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Consumer Protection
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February 25, 2025
Petrochemical Cos. Want Judge Out Of Plastic Recycling Row
Petrochemical companies called on a Missouri federal judge to recuse himself from a proposed class action accusing them of misleading customers about the recyclability of plastic, saying his wife has a direct interest in the case as a Kansas City city council member.
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February 25, 2025
Ex-Privacy Board Members Sue Trump Over Firings
Two Democrats who had served on Congress' privacy watchdog over the executive branch's counterterrorism policies are suing the Trump administration, claiming they were illegally fired from the nonpartisan board to deny it a quorum and end its oversight.
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February 25, 2025
FTC Probing $615M Healthcare Staffing Merger
Talent software and staffing company Aya Healthcare Inc.'s roughly $615 million bid to buy Cross Country Healthcare Inc. and take the staffing and recruitment company private hit a snag last week with a Federal Trade Commission merger probe that prevents the transaction from closing, for now.
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February 25, 2025
Rural Wireless Cos. Concerned About 5G Fund Rollout
A rural wireless group renewed pressure on the Federal Communications Commission to change up the timing of an auction to expand 5G service, saying the FCC should wait until federal infrastructure dollars are distributed before moving ahead.
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February 25, 2025
FTC Wins Discovery Spat In Amazon Prime Subscription Suit
A Washington federal judge won't force the Federal Trade Commission to share with Amazon discussions during past rulemaking about the scope of a federal law protecting online shoppers from deceptive billing, concluding for a second time that such information is irrelevant to whether the company's Prime subscription practices are illegal.
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February 25, 2025
Agri Stats Can't Avoid Price-Fixing Deposition, DOJ Says
The U.S. Department of Justice is calling on Agri Stats' top executives to face deposition in the agency's price-fixing case, telling a Minnesota federal judge that the company's brass can't avoid questioning just because they were deposed in private suits years ago.
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February 25, 2025
Calif. Wins Remand Of Exxon Plastic Suit, Green Groups Lose
California convinced a federal judge to remand to state court its lawsuit alleging Exxon Mobil Corp. is responsible for plastic waste and pollution due to deceptive public messaging about recycling, but environmentalists' similar suit will stay in federal court.
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February 25, 2025
FCC Probes IHeart Practices Amid Broadcast Payola Inquiry
The Federal Communications Commission's chief, who says he wants to crack down on payola practices, has launched a probe into whether iHeart is forcing musicians to accept cut-rate pay to entertain crowds at the company's upcoming Austin, Texas, event in return for more favorable airtime.
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February 25, 2025
FTC Pick Concerned But Won't 'Prejudge' Censorship Claims
Kressin Meador Powers LLC partner Mark Meador walked a fine line during his confirmation hearing Tuesday when asked for his views on GOP claims of censorship on online platforms, expressing an "overarching concern" about content moderation practices while nevertheless asserting he'll keep an open mind on specific allegations if confirmed as the Federal Trade Commission's newest Republican member.
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February 25, 2025
Sidley Brings On Dentons Consumer Safety Pros In Calif.
Sidley Austin LLP continues expanding its West Coast team, announcing it is adding a pair of Dentons consumer products safety litigators as partners in its San Diego and Los Angeles offices.
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February 25, 2025
Referral Co. Barred From $5.54B Swipe Fee MDL Settlement
A New York federal judge has blocked a referral partner of a claims filing service from any role in the $5.54 billion settlement of long-running multidistrict litigation accusing Visa and Mastercard of charging improper merchant fees, after the referral partner allegedly improperly used class member information to submit claims.
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February 25, 2025
Vape Cos. Want To Stop Iowa Law Banning Some E-Cig Sales
A group of vape companies and users is again asking an Iowa federal court to block a state law banning the sale of some e-cigarette products, saying it is preempted by federal law and the Constitution.
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February 25, 2025
Insurers Owe Chubb $3.3M For Safelite Defense Costs
Two insurers must contribute $1.65 million each toward costs a Chubb unit incurred defending windshield repair company Safelite against a competitor's suit, an Ohio federal court ruled, finding the pair were not prejudiced by breaches of their policies' notice and voluntary payment provisions.
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February 25, 2025
8th Circ. Says Mo. Law Bars $60M Asbestos Coverage Suit
An Eighth Circuit appeals panel affirmed that an insurer could not make arguments in Missouri federal court regarding payment of over $60 million for asbestos litigation because it had been battling its insured "for years" over the same issues in state court.
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February 25, 2025
FCC Hires US House Lawyer As Regulator's Deputy GC
The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday named a top lawyer from the legislative branch as the agency's new deputy general counsel for litigation.
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February 24, 2025
9th Circ. Axes Fee Award In California Pizza Kitchen Hack Deal
The Ninth Circuit on Monday scrapped an attorney fee award of $800,000 given to class counsel as part of a deal resolving data breach litigation against California Pizza Kitchen, finding that the lower court had failed to properly compare the "actual value" of the settlement — which the panel put around $950,000 — to the requested fees.
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February 24, 2025
FDIC Scraps 10th Circ. Brief Backing Colo.'s Opt-Out Law
In a pivot, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Monday withdrew a Tenth Circuit brief that had supported Colorado in industry litigation against the state's "opt-out" law aimed at curbing higher-cost online lending.
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February 24, 2025
DC Judge Wary Of Constitutionality Of Musk's DOGE
A D.C. federal judge on Monday questioned the constitutionality of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency while expressing skepticism that groups challenging the department's access to federal systems housing Americans' sensitive data had established the irreparable harm needed to block access.
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February 24, 2025
FCC Set To Change View On Online Platforms' Liability Shield
The Federal Communications Commission appears ready to make some changes to how it views the legal protections afforded to online platforms for content posted by their users.
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February 24, 2025
SEC Crypto Task Force Wants Input, Commissioner Says
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Hester Peirce urged firms to bring their input to her Crypto Task Force in a Friday statement that outlined a series of questions the group is grappling with, including the taxonomy of tokens.
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February 24, 2025
Comerica Bank Wants Dismissal Of CFPB's Benefits Card Suit
Comerica Bank has urged a Texas federal judge to toss a suit brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, accusing the bank of multiple failures in administering a government benefits card program, arguing the case overextends the agency's authority, among other things.
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February 24, 2025
Bigelow Says Class Trial Is On 'Road To Nowhere'
Counsel for R.C. Bigelow Inc. urged a California federal judge Monday to call off an upcoming class action damages trial over the tea-maker's "manufactured in the USA" labels, saying the proceeding would be a "road to nowhere" because of fatally flawed sales data.
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February 24, 2025
Baby Bottle Cos. Get Parts Of Microplastics Suit Tossed
Parents who sued Philips over allegations that microplastics leach from its "BPA free" baby bottles and sippy cups saw their lawsuit partially trimmed, after a California federal judge said that the company's label isn't misleading because it doesn't promise the products are "devoid of all harmful plastic."
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February 24, 2025
Norfolk Southern's Tank Car Co. Liability Claims Head To Trial
An Ohio federal judge said that Norfolk Southern can pursue its claims seeking to have tank car companies pay at least some of the damages over 2023's East Palestine derailment, teeing up for trial key questions of liability concerning the tank cars' maintenance and transport of toxic chemicals.
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February 24, 2025
Insurer Needn't Cover Hospital's $2.5M Virus Vax Probe Costs
A Chubb unit has no obligation to pay an Illinois hospital for $2.5 million in legal costs associated with responding to federal and state probes into its COVID-19 vaccine distribution program, a federal court ruled, finding that the policy's $1 million regulatory claims sublimit applies.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
6 Changes I Would Make If I Ran A Law School
Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner identifies several key issues plaguing law schools and discusses potential solutions, such as opting out of the rankings game and mandating courses in basic writing skills.
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How CFPB Rule Would Affect Data Brokers And Beyond
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently proposed a rule that would not only expand data broker oversight by classifying many as consumer reporting agencies, but would also impose new limitations on companies seeking to obtain information from them, potentially requiring such entities to alter their business models, say attorneys at Orrick.
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Firms Still Have The Edge In Lateral Hiring, But Buyer Beware
Partner mobility data suggests that the third quarter of this year continued to be a buyer’s market, with the average candidate demanding less compensation for a larger book of business — but moving into the fourth quarter, firms should slow down their hiring process to minimize risks, say officers at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.
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Reviewing 2024's State Consumer Privacy Law Enforcement
While we are still in the infancy of state consumer privacy laws, a review of enforcement activity this year suggests substantial overlaps in regulatory priorities across the most active states and gives insight into the likely paths of future enforcement, says Thomas Nolan at Quinn Emanuel.
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Preparing For The New Restrictions On Investment Into China
In light of a new regulatory program governing U.S. investments in China-related technology companies of national security concern, investors should keep several considerations in mind, including the rules' effect on existing and new investments, compliance hurdles, and penalties for noncompliance ahead of the rules' January implementation, say attorneys at Gunderson Dettmer.
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Teaching Your Witness To Beat The Freeze/Appease Response
In addition to fight-or-flight, witnesses may experience the freeze/appease response at trial or deposition — where they become a deer in headlights, agreeing with opposing counsel’s questions and damaging their credibility in the process — but certain strategies can help, says Bill Kanasky at Courtroom Sciences.
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Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out
In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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FTX Exec's Sentencing Shows Pros And Cons Of Cooperation
The sentencing of former FTX tech deputy Gary Wang, whose cooperation netted him a rare outcome of no prison time, offers critical takeaways for attorneys and clients navigating the burgeoning world of crypto-related prosecutions, says Andrew Meck at Whiteford.
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SEC Custody Rule Creates Crypto Compliance Conundrum
While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's application of the custody rule may be a good faith attempt to enhance consumer protections for client assets, it doesn't appreciate the unique characteristics of crypto-assets, forcing advisers to choose between pursuing their clients' objectives and complying with the rule, say attorneys at Willkie.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity
Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Tracking The Uncertainty Of The FTC's Negative Option Rule
The fate of the Federal Trade Commission's final rule requiring businesses that utilize negative options to provide consumers with a simple cancellation method remains in limbo as it faces multiple legal challenges and the threat of possible congressional action looms, say attorneys at Manatt.
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Antitrust in Retail: Handbag Ruling Won't Go Out Of Fashion
Although a New York federal court’s recent decision to enjoin a proposed $8.5 billion merger between the owners of Michael Kors and Coach applied noncontroversial antitrust interpretations, several notable aspects of the opinion stand out as likely candidates for further discussion in future merger litigation, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Series
Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.
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SEC Prioritized Enforcement Sweeps As Cases Slowed In '24
Following three consecutive years of increasing activity, fiscal year 2024 marked the lowest number of cases the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has brought since Gary Gensler assumed office in April 2021, buttressed by some familiar enforcement sweeps, say attorneys at Covington.
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Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review
For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.