Consumer Protection

  • October 01, 2024

    Kroger Says Labor Costs Led To Price Hikes At Colo. Stores

    A Kroger Co. pricing director testified Tuesday that the company raised prices at eight Colorado stores that have little competition in order to cover higher labor and operational costs in those mountain communities, during a trial in the state's bid to block the grocer's proposed $24.6 billion merger with Albertsons.

  • October 01, 2024

    NJ Hotels Beat Room Price-Fixing Suit For Good

    Another algorithmic antitrust suit is off the table after a New Jersey federal judge said Monday that a room-rate proposed class action against Atlantic City casino-hotels has the same failings that doomed a case over room prices on the Las Vegas Strip.

  • October 01, 2024

    Water Firm Can't End Flint Children's Negligence Claims

    The federal judge presiding over Flint, Michigan, water crisis litigation again ruled on Tuesday that an engineering firm won't be able to avoid professional negligence claims related to its consulting work with the city, issuing the 70-page opinion days before jury selection for a bellwether trial begins.

  • October 01, 2024

    Tesla Dodges Investor Suit Over Self-Driving Tech Claims

    A California federal judge has released Tesla Inc. from litigation accusing it of deceiving investors about the capabilities and safety record of its self-driving technology, granting it at least a temporary reprieve from the class action litigation because suing shareholders hadn't shown that CEO Elon Musk knew his statements about the technology were false.

  • October 01, 2024

    Ford Must Face Trimmed Suit Over Alleged Truck Roof Defects

    A Michigan federal judge trimmed a proposed class action alleging Ford Motor Co. knowingly sold defective trucks with weak roofs that collapse in a rollover, tossing certain claims brought on behalf of unrepresented states, but rejecting other defense arguments — including Ford's statute-of-limitations defense — for being premature.

  • October 01, 2024

    Google Ad Tech Trial: 15 Days On The Rocket Docket

    The Justice Department wrapped an extraordinary antitrust trial last week that left a Virginia federal judge pondering whether Google is even dominant in the display advertising placement technology market or just another player.

  • October 01, 2024

    Phone 'Tax' For FCC Programs Unconstitutional, Justices Told

    Groups challenging the Federal Communications Commission's universal service system urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to throw out the program's funding base, arguing it amounts to an illegal tax on consumers.

  • October 01, 2024

    Chancery Tosses Class Suit Over TransUnion CFPB Violations

    Observing that "imperfect compliance is not bad faith," a Delaware vice chancellor dismissed on Tuesday a stockholder derivative suit seeking damages on behalf of consumer credit reporting company TransUnion for alleged board and officer failures to comply with a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau order issued in 2017.

  • October 01, 2024

    Apple Users Win Partial Cert. In Storage False Ad Suit

    A California federal judge granted class certification Monday in a suit accusing Apple Inc. of falsely advertising the storage capacity of older mobile devices, but only for a subclass of certain individuals who purchased 16-gigabyte devices preinstalled with Apple's iOS 8 operating system in the Golden State.

  • October 01, 2024

    CFPB, NY Pan Subprime Auto Lender's 'Attempt To Distract'

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the state of New York have fired back at subprime auto lender Credit Acceptance Corp.'s bid to exit its predatory lending lawsuit in New York federal court, slamming its move as a Wizard of Oz-like effort to escape scrutiny "behind the curtain."

  • October 01, 2024

    Binance GC Is Building The Firm's Future, One Atty At A Time

    Binance general counsel Eleanor Hughes says she inherited "probably one of the most stressful situations a lawyer can face" when she entered her role as the company negotiated a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities, but since then her focus has been on building the right team to guide the firm's compliance forward.

  • October 01, 2024

    Verdict Stands In Fifth Third Bank Cash Advance Suit

    An Ohio federal judge refused to override a jury's verdict that Fifth Third Bank breached its contracts with the class of borrowers who participated in its Early Access loan program, and also said he would not order a partial new trial for the borrowers after that same jury denied them damages.

  • October 01, 2024

    Crowne Plaza Gets Out Of Ohio Sex Trafficking Liability Suit

    An Ohio federal magistrate judge released Crowne Plaza LLC from an anonymous plaintiff's lawsuit seeking to hold lodging entities liable for sex trafficking injuries, after the survivor said the hotel chain's presence in the case "adds nothing" to her chances of winning damages.

  • October 01, 2024

    TikTok Petitions 3rd Circ. To Review Section 230 Ruling

    TikTok asked for another crack in the Third Circuit on Tuesday, requesting an en banc rehearing of the appeals court's decision holding that its "For You Page" algorithm doesn't enjoy Section 230 immunity and reviving a suit accusing the app of recommending a "blackout challenge" that led to a 10-year-old's death.

  • October 01, 2024

    Enviro Group Sues Over PFAS In Carefree Menstrual Liners

    Makers of the Carefree brand of menstrual liners, Edgewell Personal Care Co., on Monday were sued by an environmental group in California state court over allegations that the personal care products contain a type of so-called forever chemicals.

  • October 01, 2024

    EBay Beats Gov't Claims Over Sale Of Polluting Products

    A New York federal judge Monday tossed a government lawsuit accusing eBay Inc. of hawking illegal automotive, paint removal and pesticide products, holding that the e-commerce giant does not meet the definition of a "seller" and has Section 230 immunity as a publisher of third-party content.

  • October 01, 2024

    NC Hospital Hit With More Class Claims Over Data Breach

    Columbus Regional Healthcare System's legal woes have worsened with more privacy breach claims filed against it by patients whose personal information was exposed by a May 2023 cyberattack on the healthcare provider's network.

  • October 01, 2024

    Doctors Were 'Bamboozled' By $160M Health Fraud, Jury Told

    A Houston man accused of defrauding the government out of $160 million by submitting false claims for diabetes medication is only guilty of creating a competitive business model, his attorney said Tuesday, telling a Texas federal jury it was "ridiculous" to say doctors across the country were "bamboozled" by an alleged scheme.

  • October 01, 2024

    Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

    European enforcers saw a key merger policy cut down by the bloc's high court, while Kroger and Albertsons defended their planned $24.6 billion grocery store mega-merger from challenges in multiple venues, and the Federal Trade Commission pushed a bid to block a merger between the owners of Coach and Michael Kors.

  • October 01, 2024

    Arkansas AG Says YouTube Addicts And Harms Youth Users

    The Arkansas attorney general has sued YouTube LLC, Google LLC and their parent company in state court, alleging that the YouTube platform is deliberately designed to addict youth users and shows them harmful content, leading to a mental health crisis that has cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

  • October 01, 2024

    Insurer Says Polaris Gave Late Notice Of Death, Burn Suits

    An excess insurer for a manufacturer of off-road vehicles said it should recover the $10 million it spent to help settle two lawsuits against the manufacturer over a fatal vehicle fire, telling a Minnesota federal court it was "severely prejudiced" by the manufacturer's claim notice delay.

  • October 01, 2024

    Apple, Amazon Hint Hagens Berman Lacked Client's OK

    Amazon and Apple blasted Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP for seeking to withdraw as counsel for the no-show original lead plaintiff in an antitrust suit targeting iPhone and iPad sales, hinting that the firm continued to pursue the case even after knowing its client wished to drop out.

  • October 01, 2024

    Delta Wants Suit Over IT Outage Response Thrown Out

    Delta Air Lines is asking a Georgia federal judge to toss a proposed class action brought by customers who claim its botched response to a massive IT outage left them stranded and on the hook for numerous expenses, arguing their claims are barred by a federal deregulation law and its ticket terms.

  • October 01, 2024

    FanDuel Sued For $250M By Convicted Ex-Jaguars Employee

    A former employee of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars who's in federal prison for embezzling millions to spend on online gambling sued FanDuel for $250 million in New York federal court Tuesday, accusing the betting platform of preying on his addiction to encourage him to continue.

  • October 01, 2024

    Nostrum Labs Hits Ch. 11 A Year After Medicaid Settlement

    Nostrum Laboratories, a New Jersey drugmaker that paid millions to settle allegations that it underpaid Medicaid drug rebates for its bladder infection drug after it hiked the price more than 400%, filed for Chapter 11 protection with nearly $68.3 million in debt.

Expert Analysis

  • How To Deploy AI In A Dangerous Threat Landscape

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    Businesses are feeling immense pressure to deploy generative artificial intelligence tools to accelerate profits and demonstrate their technological superiority to investors and consumers, and there are a few steps they can take when using AI tools to mitigate liability risks, say B. Stephanie Siegmann and Julianna Malogolowkin at Hinckley Allen.

  • Addressing The Growing Hazards Of Mass Arbitration

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    Though retail companies typically include arbitration provisions in their terms of service, the recent trend of costly mass arbitrations filed by plaintiffs may cause businesses to rethink this conventional wisdom, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • CFPB's Medical Debt Proposal May Have Side Effects

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recent proposal to prevent medical debt information from appearing on consumer reports and creditors from basing lending decisions on such information may have initial benefits for some consumers, but there are potential negative consequences that should also be considered, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.

  • Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act

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    As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.

  • Decoding CFPB Priorities Amid Ramp-Up In Nonbank Actions

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    Based on recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement actions and press releases about its supervisory activities, the agency appears poised to continue increasing its scrutiny over nonbank entities — particularly with respect to emerging financial products and services — into next year, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • How 3rd Circ. Raised Bar For Constitutional Case Injunctions

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    The Third Circuit's decision in Delaware State Sportsmen's Association v. Delaware Department of Safety & Homeland Security, rejecting the relaxed preliminary injunction standards many courts have used when plaintiffs allege constitutional harms, could portend a shift in such cases in at least four ways, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • 7th Circ. Ruling Expands CFPB Power In Post-Chevron Era

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Townstone Financial interprets the Equal Credit Opportunity Act broadly, paving the way for increased CFPB enforcement and hinting at how federal courts may approach statutory interpretation in the post-Chevron world, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • Opinion

    Expert Witness Standards Must Consider Peer Review Crisis

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    For nearly two decades, the so-called replication crisis has upended how the scientific community views the reliability of peer-reviewed studies, and it’s time for courts to reevaluate whether peer review is a trustworthy proxy for expert witness reliability, say Jeffrey Gross and Robert LaCroix at Reid Collins.

  • What's In NYDFS Guidance On Use Of AI In Insurance

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    Matthew Gaul and Shlomo Potesky at Willkie summarize the New York Department of Financial Services' recently adopted circular letter on the use of artificial intelligence in insurance underwriting and pricing, and highlight the material changes made to it in response to comments on the draft circular letter.

  • Drip Pricing Exemption Isn't A Free Pass For Calif. Eateries

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    A new exemption relieves California bars and restaurants from the recently effective law banning prices that don't reflect mandatory fees and charges — but such establishments aren't entirely off the hook for drip pricing, due to uncertainty over disclosure requirements and pending federal junk fee regulations, say Alexandria Ruiz and Amy Lally at Sidley.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Opinion

    Data Breach Reporting Requirements Must Change In AI Age

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    Outdated data breach reporting laws are inadequate to protect consumers in the age of artificial intelligence, as AI’s ability to determine relationships coupled with its improvements to deepfake technology mean that the very definitions used in breach reporting laws are no longer sufficient, says Collin Walke at Hall Estill.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

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