and influence, and companies must account for state enforcement when assessing merger risks ahead of a deal's closing, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Dissecting Dodd's, Gensler's Prediction Market Amicus Briefs

Former Sen. Chris Dodd and former U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler's recent amicus briefs in support of New Jersey's petition for U.S. Supreme Court review of Kalshi v. Flaherty draw on legislative history to counter the CFTC's claim of federal preemption over the prediction markets, says Trace Schmeltz at Steptoe.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

White House AI Accord Could Reshape Reasonable Care

President Donald Trump's recent joint commitment on frontier responsibilities — signed by leaders of Google, Anthropic, Meta and more — may pose legal risks for nonsignatories, as businesses using artificial intelligence may find the accord's safeguards cited against them as evidence of what reasonable care requires, says Peter Schildkraut at Arnold & Porter.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Tariffs Could Be Behind Surge In FTZ Production Filings

As tariffs reshape production sourcing decisions, manufacturers are seeking foreign trade zone production authority at more than twice last year's pace, making it important to consider the potential duty and export benefits, along with review delays and restrictions that can curb savings, say attorneys at Sidley.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

A Nuanced Reading Of DOL's Mental Health Parity Guidance

Though a recent U.S. Department of Labor bulletin may suggest that agency enforcement pressure on group health plans with respect to mental health parity is easing, the takeaways are more complex, and plan sponsors should not relax compliance efforts, say attorneys at Proskauer.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Preventing HOA Bias After Wash. Ruling Highlights Risk

Because homeowners nationwide can now draw on precedent from a recent Washington state appellate decision holding that state antidiscrimination law forbids homeowners associations from biased enforcement of their rules, common-interest communities should immediately work to mitigate their expanded exposure to postsale fair housing liability, says Brett Sullivan at Fennemore.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Kagan: High Court 'Blinded Itself' To Election Ruling Effects

By Katie Buehler

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan criticized her conservative colleagues' approach to deciding election law cases Tuesday, saying they often rule without considering the real-world consequences of their decisions. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Retired Judges Say DOJ's Ethics Complaint Is Meritless

By Courtney Bublé

A coalition of 61 retired federal judges has admonished the U.S. Department of Justice for filing a complaint against federal judges in Minnesota for speaking to a newspaper about the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in their state.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Polsinelli Seeks Sanctions For 'Knowingly False' IP Suit

By Elliot Weld

Law firm Polsinelli PC has asked a Tennessee federal judge to sanction a medical device company for advancing what it says were "knowingly false and materially incomplete" positions in a suit accusing the firm of pursuing bad faith patent infringement claims on behalf of a client.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

'Petulant' Attorney Behavior Requires New Trial, 5th Circ. Says

By Cara Salvatore

The Fifth Circuit ordered a new trial Friday for a woman who was halted while speaking at a Louisiana local council meeting, saying defense lawyers for two council members threw "a skunk into the jury box" with a bevy of improper maneuvers.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Atty Used Legal Cred To Prop Up Ponzi Schemes, DOJ Says

By David Aaro

A Florida attorney was arrested Tuesday on charges of using his legal bona fides to help run two Ponzi schemes that swindled investors out of nearly $2 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-NOLA Injury Atty Gets 32 Months For Staging Crashes

By Christine DeRosa

A former New Orleans personal injury attorney has been sentenced to 32 months in prison for his role in a scheme to fake vehicle accidents with tractor trailers and other commercial vehicles so he could pursue lawsuits and extract settlements.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »