Consumer Protection

  • July 18, 2024

    Pool Co. Wants To Dig Into Rival's Alter Egos For $16M Verdict

    Pool supply company Hayward Industries Inc. is looking to force responses from the alter egos of bankrupt rival Blueworks Corp. regarding their assets, bank accounts and property so that Hayward can collect on its $16 million false advertising and unfair business practices judgment.

  • July 18, 2024

    CFPB Eyes Loan Treatment For 'Earned Wage' Cash Advances

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moved Thursday to apply federal truth-in-lending requirements to the growing market for fintech cash advances, issuing a proposed rule that would classify many "earned wage access" products as consumer loans needing clear pricing disclosures.

  • July 17, 2024

    Immigrant Bond Cos. Appeal Injunction After $811M Loss

    Immigrant bond companies subject to an $811 million judgment for abusive bonding practices told the Fourth Circuit that a lower court's injunction against them is vague and far broader than federal law allows.

  • July 17, 2024

    Fla. Co. Says NY Lender Charges Usurious 950% Interest Rate

    A Florida-based startup has sued a New York small business lender, alleging the lender saddled it with "a high interest usurious loan" when it thought it was entering into a future receivables agreement.

  • July 17, 2024

    Ex-SEC Lawyer's Fellow Penny Stock Fraudster To Pay $1M

    A Texas federal judge handed down final judgment Tuesday to a co-defendant of an ex-SEC lawyer turned fraudster in a civil case involving a penny stock scheme, barring Justin Herman from ever dealing penny stocks again and ordering him to pay over $1 million.

  • July 17, 2024

    AT&T Sued Over Breach Of 'Nearly All' Cell Users' Records

    AT&T Inc. is facing separate class actions in Texas, Montana and New Jersey federal courts after the company disclosed Friday that hackers had downloaded phone call and text message records belonging to "nearly all" the telecom giant's wireless customers between May 2022 and early last year.

  • July 17, 2024

    Calif. Asks 9th Circ. To Lift Injunction On Kids' Privacy Law

    California urged the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday to remove an injunction blocking a groundbreaking new law requiring social media platforms to bolster privacy protections for children, defending the protections and arguing that any unconstitutional provision should be severed following the U.S. Supreme Court's Moody v. NetChoice decision.

  • July 17, 2024

    9th Circ. Open To X's Challenge To Content Disclosure Law

    A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel appeared open Wednesday to granting X Corp.'s request to block at least some of a new California law requiring social media companies to provide semiannual disclosures regarding their content moderation policies, with each judge saying one particular provision appears to infringe free speech rights.

  • July 17, 2024

    FTC Cites 3rd Circ. In Defending Noncompete Ban

    The Federal Trade Commission has continued to argue against a preliminary injunction a tree services company wants against its noncompete ban, directing a Pennsylvania federal judge to look at a Third Circuit decision from the day before calling for a high bar on initial court blocks absent immediate and permanent harm.

  • July 17, 2024

    FCC To Vote On Smart Car Technology's Use Of 5.9 GHz

    The Federal Communications Commission is ready to vote on rules that would bring advanced vehicle communications technology to the 5.9 GHz band, setting standards for the technology's use in the slice of spectrum and greenlighting the use of in-vehicle and roadside units running on the technology.

  • July 17, 2024

    Wahlburgers-Tied Pickle Co. Settles Rival's Labeling Spat

    A pickle company told a New Jersey federal court that its suit accusing a rival of ripping off recipes to make mislabeled pickles for actor Mark Wahlberg's restaurant business has been settled. 

  • July 17, 2024

    Whirlpool Wants To Wash Away Service Plan Repair Claims

    Whirlpool asked a Washington federal judge to send a proposed consumer class action down the drain, saying the aggrieved customer can't claim she was deceived about the details of an extended repair plan for a dishwasher when the full terms have always been easy to find online.

  • July 17, 2024

    Firm Can't Dodge Veteran's Class Claims Over Fees

    A North Carolina federal judge has refused to throw out a proposed class action alleging that a consulting firm charged veterans millions in illegal fees, saying the suit needs more litigation before a dismissal is considered.

  • July 17, 2024

    Jimmy John's Biometric Info Suit 'Barely' Avoids Dismissal

    An Illinois federal judge refused Wednesday to toss a putative class action alleging Jimmy John's LLC unlawfully records customers via technology embedded in drive-through intercoms in violation of the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act, but he remarked on the "thinness" of the allegations and said the complaint "barely" survives.

  • July 17, 2024

    Pharma Co. Slams Magistrate's Venue Report In Opioid Suit

    A pharmaceuticals distributor is objecting to an Oklahoma federal magistrate judge's recent recommendation to deny as moot the company's bid to dismiss a Cherokee Nation suit accusing it of flooding tribal communities with opioids, saying the case shouldn't be sent to state court.

  • July 17, 2024

    Ill. Judge Signals Issue With Chicken Consumers' Expert

    An Illinois federal judge signaled Wednesday that he was unlikely to allow chicken end users' economics expert to testify about damages they suffered in an alleged price-fixing conspiracy if the expert cannot focus his opinion on just the conduct allowed to be heard at trial.

  • July 17, 2024

    9th Circ. Scrubs Dismissal In Plant-Based Huggies Wipes Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday partially reinstated a suit alleging that Kimberly Clark Corp.'s baby wipes mislead consumers into thinking they're made entirely from plant products, saying the district court wrongly considered the back label when dismissing claims regarding certain products.

  • July 17, 2024

    Keep Consumer Protection Suit Against Bill Pay Co., FTC Says

    Seattle-based online bill pay platform Doxo Inc. shouldn't be allowed to escape the Federal Trade Commission's claims that Doxo tricked consumers into using its services, the FTC has argued in a brief calling the company's dismissal bid a "jumble of arguments."

  • July 17, 2024

    CFTC Says Its Sanctions Spat Not Relevant To Gemini Case

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has pushed back against Gemini Trust Co.'s efforts to paint the regulator's defense of misconduct claims in one case as contradictory to its arguments in its enforcement action against the Winklevoss-owned crypto exchange, telling a federal court that the two matters have "no legal or factual bearing" on each other.

  • July 17, 2024

    Drivers' Transmission Complaints Are 'Old News,' GM Says

    Drivers waited too long to file a proposed class action accusing General Motors LLC of selling vehicles with faulty transmissions, the automaker said in a motion Tuesday arguing that many of the claims must be dismissed.

  • July 17, 2024

    Hospital Trims Its Insulin Pen Claims Against Novo Nordisk

    A Connecticut hospital and Novo Nordisk Inc. have agreed to dismiss several of the pharmaceutical giant's corporate entities from a suit seeking to make the company pay for the hospital's $1 million settlement from an underlying patient class action over allegedly defective insulin pens the firm made.

  • July 17, 2024

    Settlement Talks Stall In NC Driver Suit Over Crash Data

    A North Carolina woman and the city of Charlotte failed to reach a deal outside of court that would end her proposed class action accusing the city of violating privacy laws by making car accident reports public, according to a newly filed mediator's report.

  • July 17, 2024

    Grayscale Rival's False Ad Suit Won't Move To New Court

    A Connecticut state judge on Wednesday denied Grayscale Investments LLC's request to transfer a competitor's unfair trade practices lawsuit from Bridgeport to the state court system's complex litigation docket, sustaining the plaintiff's objection that said the move would unduly delay a July 2025 trial without a valid reason.

  • July 17, 2024

    Feds Uphold Tech Co.'s Fine For Auction Talks With AT&T

    The Federal Communications Commission upheld its $100,000 fine against internet service provider AMG Technology Investment Group for discussing bidding strategy during an infrastructure funding auction with AT&T, saying it has no basis to reconsider the penalty Wednesday.

  • July 17, 2024

    Target Hit With Suit After Texas Infant Died In Baby Lounger

    Target and the makers of an infant lounger have been hit with a product liability lawsuit from a Texas couple who allege their 7-month-old daughter died after falling out of the device.

Expert Analysis

  • What TikTok's Race Against The Clock Teaches Chinese Firms

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    The Biden administration's recent divestiture deadline on TikTok parent ByteDance provides useful information for other China-based companies looking to do business in the U.S., including the need to keep products for each market separate and implement firewalls at the design stage, says Richard Lomuscio at Stinson.

  • Updated Federal Rules Can Improve Product Liability MDLs

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    The recent amendment of a federal evidence rule regarding expert testimony and the proposal of a civil rule on managing early discovery in multidistrict legislation hold great promise for promoting the uniform and efficient processes that high-stakes product liability cases particularly need, say Alan Klein and William Heaston at Duane Morris.

  • Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent

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    As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.

  • Unlocking Blockchain Opportunities Amid Legal Uncertainty

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    Dozens of laws and legal precedents will come into the fore as Web3, metaverse and non-fungible tokens gain momentum, so organizations need to design their programs with a broader view of potential exposures — and opportunities, say Teresa Goody Guillén and Robert Musiala at BakerHostetler and Steve McNew at FTI Consulting.

  • 4 Ways Businesses Can Address Threat Of Mass Arbitration

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    Attorneys at DLA Piper examine the rise of mass arbitration in light of JAMS' new procedures and guidelines, and provide four steps e-commerce businesses can take when revising their dispute resolution provisions to maximize the chances those revisions will be held enforceable.

  • The Uncertain Scope Of The First Financial Fair Access Laws

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    With Florida and Tennessee soon to roll out laws banning financial institutions from making decisions based on customer traits like political affiliation, national financial services providers should consider how broadly worded “fair access” laws from these and other conservative-leaning states may place new obligations on their business operations, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Live Nation May Shake It Off In A Long Game With The DOJ

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    Don't expect a swift resolution in the U.S. Department of Justice's case against Live Nation, but a long litigation, with the company likely to represent itself as the creator of a competitive ecosystem, and the government faced with explaining how the ticketing giant formed under its watch, say Thomas Kliebhan and Taylor Hixon at GRSM50.

  • Boeing Saga Underscores Need For Ethical Corporate Culture

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    In the wake of recent allegations about Boeing’s safety culture, and amid the U.S. Department of Justice’s new whistleblower incentives, business leaders should reinvigorate their emphasis on compliance by making clear that long-term profitability requires ethical business practices, says Maxwell Carr-Howard at Dentons.

  • Debate Over CFPB Definition Of Credit Is Just Beginning

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has recently worked to expand the meaning of credit, so anyone operating on the edges of the credit markets, or even those who assumed they were safely outside the scope of this regulatory perimeter, should pay close attention as legal challenges to broad interpretations of the definition unfold, says John Coleman at Orrick.

  • Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond

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    Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.

  • How Federal And State Microfiber Pollution Policy Is Evolving

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    Growing efforts to address synthetic microfiber pollution may create compliance and litigation issues for businesses in the textile and apparel industries, so companies should track developing federal and state legislation and regulation in this space, and should consider associated greenwashing risks, says Arie Feltman-Frank at Jenner & Block.

  • Series

    Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge​​​​​​​ at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • 10 Tips To Build Trust With Your Witness During Trial Prep

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    Preparing a witness for deposition or trial requires more than just legal skills — lawyers must also work to cultivate trust with the witness, using strategies ranging from wearing a hat when conducting mock cross-examination to offering them a ride to court before they testify, say Faye Paul Teller and Sara McDermott at Munger Tolles.

  • A Look At US-EU Consumer Finance Talks' Slow First Steps

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    The unhurried and informal nature of planned discussions between the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the European commissioner for justice and consumer protection suggests any coordinated regulatory action on issues like AI and "buy now, pay later" services is still a ways off, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • 5th Circ. Venue-Transfer Cases Highlight Mandamus Limits

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    Three ongoing cases filed within the Fifth Circuit highlight an odd procedural wrinkle that may let district courts defy an appellate writ: orders granting transfer to out-of-circuit districts, but parties opposing intercircuit transfer can work around this hurdle to effective appellate review, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.

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