DOE Energy Efficiency Rollbacks Portend Clashes With States

With the U.S. Department of Energy proposing rollbacks of energy efficiency regulations for numerous appliance types, backstop provisions in many states could come into play to preserve existing standards — but disputes over antibacksliding provisions in federal law and the limits of preemption mean court battles are likely, say attorneys at HWG.

Enviro Marketing Lessons From NY Greenwashing Ruling

A New York state appeals court recently affirmed the dismissal of a New York City suit accusing BP, Exxon and Shell of corporate and product greenwashing, providing practical lessons for framing comparative environmental claims carefully by ensuring that environmental claims are accurate, properly qualified and presented in context, say attorneys at V&E.

FCRA Ruling Previews Future Business Transaction Litigation

The Ninth Circuit's overturning of a class verdict against CenturyLink is a win for businesses facing Fair Credit Reporting Act willfulness claims, but the question of when a consumer initiates a transaction remains unanswered, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

Series

Open-Water Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Swimming long distances in open waters is not necessarily an escape from my intellectual property practice, but a complementary discipline that similarly rewards sustained attention, intellectual curiosity, resilience and the ability to pursue a distant objective without losing command of the immediate task, says Christina MacDougall at Morgan Lewis.

Opinion

The Invisible AI Danger That May Undermine Legal Profession

A public database tracking cases involving hallucinations generated by artificial intelligence recently surpassed 2,200 entries, but the bigger risk underlying attorneys’ use of such tools is that they will slowly surrender their judgment to AI and lose analytical skills, says Massachusetts District Court Associate Justice Brian Palmucci.

Full Policy Payment May Not Bar Insurer Bad Faith In 9th Circ.

Establishing that an insurer acted within its contractual rights likely disposes of a breach-of-contract claim, however, following the Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Quilbillies v. First American Title Insurance, the same showing may not dispose of bad faith, says Tracy Garcia at Cozen O'Connor.

SEC's 'Innovation Exemption' Isn't A Substitute For Legislation

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently announced innovation exemption, allowing trading in certain tokenized securities on permissioned on-chain trading platforms, is a temporary and conditional solution for a specific market model, not a general exemption for on-chain securities trading, says Niels Lemmers at Flow Traders.

How Cos. Using AI Agents Can Avoid Protected Data Incidents

For businesses whose deployed artificial intelligence agents could enter other companies' systems and steal protected data, deployers can take several steps before an incident to test the configured agent, such as limiting it to approved systems and destinations and requiring human escalation when tasks stall, says Steven Carlson at von Briesen & Roper.

Courts Signal Higher FCRA Bar For Identity Theft Claims

Recent rulings adopting a heightened, "objectively and readily verifiable" inaccuracy standard may give credit furnishers stronger defenses to identity theft-related Fair Credit Reporting Act claims in the Ninth Circuit, while requiring them to continue documenting thorough dispute investigations, says Brian Kiolbasa at Ballard Spahr.

10 Ways AI Labs Can Limit Antitrust Risks Of Safety Pacts

The OpenAI CEO’s recent call for artificial intelligence laboratories to collectively slow development to allow safety research to catch up invites antitrust scrutiny, but the risks to coordinating competitors can be managed by carefully structuring pacing agreements and layering their approach to compliance, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

How Banks Can Better Prepare For Wire Fraud Risks

Recent schemes serve as a reminder that banks can better limit liability for fraudulent wire transfers by documenting commercially reasonable security procedures, following them consistently, and addressing beneficiary name and account number discrepancies, says Shelli Clarkston at Spencer Fane.

Lessons For Cannabis Dispensaries From Web Tracking Suits

The trajectory of health-tracking litigation in Florida and elsewhere suggests that patient privacy claims will not disappear quickly, so dispensaries should audit their sites, tighten consent and align their disclosures with their actual practices, say attorneys at Buchanan Ingersoll.

FTC Highlights Path To Preserve Board Rights In A Rival Co.

The Federal Trade Commission's move to add key guardrails permitting firearms manufacturer Beretta to retain two directors as it takes a 25% stake in competitor Ruger illustrates how parties may maintain board rights in certain circumstances without running afoul of Section 8 of the Clayton Act, say attorneys at Davis Polk.

A Defense Attorney Playbook For Challenging Flock Evidence

As law enforcement continues to bring charges based on evidence from Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers, defense counsel should consider four key categories for discovery requests and motions to compel such evidence, says Tamar Lerer at the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender.

FinCEN Scam Alerts Push Banks To Rethink AML Monitoring

Recent Financial Crimes Enforcement Network guidance on digital asset scams suggests that future anti-money laundering examinations may focus less on whether institutions detect the movement of criminal proceeds and more on whether they can identify fraud schemes before victims suffer catastrophic losses, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.