Consumer Protection

  • November 06, 2024

    FTC Slams AI-Enabled Review Site Over 'Inflated' Ratings

    Consumer review platform Sitejabber has agreed to stop misrepresenting that its content comes from individuals who have already received the rated product in order to resolve the Federal Trade Commission's claims that this conduct led to the inflation of average metrics on its site, the agency said Wednesday. 

  • November 06, 2024

    Intel Accused Of Touting 'Defective' Raptor Lake Processors

    Intel has continued to promote the purported speed and performance of its "defective" 13th and 14th generation desktop processors, which go by the code name Raptor Lake, according to a proposed class action filed Tuesday in California federal court.

  • November 06, 2024

    Danone Beats Suit Alleging Microplastics In Evian, For Now

    An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday granted Danone Waters of America's request to dismiss a putative class action accusing the Evian-maker of violating Illinois and California state consumer fraud statutes by labeling its spring water as "natural" even though the product contains microplastics, finding the claims are preempted by federal law.

  • November 06, 2024

    FTX Exec Looks To Avoid Prison For 'Smallest Share' Of Crime

    Former FTX technology chief Zixiao "Gary" Wang on Wednesday asked a Manhattan federal judge not to give him prison time for his part in the $11.2 billion fraud case, calling himself "the one who stands convicted of the smallest share of misconduct" among former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's lieutenants.

  • November 06, 2024

    LGBcoin Trustee Can't Get SEC Subpoena Stayed Amid Appeal

    A hedge fund manager associated with the political-meme-inspired digital asset LGBcoin can't get an administrative subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stayed while he seeks an appeal, a Miami federal judge has decided.

  • November 06, 2024

    Nike False Ad Claims In StockX TM Fight Must Go, Judge Told

    Online resale marketplace StockX has asked a New York federal judge to end Nike's counterfeiting and false advertising claims, saying that StockX has actually prevented the sale of millions of suspected counterfeits and that "Nike strains credulity when it claims StockX is a willful counterfeiter."

  • November 06, 2024

    Natera Declared 'War' On Guardant, Jury Told At Trial's Start

    Guardant on Wednesday told a California federal jury during opening statements in its false advertising lawsuit that rival Natera saw Guardant's competing colorectal cancer detection test as "an existential threat" and declared "war" while Natera maintained that its ads to doctors comparing the tests were meant "to educate, not deceive."

  • November 06, 2024

    SEC Moves To Ax Key Defenses In Kraken Crypto Fraud Row

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has urged a California federal court to ax three of crypto exchange Kraken's defenses in a case alleging it violated securities laws by offering crypto assets without proper registration, arguing that the court has already rejected Kraken's claims that the agency lacks authority to bring the case and that existing law is too vague.

  • November 06, 2024

    Albertsons Hit With Discovery Sanctions In Wash. Opioid Suit

    A Washington state judge has partially granted the state's sanctions request in its suit accusing Albertsons of exacerbating the opioid crisis, agreeing that the grocery store chain took an "unreasonable" stance in refusing to respond to outstanding discovery requests because a deadline had passed while the case was paused.

  • November 06, 2024

    Trump Win Set To Reshape FCC, Push Policies Rightward

    Donald Trump's return to the White House following Tuesday's election will usher in new political appointees at federal agencies to carry out conservative tech and telecom policies, leading to a reshuffling of priorities at the Federal Communications Commission.

  • November 06, 2024

    Customers Look To Preserve Lead Class Action Against AT&T

    AT&T shareholders are telling a Texas federal judge that the company acted with scienter when it allegedly misled investors about the removal of lead-covered copper cables from its network, pushing back on AT&T's motion to dismiss the suit stemming from a drop in the company's stock price.

  • November 06, 2024

    Hyundai, Kia Rip Cities' Bellwether Trial Bid In Car-Theft MDL

    Hyundai and Kia have asked a California federal judge to reject several cities' request for bellwether trials in consolidated litigation alleging that the automakers knowingly sold vehicles with design flaws that spawned a car-theft crime wave after a viral TikTok trend popularized tips for breaking into their cars.

  • November 06, 2024

    4th Circ. Won't Allow Appeal In Crash Privacy Suit

    The Fourth Circuit has rejected the city of Charlotte's attempt to appeal a North Carolina federal judge's finding that it violated privacy law by making car accident reports public, which allowed law firms to use the data for marketing purposes.

  • November 06, 2024

    Seattle Judge Wants Plaintiff's Comms In IPad Antitrust Suit

    A Seattle federal judge has ordered Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP to produce its communications with a client who allegedly ghosted the firm before determining if the attorneys may withdraw from representing the class representative in a proposed antitrust class action against Apple and Amazon.

  • November 06, 2024

    Data Tracking Suit Against California Hospital Gets 'Last' Try

    A California federal judge gave a plaintiff "one last opportunity" to amend her proposed class action accusing Santa Clara Valley Medical Center of unlawfully sharing sensitive data with Meta and Google through online tracking tools embedded in its website and patient portal.

  • November 06, 2024

    Tempur Sealy, Mattress Firm Ask Court To Pause FTC Case

    Tempur Sealy and Mattress Firm asked a Texas federal court to prevent the Federal Trade Commission's in-house merger case from moving ahead until after there is a decision on their constitutional challenge of the agency's process.

  • November 06, 2024

    Amazon Can't 'Just Walk Out' On BIPA Claims

    An Illinois federal judge largely allowed two biometric privacy suits to proceed against Amazon and a Midway Airport shop operator over Amazon's Just Walk Out cashierless checkout technology, trimming just an unlawful profiting claim against the travel retailer.   

  • November 06, 2024

    Kratom Co. Failed To Warn Of 'Addictive Potential,' Suit Says

    The company behind Kryptic Kratom and K-Chill branded supplements was hit with a proposed class action accusing the company concealing the "addictive potential" of kratom, which the suit likens to opioids, morphine and heroin.

  • November 06, 2024

    Coinbase, CFTC Reach Discovery Agreement For SEC Case

    Coinbase said it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on certain search terms that it believes satisfies its discovery needs in its ongoing securities enforcement case, resolving an earlier motion to compel the futures regulator to provide certain communications with crypto firms.

  • November 06, 2024

    Business Groups Urge Calif. Justices To Nix HIV Drug Ruling

    Business groups led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are asking the California Supreme Court to throw out a suit alleging Gilead Sciences Inc. deprived customers of a safer form of its HIV drug for profits, saying the current ruling creates an untenable duty and liability even when there's no harmful defect in a product.

  • November 06, 2024

    NJ Co. Not Giving Refunds For Lead-Tainted Toys, Suit Claims

    Three consumers have alleged in Garden State federal court that New Jersey-based toy-maker Red Toolbox is refusing to issue refunds for a gardening toy set that was recalled because it contained levels of lead that exceed the federal lead paint threshold, according to a proposed class action.

  • November 06, 2024

    What A Second Trump Term Could Mean For FDA And CPSC

    The historic reelection of former President Donald Trump could lead to shake-ups at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, while questions remain about what policies he will enact.

  • November 06, 2024

    Calif. DA Recalled In Latest Blow To Progressive Prosecutors

    San Francisco Bay Area residents have voted to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price less than two years after she took office, following a multimillion-dollar campaign backed by conservative-tied nonprofits that criticized Price's prosecution policies for being overly liberal.

  • November 06, 2024

    Tobacco Cos. Side With FDA In Menthol Cigarette Ban Fight

    Tobacco giants R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris have come to the aid of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in a pair of friend-of-the-court briefs, urging a federal court to toss a suit against the agency over its purported delays in implementing a ban on menthol cigarettes.

  • November 05, 2024

    What Trump's Return Means For Bank Regulation: 5 Questions

    With former President Donald Trump now projected to return to the White House, financial services attorneys are predicting the banking industry will see a sharp rightward turn at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a much softer touch elsewhere in the federal regulatory arena.

Expert Analysis

  • How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

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    Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.

  • Finding Coverage For Online Retail Privacy Class Actions

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    Following recent court rulings interpreting state invasion of privacy and electronic surveillance statutes triggering a surge in the filing of privacy class actions against online retailers, companies should examine their various insurance policies, including E&O and D&O, for defense coverage of these claims, says Alison Gaske at Gilbert LLP.

  • 5 Ways To Confront Courtroom Technology Challenges

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    Recent cybersecurity incidents highlight the vulnerabilities of our reliance on digital infrastructure, meaning attorneys must be prepared to navigate technological obstacles inside the courtroom, including those related to data security, presentation hardware, video playback and more, says Adam Bloomberg at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • The State Law Landscape After Justices' Social Media Ruling

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent NetChoice ruling on social media platforms’ First Amendment rights, it’s still unclear if state content moderation laws are constitutional, leaving online operators to face a patchwork of regulation, and the potential for the issue to return to the high court, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Navigating New Enforcement Scrutiny Of 'AI Washing'

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent lawsuit against Joonko Diversity, its first public AI-focused enforcement action against a private company, underscores the importance of applying the same internal legal and compliance rigor to AI-related claims as other market-facing statements, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • What's Next For Federal Preemption In Financial Services

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's review of its preemption interpretations and growing pressure from state regulators signal potential changes ahead for preemption in U.S. financial services, and the path forward will likely involve a reevaluation of the entire framework, say attorneys at Clark Hill.

  • Employer Arbitration Lessons From Calif. Consumer Ruling

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    Although a California state appeals court’s recent arbitration ruling in Mahram v. Kroger involved a consumer transaction, the finding that the arbitration agreement at issue did not apply to a third-party beneficiary could influence how employment arbitration agreements are interpreted, says Sander van der Heide at CDF Labor Law.

  • Unpacking Jurisdiction Issues In 3rd Circ. Arbitration Ruling

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    The Third Circuit's recent ruling in George v. Rushmore Service Center could be interpreted to establish three principles regarding district courts' jurisdiction to enter arbitration-related orders under the Federal Arbitration Act, two of which may lead to confusion, says David Cinotti at Pashman Stein.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • 'Pig Butchering': The Scam That Exploits Crypto Confusion

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    Certain red flags can tip off banks to possible "pig-butchering," and with the scam's increasing popularity, financial institutions need to take action to monitor entry points into the crypto space, detect suspicious activity and provide a necessary backstop to protect customers, say Brandon Essig and Mary Parrish McCracken at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • Opinion

    Agencies Should Reward Corporate Cyber Victim Cooperation

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    The increased regulatory scrutiny on corporate victims of cyberattacks — exemplified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case against SolarWinds — should be replaced with a new model that provides adequate incentives for companies to come forward proactively and collaborate with law enforcement, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • How Transaction Lookbacks Can Guide Fintech Companies

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    As transaction lookbacks continue to be a key focus of enforcement actions, newer financial institutions like fintech companies should know they can benefit from proactively investigating their potential failure to identify suspicious activity, creating a compliance road map and building trust with regulators in the process, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • Opinion

    CFPB's AI Stance Backslides On Innovation Issues

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent response to a Treasury Department's request for information about artificial intelligence in the financial services sector uses alarmist rhetoric about the technology's risks, ceding an opportunity to help shape this important discussion, says Mike Silver at Husch Blackwell.

  • How Ripple Final Judgment Fits In Broader Crypto Landscape

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    The Southern District of New York's recent $125 million civil penalty levied in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple will have a broad impact on the crypto industry as it was the first to hold that blind sales of digital assets are not securities, even if deemed securities in other circumstances, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

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