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Consumer Protection
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June 13, 2024
Verizon Opposes AT&T's FirstNet As 4.9 GHz Band Manager
Verizon is done letting proxies speak for it in the war of words over a plan to make AT&T's FirstNet the national manager of the 4.9 gigahertz public safety band, telling the Federal Communications Commission in a new filing that the idea would disrupt the public safety spectrum marketplace.
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June 13, 2024
EU Makes First Ever Formal Pharma Price-Fixing Complaint
European Union antitrust authorities issued their first ever price-fixing complaint in the pharmaceutical industry Thursday, going after the only company that did not agree to a €13.4 million ($14.4 million) settlement in October.
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June 13, 2024
Starbucks Must Share Hot-Drink Training Info In Burn Suit
Starbucks must turn over information on how it trains employees to handle hot drinks at drive-throughs and on recent complaints received in the Detroit area, a Michigan federal judge said Thursday after finding the information is relevant to a customer's suit alleging she was severely burned when a lid popped off her hot tea cup.
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June 13, 2024
Biden Picks CFTC's Goldsmith Romero For FDIC Chair
The White House said Thursday that President Joe Biden will nominate Christy Goldsmith Romero, a Democratic member of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, for the top job at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
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June 13, 2024
FTC Urged To Get Moving On Stalled Privacy Rulemaking
Nearly three dozen consumer advocacy groups are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to stop dragging its feet on efforts announced almost two years ago to craft sweeping data privacy and security rules, arguing that time is running out for the agency to clamp down on companies' "historic" drive to amass personal information and track consumers online.
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June 12, 2024
Texas Judge 'Exasperated' By Parties In Skiplagged Suit
An "exasperated" Texas federal judge on Wednesday ordered American Airlines and airfare search engine Skiplagged Inc. into mediation after the parties ran into their sixth discovery dispute in litigation around Skiplagged's alleged unauthorized ticket sales, saying the court didn't want to referee "countless discovery disputes used as litigation tactics."
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June 12, 2024
Axos Bank Can't Arbitrate 'Bait & Switch' Suit, Customers Say
Customers suing Axos urged a federal judge not to let the bank arbitrate their claims in a consolidated dispute over how it handled interest rates on savings deposit accounts offered through online banking division UFB Direct, arguing that the court, not an arbitrator, must decide arbitrability.
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June 12, 2024
ZoomInfo's $30M Privacy Deal Gets Initial Green Light
An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday granted preliminary approval to a proposed settlement in which ZoomInfo will shell out roughly $30 million to resolve claims it used people's names and identities, without their consent, to advertise paid access to its full database.
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June 12, 2024
FTC Tells DC Circ. It Can Modify $5B Meta Privacy Deal
The Federal Trade Commission told the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday that it has the authority to reopen its in-house proceedings in order to revise a $5 billion privacy settlement with Meta Platforms, saying the courts do not have oversight of the agency's administrative order.
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June 12, 2024
Ex-Rehab Biz Manager Gets Prison For Theft From Resident
The former business manager of a Connecticut rehabilitation center will serve at least nine months in prison for stealing money from an elderly resident's bank account, state prosecutors said.
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June 12, 2024
'Tiger-Wolf' Trader Cops To Wire Fraud For $700K Scheme
A 26-year-old Charlotte man on Wednesday pled guilty to federal prosecutors' claims that he defrauded over 100 would-be investors in his purported hedge fund, Tiger-Wolf Capital LLC, spending much of their money on his own lavish lifestyle.
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June 12, 2024
FTC's Amazon Prime Trial Moved To June 2025 Amid Doc Fight
A Washington federal judge agreed Wednesday to push back to June 2025 a high-stakes bench trial over the Federal Trade Commission's claims Amazon.com Inc. tricks consumers into enrolling in its Prime service, delaying the trial by months after the FTC accused Amazon of delaying discovery production.
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June 12, 2024
Chopra Rejects Fresh 'Earnings' Attack On CFPB Funding
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra told U.S. senators on Wednesday that an emerging line of attack on his agency's funding doesn't hold water, brushing aside a legal theory that has bubbled up in the aftermath of a recent U.S. Supreme Court defeat for critics of the agency.
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June 12, 2024
Teams Can't Prop Up Fox Philly TV License, Group Says
The group of advocates calling for Fox's Philadelphia affiliate to lose its broadcast license over its parent company's 2020 election coverage is pushing back against claims from three of the city's sports teams, saying the station's sports content is beside the point.
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June 12, 2024
Wells Fargo Accused Of Mismanaging Forfeited 401(k) Funds
A former Wells Fargo employee hit the San Francisco-based bank with a proposed class action in California federal court Tuesday, alleging Wells Fargo and its fiduciaries violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by using forfeited retirement funds to reduce its own contributions to other workers' 401(k)s.
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June 12, 2024
Texas Anesthesia Co. Appealing To Duck FTC Suit To 5th Circ.
U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc. gave notice Wednesday that it will ask the Fifth Circuit to review a Texas federal judge's mid-May decision refusing to toss Federal Trade Commission allegations of a monopolistic "roll-up" of Lone Star State anesthesia practices.
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June 12, 2024
Judge Says Biden Admin Must Allow Show Loophole, For Now
A Texas federal judge has ordered the Biden administration to stop enforcing a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rule that seeks to close what is known as the gun show loophole by requiring many private sellers to register as dealers and perform background checks before transacting gun sales.
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June 12, 2024
Oil Cos. Ignore Precedent In Climate Change Row, Tribes Say
Two Washington tribes seeking to remand their consolidated cases against several oil industry giants to state court say the defendants' arguments of complete preemption in their efforts to keep the climate change litigation in the federal circuit misconstrues precedent, including claims to vindicate aboriginal title.
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June 12, 2024
Cabot Execs Misled Investors On Fracking Impact, Suit Says
Insiders of Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., now known as Coterra Energy Inc., were hit with a shareholder derivative suit alleging they did not disclose that Cabot was not safeguarding drinking water from the company's fracking operations, which eventually led to criminal charges and reputational and financial damages.
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June 12, 2024
FCC Told Alaska Needs More Broadband Support
A major telecommunications provider in Alaska is telling the Federal Communications Commission that the government will need to boost its funding if it wants providers to meet high-speed broadband deployment goals for the state.
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June 12, 2024
Something Fishy With Conagra's '100% Whole Fish,' Suit Says
Customers alleged in Illinois federal court Tuesday that Conagra misled them by marketing its popular Van de Kamp's and Mrs. Paul's frozen fish products as "100% whole fish," despite artificially adding weight to those fish with an industrial filler and extra water.
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June 12, 2024
Mobile Game Maker Ruled Liable For Illegal Gambling In Wash.
Two of High 5 Games' mobile apps are illegal gambling games, a Washington federal judge has ruled in an order that said the "virtual coins" used by players were things of value under Washington law, even though they are sometimes free and can't be cashed in for real money.
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June 12, 2024
Miss. Social Media Age Law Faces Free-Speech Challenge
Mississippi is the latest state to enact a law that requires social media companies to verify the age of all users, but a challenge seeking to block that law from taking effect is already on the docket in federal court with a preliminary injunction hearing slated for this month.
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June 12, 2024
Judge Won't Trim $18M Shareholder Settlement Coverage Suit
A Pennsylvania federal judge declined to toss certain bad faith allegations against an insurer accused of wrongfully denying coverage for an $18 million settlement between an asset management company and a group of shareholders, adopting a magistrate judge's recommendation that the company sufficiently alleged its claim of bad faith.
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June 12, 2024
Okta, Investors Reach $60M Deal In Cyberattack Coverup Suit
Okta Inc. investors have asked a California federal judge to give the first OK to a $60 million settlement reached in a suit alleging the software company misled the certified class about a 2022 cyberattack.
Expert Analysis
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The Epic Antitrust Cases And Challenges Of Injunctive Relief
The Epic cases against Apple and Google offer a window into the courts' considerable challenges in Big Tech litigation and establishing injunctive relief that enhances competition and benefits consumers, say Kelly Lear Nordby and Jon Tomlin at Ankura Consulting.
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Banks Should Continue To Prep For CFPB Data Rule Rollout
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau-supervised banks should not expect industry pressure to delay the rollout of proposed Section 1033 open banking rules, which regulate how consumer financial information flows between financial institutions, and prepare their required data access portals and compliance procedures now, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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How Calif. Video Recording Ruling May Affect Insured Exams
A recent California appellate decision, Myasnyankin v. Nationwide, allowing policyholders to video record all parties to an insurance examination under oath, has changed the rules of the road for EUOs and potentially opened Pandora's box for future disputes, say John Edson and Preston Bennett at Sheppard Mullin.
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5 Things Trial Attorneys Can Learn From Good Teachers
Jennifer Cuculich at IMS Legal Strategies recounts lessons she learned during her time as a math teacher that can help trial attorneys connect with jurors, from the importance of framing core issues to the incorporation of different learning styles.
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Fintech 'Prenups': Planning For A Card Program Breakup
After a year of economic downturns, some banks and their fintech partners are realizing they may have rushed to the altar without a good prenup, but planning ahead can curb both foreseeable and unexpected issues in the event of a termination of a bank-fintech card-issuing agreement, say Andrew Grant at Ketsal and Richard Malish at Community Federal Savings Bank.
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Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies
As circular economy goals — generating revenue at multiple points in a product's life cycle — become nearly ubiquitous in corporate sustainability practices, companies should reassess existing strategies by focusing on government incentives, regulations, and reporting and disclosure requirements, say Rachel Saltzman and Erin Grisby at Hunton.
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3 Notification Pitfalls To Avoid With Arbitration Provisions
In Lipsett v. Popular Bank, the Second Circuit found that a bank's arbitration provision was unenforceable due to insufficient notice to a customer that he was bound by the agreement, highlighting the importance of adequate communication of arbitration provisions, and customers' options for opting out, say attorneys at Covington.
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Tips For Orgs Facing AI Data Privacy Compliance Challenges
Regulators around the world are actively seeking to enforce data privacy and consumer protection laws against companies providing artificial intelligence-related services, raising complex compliance questions in areas like transparency, data minimization, lawfulness of processing, data subject rights and higher risk activities, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
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What's At Play In Rising Lanham Act Cases At The ITC
Amid an uptick in Lanham Act claims involving false advertising related to medical devices at the U.S. International Trade Commission, Brian Busey and Maryrose McLaughlin at MoFo discuss recent ITC complaints from Eli Lilly and R.J. Reynolds, Lanham Act claim limits under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the issues practitioners face in this realm.
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Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims
Food products like bottled water are increasingly likely to be targets of consumer fraud complaints due to alleged microplastics contamination — but depending on the labeling or advertising at issue, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act can provide a powerful preemption defense, say Tariq Naeem and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.
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Enforcement Risk Amid Increased Consumer Data Use
While no state has introduced a private right of action for noncompliance with a comprehensive consumer privacy law — except for the California Consumer Privacy Act's data breach provision — organizations and retailers face risk from enforcement actions by state attorneys general and privacy regulators, say attorneys at Dentons.
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Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment
As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.
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What FTC's 'Killer Acquisition' Theory Means For Pharma Cos.
The Federal Trade Commission's recent lawsuit to block Sanofi's acquisition of a pharmaceutical treatment developed by Maze Therapeutics builds on previous enforcement actions and could indicate the agency's growing willingness to use its so-called killer acquisition theory against perceived attempts to eliminate nascent competition, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Fla. Bankruptcy Ruling Is Cautionary Tale For Debt Collectors
A Florida bankruptcy court recently rejected the assertion that a debt purchaser was entitled to enforce a debt not correctly listed on the debtor's bankruptcy schedules, and the sanctions imposed provide a stark reminder on due diligence in debt collection practices, say Deborah Kovsky-Apap and Stefanie Jackman at Troutman Pepper.
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Opinion
The Problems In Calif. Draft Behavioral Ad Privacy Regs
The California Privacy Protection Agency has an opportunity with its automated decision-making technology and profiling rulemaking to harmonize California's regulation of data-driven advertising, but this will be a failure unless several things are changed in its proposed treatment of behavioral advertising, say Alan Friel and Kyle Fath at Squire Patton.