Consumer Protection

  • November 05, 2024

    Peet's Sinks ADA Bias Suit Over Alt Milk Surcharge, For Now

    A California federal judge on Tuesday freed Peet's Coffee from a proposed class action accusing it of discriminating against customers with lactose intolerance and milk allergies by levying a surcharge for non-dairy milk alternatives, saying customers who sued failed to show that only disabled customers would incur the extra cost.

  • November 05, 2024

    FTC Says Dave Mobile Banking App Deceives Customers

    The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday accused mobile banking app Dave of misleading customers about the actual amount of cash advance they're likely to receive while also charging them undisclosed fees, including "tips" via a guilt-inducing interface, according to a complaint filed in California federal court.

  • November 05, 2024

    Ford To Face Punitives Bid At Next Ga. Trial Over Truck Roof

    Ford Motor Co. must face a punitive damages request at an upcoming jury trial over allegations that a defective pickup truck roof caused a husband and wife to suffocate during a rollover crash, a Georgia federal judge held Tuesday.

  • November 05, 2024

    Pa. AG Gets Order To Stop Glass Plant Dismantling

    The investment-firm parent of kitchenware company Anchor Hocking Holdings can't dismantle a recently shuttered glass plant in Pennsylvania until the state attorney general argues her case that the purchase and closure of the plant may be anticompetitive, according to a court order unsealed Monday.

  • November 05, 2024

    Public Interest Groups Press For 60-Day Phone 'Unlocking'

    Three big consumer advocate groups are throwing their weight behind a Federal Communications Commission proposal to require mobile providers to unlock a customer's device within 60 days of their signing up, saying the move would "most benefit lower-income customers."

  • November 05, 2024

    Immigrant Bond Cos. Slam 'Knee-Jerk' CFPB In $811M Fight

    Immigrant bond companies appealing an order to pay $811 million for allegedly abusive bonding practices have told the Fourth Circuit that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's attempt to uphold that sanction is "aimed at the heartstrings and meant to evince a knee-jerk reaction to conduct that was distasteful" but said there is "nothing that can be done to alter the past."

  • November 05, 2024

    SEC Beats Stockbroker Challenge To BSA Enforcement

    A Utah federal judge on Tuesday tossed Scottsdale Capital Advisors' lawsuit accusing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of wrongfully enforcing the suspicious activity reporting regulations under the Bank Secrecy Act, finding the microcap broker-dealer didn't show that the underlying enforcement action is subject to judicial review.

  • November 05, 2024

    Allow More High Power Use In Shared Airwaves, Org. Says

    The Federal Communications Commission is looking at overhauling the Citizens Broadband Radio Service, and the group that helped develop the standards for it originally says it's time to allow high power use in the midband spectrum.

  • November 05, 2024

    Eye-Rolling Must Stop, Judge Warns Before False Ad Trial

    A California federal judge overseeing a false advertising dispute set to go to trial Wednesday between Guardant Health and Natera cautioned lawyers for the medical diagnostic testing companies on Tuesday to stop their "eye-rolling" when opposing counsel speaks and also urged the rivals to keep trying for a last-minute settlement.

  • November 05, 2024

    Google Escapes Play Store Gift Card Scam Suit, For Now

    A California federal judge on Monday tossed a woman's proposed class action accusing Google of profiting millions of dollars stolen from victims of Google Play gift card scams but rejected the tech giant's contention that the woman was subject to a heightened pleading standard for claims predicated on fraud.

  • November 05, 2024

    CFPB Gets Good Grade On Info Security, But Gaps Remain

    The inspector general for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has given the agency a generally clean bill of health on its information security while flagging several weak points for improvement, including finding that it lacks a specific plan for handling a ransomware attack scenario.

  • November 05, 2024

    Fubo Defends Block Of Sports Streaming Service At 2nd Circ.

    Fubo is defending a New York federal judge's order blocking the launch of a sports-only streaming service from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery at the Second Circuit, telling judges there that competitors wouldn't stand a chance in the sports streaming market without the programming that the three behemoths control.

  • November 05, 2024

    DC Circ. Wary Of FTC Changes To $5B Meta Privacy Deal

    The Federal Trade Commission faced a skeptical D.C. Circuit panel Tuesday in its bid to modify a $5 billion privacy deal with Meta, with judges questioning why any private company would settle with the agency if the deal could later be reopened.

  • November 05, 2024

    FTC Defends Noncompete Ban In 11th Circ. Appeal

    The Federal Trade Commission told the Eleventh Circuit the agency is authorized to make rules like the one banning the use of employee noncompetes and argued that a lower court was wrong to block the commission from enforcing the rule against a retirement community.

  • November 05, 2024

    Hagens Berman Defends Bid To Ditch AWOL Apple Suit Client

    A Washington federal judge expressed skepticism on Tuesday that Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP was within its rights to substitute a proposed class representative in an antitrust case against Amazon and Apple earlier this year when the lead plaintiff stopped communicating with the firm.

  • November 05, 2024

    Binance Says New SEC Complaint Suffers Same Old Flaws

    Cryptocurrency exchange Binance told a Washington, D.C., federal judge the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission can't continue to argue that secondary sales of digital assets are securities transactions in its enforcement suit against the trading platform after the regulator acquiesced that the tokens themselves aren't investment contracts.

  • November 05, 2024

    Amazon Bashes Wash. Supreme Court's Price-Gouging Ruling

    Amazon urged a Washington federal judge Monday to toss an updated proposed consumer class action alleging price gouging during the pandemic, saying the claims remain overly broad and the Washington Supreme Court's interpretation of the state's consumer protection law is unconstitutionally vague.

  • November 05, 2024

    Edge Providers Say Data Centers Key To Network Growth

    Data centers will be buzzing with ever more activity in the coming years, and edge providers like Netflix and Amazon want to make sure that U.S. agencies keep up with the network traffic flow, according to a new filing from their national trade group.

  • November 05, 2024

    Target Inks Individual Deals Over 'Non-Drowsy' Flu Medicine

    Target Corp. has reached individual settlements with three consumers who launched a proposed class action alleging its over-the-counter cold and flu medicine is misleadingly labeled as "non-drowsy" despite containing an ingredient known to cause sleepiness, according to a Minnesota federal judge's order.

  • November 05, 2024

    Conagra Settles False Ad Suit Over 'Sustainable' Fish

    Conagra and a proposed class of consumers have settled a suit accusing the food giant of deceptively labeling its seafood products as sustainable despite using ocean-harming methods to source them, according to a minute order entered Tuesday.

  • November 05, 2024

    Some Hertz Del. Insurance Claims Tossed In False Arrest Saga

    A Delaware state judge has branded as "unreasonable" and based on "contractual gymnastics" Hertz Corp. arguments for aggregating separate settlements to limit its retained liability payout duty before insurance picks up the balance of customer wrongful arrest suit settlements.

  • November 05, 2024

    Meta Owed No Coverage For Social Media MDL, Hartford Says

    Two Hartford units told a Delaware state court they should have no duty to defend Meta Platforms Inc., parent of Facebook and Instagram, against numerous lawsuits accusing the social media giant of deliberately designing its platforms to be addictive to adolescents and concealing its harmful effects on them. 

  • November 05, 2024

    GOP Sens. Say NTIA 'Distorting' US Broadband Access

    Senate Republicans are accusing Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris of "manipulating census data" to conceal the number of people using satellite internet, in their latest attack on the Biden administration and Harris, who they have dubbed the "broadband czar."

  • November 05, 2024

    Dems Push Insurance Regulators To Tackle Hurricane Fraud

    Three Democrats on the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, including ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, sent letters to insurance regulators in the states hit by hurricanes Helene and Milton urging them to do more to prevent fraud and dishonesty from insurers looking to avoid covering damages.

  • November 05, 2024

    4 Golf Course Data Breach Suits Consolidated In Illinois

    Four separate proposed class actions alleging an Illinois-based golf course operator failed to protect customers' information following a data breach have been consolidated and will be heard in front of the same federal judge.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • What To Know As Children's Privacy Law Rapidly Evolves

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    If your business hasn't been paying attention to growing state and federal efforts to protect children online, now is the time to start — there is no sign of this regulation slowing down, and more aggressive enforcement actions are to be expected in the coming year, says Susan Rohol at Willkie Farr.

  • What Cos. Should Know About New Global Plastics Regs

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    As the global regulatory landscape for plastics and recycling changes rapidly — with new policies coming into effect in California, at the federal level, in the European Union and at the United Nations — businesses that operate across jurisdictions must stay informed to remain compliant, mitigate legal risk and achieve stewardship goals, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

  • Dissecting Treasury's Call For Input On AI In Financial Sector

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    The U.S. Department of the Treasury's request for comments on the potential benefits and challenges AI may pose to the financial services sector, which asks how stakeholders are addressing and mitigating increased fraud risks, reflects the federal government's continued interest in AI's effects across the economy, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Opinion

    The FTC Needs To Challenge The Novo-Catalent Deal

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    Novo's acquisition of Catalent threatens to substantially lessen competition in the manufacturing and marketing of GLP-1 diabetes and obesity drugs, and the Federal Trade Commission should challenge it under a vertical theory of harm, as it aligns with last year's merger guidelines and the Fifth Circuit decision in Illumina, says attorney David Balto.

  • Md. Deal Highlights Consumer Finance Program Regulations

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    Maryland regulators’ recent settlement with the Bank of Missouri and its consumer lending partners, Atlanticus and Fortiva, offers a reminder that it is important to properly structure such partnerships and conduct sufficient due diligence on state licensing requirements, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

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