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Consumer Protection
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November 22, 2024
Ill. Judge Bucks Colleague In Limiting BIPA Change's Reach
An Illinois federal judge held Friday that a legislative amendment limiting damages under the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act doesn't apply to lawsuits filed before the change took effect, refusing to side with a recent ruling from another judge in the same court that reached the opposite conclusion.
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November 22, 2024
Natera's Conduct 'Despicable,' Guardant Says As Trial Wraps
Guardant urged a California federal jury at the close of its false advertising trial Friday to make rival Natera pay it hundreds of millions of dollars, saying the competitor's misrepresentation of the companies' competing cancer detection tests was "despicable," while Natera countered it was Guardant that used deceptive marketing.
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November 22, 2024
Sirius XM Cancellation Policies Flout Federal Law, Judge Says
A New York state judge held that Sirius XM Radio Inc.'s account cancellation policies, while not fraudulent, violate federal law by forcing consumers to call customer service and listen to drawn-out discount pitches before they're able to unsubscribe.
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November 22, 2024
Target Can't Shake Shoppers' Biometric Privacy Suit
An Illinois federal judge has refused to toss a putative class action accusing Target Corp. of deploying surveillance systems that unlawfully gathered shoppers' biometric data, finding that news reports and other sources cited by the plaintiffs were enough to create a "plausible inference" that the retailer engaged in the alleged conduct.
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November 22, 2024
Texas Justices Say Court Bungled Ruling In Abortion Case
The Texas Supreme Court said Friday a lower appellate court tried to "prematurely drag the judiciary into highly contentious and politicized debates" around abortion without analyzing a key standing issue, jeopardizing Planned Parenthood's and other abortion rights groups' bid to invalidate the controversial Texas Heartbeat Act.
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November 22, 2024
Europe's Antitrust Enforcer Puts Apple E-Book Probe To Bed
The European Union's antitrust enforcer is dropping its probe into whether Apple's requirement that e-books and audiobooks be bought through in-app purchases in its App Store broke the bloc's competition rules.
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November 22, 2024
Cruz Decries 'Unlawful' Activities In $42.5B Broadband Fund
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, issued a scathing statement Friday warning the U.S. Commerce Department to discontinue what he contends are "unlawful" activities in administering the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.
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November 22, 2024
Judge Trims Suit Over Tesla Collision Alert Defect
Tesla Inc. has beaten some of a lawsuit brought by a driver who claims its vehicles' collision monitoring system erroneously detects objects in its path, causing the cars to suddenly brake, after an Illinois federal judge ruled Friday that the driver needed to do more to show significant financial injury.
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November 22, 2024
CFTC Advisers: Current Rules Work For Tokenized Collateral
A U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission advisory group on Friday brought the commodities regulator a step closer to clarifying the use of certain tokenized assets as collateral, voting to tell the commission that existing rules can apply to the use of blockchain-based, noncash collateral.
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November 22, 2024
Service Fees Not 'Incidental' To Debt Collection, 11th Circ. Told
Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC urged the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to reverse two Florida lower court judgments finding it violated debt collection practices with a fee to process phone or internet payments, saying it's not an illegal "incidental" charge because the borrower is paying for an optional service.
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November 22, 2024
Procter & Gamble Unit's Hair Oil Causes Hair Loss, Suit Says
The Procter & Gamble Co. and its unit Mielle Organics LLC are deceptively marketing their brand of hair oil as being safe to use, even though, unbeknownst to consumers, it contains "dangerous levels of benzene" and has caused hair loss, a putative class action filed Thursday in Illinois federal court alleged.
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November 22, 2024
Delta-8 Product Actually Illicit Delta-9, Class Action Claims
The manufacturer of Cake Brand vapes has been hit with a proposed class action accusing it of "masquerading" its products as "lawful delta-8" when in reality they contain delta-9, a derivative marijuana which remains a Schedule I drug, according to the suit filed in California federal court.
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November 22, 2024
Chemical Co.'s PFAS Coverage Suit In SC Gets Tossed
A South Carolina federal court tossed BASF Corp.'s suit seeking coverage for thousands of underlying allegations that the chemical manufacturer's firefighting foam caused pollution and injury, finding Friday that a parallel suit in New Jersey state court favors abstention.
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November 22, 2024
Dish To Pay $100K For Failing To Deploy 911 Location Tech
Dish has agreed to pay $100,000 after the Federal Communications Commission said it failed to comply with vertical location rules to help 911 dispatchers find emergency callers.
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November 22, 2024
DOJ Antitrust Head Tracks 'More Aggressive' Criminal Cases
The outgoing head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division used a speech celebrating the anniversary of a major initiative combating bid-rigging and other efforts by government contractors to bilk taxpayer-funded projects to also note that criminal antitrust enforcement more broadly has changed considerably in recent years.
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November 22, 2024
UK Enforcers Concerned Over Apple Mobile Browser Policies
British competition enforcers said Friday that Apple's policies are holding back innovation in the mobile browser space and called for an investigation of the roles played by Apple and Google in the mobile ecosystem under new rules coming into force next year.
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November 22, 2024
New Congress Could Undo Rules On Drinking Water, Methane
A consumer advocacy group is warning that Republicans may target a slew of recent and pending regulatory actions when they take control in Washington next year, saying they could make use of the Congressional Review Act to unwind new rules on competition, lead in drinking water, data protection and more.
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November 22, 2024
Nissan Automatic Brake Classes Dismantled By 6th Circ.
A Sixth Circuit panel vacated class certification Friday for Nissan drivers who say their cars' automatic braking system activates unnecessarily, finding the trial judge failed to grapple with software upgrades that may have fixed the alleged flaw for some of the class vehicles.
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November 22, 2024
FTC Can't Block Amazon's Misconduct Defense In Prime Suit
The Federal Trade Commission can't bar some of Amazon's defenses in an enforcement suit alleging consumers were duped into signing up for Prime delivery service, a Washington federal judge has ruled, allowing the e-commerce giant to argue the regulatory agency engaged in misconduct related to the litigation.
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November 22, 2024
Judge Revives Ford Fire Risk Suit After Feds Question Recall
A Michigan federal judge on Friday reopened a putative class action alleging certain Ford Motor Co. Escapes and Bronco Sports SUVs have a defect that caused engine fires, ruling that a query letter from highway safety regulators gave new life to claims the automaker's recall didn't fix the underlying problem.
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November 22, 2024
DC RealPage Antitrust Suit Will Get New Judge In 2025
The District of Columbia's case accusing a slew of landlords of using property management platform RealPage to fix the price of rentals is proceeding on schedule, but the judge who has been overseeing the case is going to be handing the matter off to another at the end of the year.
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November 22, 2024
Capital One 'Abuses' Cast Pall Over Discover Deal, Dems Say
As the Biden administration winds down with Capital One's bid to buy Discover Financial still pending, progressive Democrats led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are putting renewed pressure on federal bank regulators reviewing the deal.
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November 22, 2024
Crypto Lobby Asks Trump, Congress To Prioritize Rulemaking
Crypto industry group Blockchain Association sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump and members of Congress on Friday detailing what the industry feels should be immediate priorities for the next administration, including implementing a regulatory framework for digital assets and installing more crypto-amenable agency heads.
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November 22, 2024
Social Media MDL Judge Threatens States With Contempt
A California federal judge presiding over multidistrict litigation concerning social media platforms' allegedly addictive designs told counsel Friday that she's considering holding California and South Carolina state agencies in contempt for refusing to comply with discovery orders, telling counsel, "I can guarantee I will not let this stand."
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November 22, 2024
Insurer Owes $4.5M For Water Damage, Wash. HOA Says
A Washington state homeowners association told a federal court that its insurer owes over $4.5 million in coverage to repair hidden water damage at its condominium community, arguing that no exclusions, conditions or limitations bar coverage under its policy.
Expert Analysis
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Takeaways From Final Regulations For China Investment Ban
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s final rule banning U.S. investment in emerging Chinese technology clarifies some key requirements, includes additional exceptions for covered transactions and attempts to address concerns that the rule will put U.S. businesses at a competitive disadvantage, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Compliance Considerations Of DOJ Data Security Rule
Under the U.S. Department of Justice's proposed rule aiming to prevent certain countries' access to bulk U.S. sensitive personal data, companies must ensure their vendor, employment and investment agreements meet strict new data security requirements — or determine whether such contracts are worth the cost of compliance, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Balancing Health Tech Advances And Clinical Responsibility
To maintain their clinical responsibilities and mitigate potential legal risk, health professionals should incorporate the benefits of new medical technology powered by artificial intelligence while addressing its risks and limitations, says Kathleen Fisher Enyeart at Lathrop GPM.
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Defense Insights As PFAS Consumer Product Claims Rise
Amid the recent proliferation of lawsuits seeking damages for failure to disclose the presence of PFAS in consumer products, manufacturers, distributors and consumer product companies should follow the science and consider a significant flaw in many of the filings, say attorneys at Farella Braun.
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AI Monitoring And FCRA: Employer Compliance Essentials
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission signal determination to treat AI-based workplace surveillance as a potential Fair Credit Reporting Act issue, employers must commit to educating HR and compliance staff on these quickly evolving regulatory expectations, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Series
Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer
Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.
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Crypto Cos. Add New Play In Their Offense Against SEC
Consensys and Crypto.com have adopted a novel strategy of preempting U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions by moving to crypto-friendly Texas and filing declaratory lawsuits challenging the SEC's jurisdiction to regulate crypto-assets — an aggressive approach that may pay off, say attorneys at Herrick Feinstein.
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Recent Listeria Outbreaks Hold Key Compliance Lessons
Listeria outbreaks in ready-to-eat foods from Boar's Head and other companies, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration responses to these outbreaks, should be closely evaluated from an overall compliance and risk management perspective by food manufacturers, retailers and industry investors, say attorneys at Kirkland.
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3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less
Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.
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8 Tech Tips For Stress-Free Remote Depositions
Court reporter Kelly D’Amico shares practical strategies for attorneys to conduct remote depositions with ease and troubleshoot any issues that arise, as it seems deposition-by-Zoom is here to stay after the pandemic.
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How To Safely Leverage AI In The Digital Assets Industry
Digital asset businesses that use or plan to implement artificial intelligence should assess their risk management frameworks to ensure that AI-related business areas, including customer support and fraud detection, are in compliance with applicable laws and regulatory guidance from the last year, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.
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What Cos. Can Learn from Water Microplastics Class Actions
Class actions against companies whose bottled spring water allegedly contains microplastics, challenging claims such as "natural" and "100% spring water," seem to be drying up — but these cases serve as a good reminder to other businesses to review regulatory standards, and carefully vet plaintiff allegations at the outset, say attorneys at Keller and Heckman.
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$3B TD Bank AML Settlement Is A Wake-Up Call For All Banks
TD Bank’s historic settlement over anti-money laundering violations, resulting in over $3 billion in penalties, reminds banks of all shapes and sizes why they need to take financial crime compliance seriously, and highlights three areas that may be especially vulnerable to enforcement, says Jack Harrington at Bradley Arant.
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Opinion
The Right Kind Of Deregulation In Commercial Airline Industry
Similar to the economic deregulation that occurred more than four decades ago during the Carter administration, the incoming Trump administration should restore the very limited federal regulatory role in the economics of the airline industry, says former U.S. transportation secretary James Burnley at Venable.
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Unpacking The CFPB's Personal Financial Data Final Rule
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's personal financial data rights rule includes several important changes from the proposed rule, and hundreds of pages of supplementary information that provide important insights into the manner in which the bureau will enforce the final rule, say attorneys at Sidley.