Consumer Protection

  • June 07, 2024

    Off The Bench: NFL On Trial, Betting Crackdowns, Tennis Suit

    In this week's Off The Bench, the NFL stands trial in a massive antitrust class action over its Sunday Ticket broadcast package, a series of sports betting crackdowns makes waves in the MLB and the NBA, and the U.S. Tennis Association denies any liability for a player's sexual assault by her coach.

  • June 07, 2024

    Uber Can Arbitrate With Paralyzed Rider, Mass. Justices Rule

    Massachusetts' highest court on Friday ruled Uber Technologies Inc. had made its terms of service clear enough to move a paralyzed rider's case to arbitration, despite a dissent from one justice who said the company should spell out the rights that riders surrender when they hail a car.

  • June 07, 2024

    Philly Legal Services Group Backs FTC Noncompete Ban

    Community Legal Services, which represents the poorest Philadelphians in legal matters, threw its support Friday behind the Federal Trade Commission's bid to ban business from forcing employees into noncompete agreements.

  • June 07, 2024

    Google Ad Tech Case Won't Go To Jury Due To Co.'s Payment

    A Virginia federal judge ruled Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice's case accusing Google of monopolizing key digital advertising technology will be heard by the bench, and not a jury, thanks to a $2.3 million check from Google covering the amount enforcers could be awarded if they prevail.

  • June 06, 2024

    Google Gets Tweaked AI Data-Scraping Complaint Axed

    A California federal judge on Thursday agreed to dismiss — for now — a proposed class action claiming Google steals private and copyrighted information to train its artificial intelligence chatbot, pointing to a recent ruling siding with Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI in a similar case.

  • June 06, 2024

    Texas AG Takes Aim At Carmakers Selling Drivers' Data

    Texas' attorney general has become the latest to turn up the data-privacy heat on connected car manufacturers, revealing Thursday that his office has begun an investigation into how these companies amass and sell drivers' data to third parties, including insurance providers.

  • June 06, 2024

    NFL Sunday Ticket Is A Rigged Game, Antitrust Jury Told

    An attorney for NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers told a California jury Thursday during opening statements of a multibillion-dollar antitrust suit that secret documents will prove the NFL engaged in anticompetitive behavior, and the trial would reveal the "darker side of the NFL behind the shield."

  • June 06, 2024

    Roundup MDL Judge Worries Plaintiffs Firms Overstretched

    A California federal judge presiding over multidistrict personal injury litigation over Monsanto's Roundup weed killer expressed concerns Thursday that plaintiffs firms may be taking on "a whole bunch of cases" they don't have the ability to prosecute just to settle "on the cheap," calling the prospect "a little bit disturbing."

  • June 06, 2024

    Calif. Judge Pauses Wells Fargo Investor Row Over State Case

    A California federal judge has paused a pension system's proposed class action accusing top Wells Fargo & Co. officers of enabling a "culture of lawlessness," making way for a state court suit that alleges similar wrongdoing.

  • June 06, 2024

    Media Matters Wants Order Blocking Missouri AG's X Probe

    Media Matters for America returned to D.C. federal court on Thursday to seek a court order barring Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey from investigating the progressive media watchdog over its reporting on X Corp., roughly two months after a D.C. federal judge barred Texas' attorney general from doing the same.

  • June 06, 2024

    FTC Says Kroger Hasn't Turned Over Promised Documents

    The Federal Trade Commission urged an administrative law judge on Tuesday to require Kroger to fork over documents related to negotiations for its divestiture plan amid the commission's in-house challenge to the grocer's merger with Albertsons, saying Kroger's prior representations that it would produce the materials "have proven false."

  • June 06, 2024

    Wash. High Court Will Review Gun Magazine Law

    The Washington state Supreme Court said Thursday it will review a trial court ruling that the state's ban on sales of large-capacity magazines for firearms is unconstitutional.

  • June 06, 2024

    Fintech Lender Ran 'Bait & Switch' With Borrowers, Suit Says

    Fintech company Figure Lending LLC faces a proposed class action alleging its home equity lines of credit are actually intentionally mislabeled home equity loans with higher interest rates and fees.

  • June 06, 2024

    Senate Panel To Weigh Proposal For FCC Spectrum Auctions

    A key Senate committee plans next week to take up Democratic legislation to renew the Federal Communications Commission's authority to auction the airwaves and use future revenues to pay for agency-related national priorities, the committee's chair announced Thursday.

  • June 06, 2024

    Pharma Co. Misled Investors On Seizure Drug Trial, Suit Says

    Marinus Pharmaceuticals has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging that the company understated the risks of an epilepsy drug trial and did not warn investors that trial enrollment would be suspended when it failed to meet certain criteria.

  • June 06, 2024

    GOP Sens. Attack FCC Plan For AI Political Ad Disclosure

    Four Republican senators on Thursday lambasted the Federal Communications Commission chair's recent proposal to consider if the agency needs new rules to disclose the use of artificial intelligence in radio and TV political advertising, saying such rules are out of the commission's authority and would confuse voters.

  • June 06, 2024

    Investors Say Fund Preyed On Alums For RICO Scheme

    A group of Chinese and American investors alleged this week that they were ripped off to the tune of millions of dollars by a group of fraudsters who, through a series of fraudulent bank loans, bogus tax filings and false advertising, induced them into putting their money into a Los Angeles real estate project.

  • June 06, 2024

    $25 Million Flint Water Class Deal Gets Early OK

    A Michigan federal judge on Thursday gave initial approval for a $25 million settlement between a class of Flint adults and businesses and a water engineering company accused of prolonging the town's water crisis, calling the deal fair and an opportunity to avoid years of "exhausting" litigation.

  • June 06, 2024

    Split FCC Kicks Off Cybersecurity Fund For Schools, Libraries

    Democrats on the Federal Communications Commission created a $200 million pilot program Thursday to build up cybersecurity in schools and libraries.

  • June 06, 2024

    FCC Could Change Credit Rules To Qualify For Broadband Aid

    The Federal Communications Commission is considering easing some letter of credit requirements for Universal Service Fund recipients, saying the current mandates may have become too onerous and could be slowing broadband deployment.

  • June 06, 2024

    FTC And DOJ Divvy Up Probes Of OpenAI, Microsoft, Nvidia

    The Federal Trade Commission will investigate OpenAI and its investor Microsoft for potential competition issues, while the U.S. Department of Justice will look at chipmaker Nvidia's role in the quickly emerging artificial intelligence space, a source confirmed to Law360 on Thursday.

  • June 06, 2024

    6th Circuit Selected For Start Of Net Neutrality Fight

    The Sixth Circuit was chosen by random drawing Thursday to consolidate, at least for now, more than half a dozen challenges to the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules.

  • June 06, 2024

    High Bar For Booking.com Price Limits, EU High Court Told

    A European Court of Justice advocate general recommended a high bar Thursday for Booking.com assertions that price parity clauses imposed on contracts with hotels are "ancillary" to, and thus protected as, legitimate business arrangements.

  • June 06, 2024

    Alaska Air Passengers Refile Suit Over Boeing Blowout

    A group of passengers who were on an Alaska Airlines Inc. flight when a door plug blew out during a Jan. 5 flight have refiled their claims against the airline, Boeing Co. and Spirit AeroSystems Inc. in federal court — days after voluntarily dismissing their state court suit.

  • June 06, 2024

    Transport Monopoly Indictment Is Deficient, Accused Says

    One of 12 individuals who U.S. federal prosecutors claim conspired to monopolize cross-border sales of used vehicles and other goods from the U.S. to Central America using violence has moved to dismiss antitrust charges, saying prosecutors omitted elements of an indictable offense.

Expert Analysis

  • Innodata Suit Highlights 'AI Washing' Liability Risk For Cos.

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    A class action against software company Innodata over so-called AI washing, one of the first of its kind, underscores the litigation and enforcement risks that can arise from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's novel theory about misleading artificial intelligence capabilities, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • The Epic Antitrust Cases And Challenges Of Injunctive Relief

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    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.

  • Banks Should Continue To Prep For CFPB Data Rule Rollout

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    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.

  • How Calif. Video Recording Ruling May Affect Insured Exams

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    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.

  • 5 Things Trial Attorneys Can Learn From Good Teachers

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    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.

  • Fintech 'Prenups': Planning For A Card Program Breakup

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    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.

  • Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies

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    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.

  • 3 Notification Pitfalls To Avoid With Arbitration Provisions

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    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.

  • Tips For Orgs Facing AI Data Privacy Compliance Challenges

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    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.

  • What's At Play In Rising Lanham Act Cases At The ITC

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    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.

  • Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims

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    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.

  • Enforcement Risk Amid Increased Consumer Data Use

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    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.

  • Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    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.

  • What FTC's 'Killer Acquisition' Theory Means For Pharma Cos.

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    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.

  • Fla. Bankruptcy Ruling Is Cautionary Tale For Debt Collectors

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    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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