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Consumer Protection
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June 20, 2024
Hemp Co. Illegally Sold Cannabis, Colo. AG Alleges
The Colorado attorney general is suing a hemp company in state court, alleging that despite claiming that its products were "100% compliant" with federal law, they in fact contained between two and 35 times the amount of THC allowed in hemp, making them illegal cannabis products.
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June 20, 2024
EchoStar Says Customers Can Skip Junk Fees With Right Info
Dish Network parent company EchoStar is defending early termination fees to the Federal Communications Commission, telling the agency that Dish's 2009 settlement agreement over deceptive charges can serve as a model for FCC billing guidelines.
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June 18, 2024
Novant Pays $6.7M For Sharing Patient Data With Facebook
A North Carolina federal judge on Monday gave the final seal of approval to a proposed $6.7 million deal resolving litigation alleging Novant Health Inc. shared sensitive patient data with Facebook, certifying a nationwide settlement class of roughly 1.3 million individuals.
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June 18, 2024
Doubt Cast On Free Whole Foods Delivery 'Bait And Switch'
A Washington federal judge appeared skeptical at a hearing Tuesday of claims that Amazon misled Prime members by advertising free Whole Foods grocery deliveries and then later pulling the perk in a "bait and switch," noting the retail giant has reserved the right to change Prime members' benefits.
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June 18, 2024
Tesla Can't Beat 'Right-To-Repair' Monopoly Suit This Time
Tesla must face an amended proposed class action alleging the company runs an unlawful monopoly on parts for its electric vehicles, a California federal judge has ruled, finding that the plaintiffs have addressed issues in their previously dismissed complaint.
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June 18, 2024
IPhone Buyers Want Canadian Data In Amazon Antitrust Case
Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. must be forced to turn over Canadian sales data as part of a lawsuit accusing the pair of hatching an anticompetitive agreement to choke third-party sales, a group of iPad and iPhone buyers told a Washington federal court.
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June 18, 2024
Man 'Got Exactly What He Wanted' In Sig Sauer, Ga. Jury Told
As a weeklong federal trial wrapped up Tuesday, counsel for American gun-maker Sig Sauer told a Georgia jury that a man who claims faulty design of one of the company's pistols caused his gun to accidentally shoot him offered no credible explanation of how and why the pistol went off.
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June 20, 2024
CORRECTED: Drug Cos., PBMs Score Win In Calif. AG's Insulin Price Suit
A Los Angeles judge ruled Tuesday that the statute of limitations bars the California Attorney General's unfair competition law and unjust enrichment claims against drugmakers and pharmacy benefit managers over an alleged conspiracy to spike insulin costs, but granted leave to amend the allegations.
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June 18, 2024
No Reason To Move Net Neutrality Suits To DC Circ., ISPs Say
Nearly a dozen industry groups are calling on the Sixth Circuit to reject an effort by the Federal Communications Commission to move a raft of lawsuits over the FCC's net neutrality rules to the D.C. Circuit.
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June 18, 2024
9 Firms Vie To Lead Suit Over Ad Tech Co.'s Microsoft Ties
Pomerantz LLP, Levi & Korsinsky LLP and several other firms have filed competing bids to lead a proposed shareholder class action alleging that shares of ad tech company Perion Network declined nearly 40% after its strategic partner Microsoft Bing "unilaterally" changed its search advertising pricing.
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June 18, 2024
SEC's Ether Orders Spur Hope For Crypto, Caution From Attys
The crypto industry received a step toward clarity when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approval of exchange-traded products holding the token ether signified the cryptocurrency isn't a security subject to SEC regulation, but attorneys say they remain cautious when counseling clients on how to deal in the asset.
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June 18, 2024
Google's Deal With Apple Should Be Busted Up, Users Say
Counsel for consumers accusing Google of making an illegal pact with Apple to serve as the iPhone's default search engine urged a California federal judge on Tuesday to revive their dismissed antitrust suit, saying, "We're looking to bust up the contract to get competition back in the market."
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June 18, 2024
Megan Thee Stallion Escapes IP Suit Over 'Savage' Song
A Manhattan federal judge concluded Tuesday that rapper and songwriter Megan Thee Stallion did not rip off music from a hip-hop producer to create her hit song "Savage" in 2020, saying the plaintiff failed to show that she and the other defendants had access to his composition or that the two songs are substantially or strikingly similar.
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June 18, 2024
Anticompetitive Rules Hinder BEAD Fund, Critic Claims
The success or failure of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program lies in the "devilish details," according to one free-market think tank, which says that rules encouraging rate regulation and favoring "gold-plated" fiber technology could soon "cause havoc" if oversight is not rigorous enough.
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June 18, 2024
6th Circ. Asks Who's A 'Consumer' In Meta Data Sharing Case
Sixth Circuit judges questioned how a decades-old federal privacy law aimed at protecting people's video rental history applies to website users, as one customer argued Tuesday that the court should revive claims that Paramount unlawfully shared his data with Meta, Facebook's parent company.
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June 18, 2024
Chastened Boeing CEO Vows Fixes In Harsh Senate Hearing
Boeing's chief steadfastly defended the company's commitment to safety, even as he acknowledged a breakdown in how certain managers responded to whistleblowers who had flagged past questionable design or manufacturing practices, as he endured a grueling public hearing before a Senate panel Tuesday.
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June 18, 2024
Insurer Countersues In Penile Implant Coverage Dispute
An insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify a urologist, his medical device company or his practice in a proposed class action over a penile enlargement implant and procedure, the company told a California federal court, saying the underlying suit doesn't seek bodily injury damages that would trigger coverage.
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June 18, 2024
CFTC Awards $8M To Whistleblower Behind Multiple Actions
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has announced it awarded more than $8 million to an insider whistleblower who the agency said provided significant information that led to multiple enforcement actions from multiple agencies.
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June 18, 2024
Microsoft Says Starbucks Ruling Hurts FTC's Activision Case
Microsoft told the Ninth Circuit on Monday that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling requiring labor regulators to meet a four-factor test in order to win a preliminary injunction undercuts the Federal Trade Commission's bid to halt the company's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc.
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June 18, 2024
Democrats Punt On Spectrum Bill, Claiming GOP 'Obstruction'
A Senate Democratic leader again delayed consideration of a bill Tuesday to renew the Federal Communications Commission's spectrum auction powers, saying the holdup was instigated by Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee.
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June 18, 2024
Apple Sanctioned In Siri Privacy Suit For Deleting Recordings
A California federal judge has sanctioned Apple Inc. in a privacy lawsuit brought by Siri users who claim the voice-activated software records their conversations, finding the tech giant spoiled evidence by deleting key data, but that a jury should determine whether Apple deprived the users of the data intentionally.
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June 18, 2024
Split Pa. High Court Finds Rental Registry Suit Moot
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court tossed out landlords' appeal of Pittsburgh's 2015 ordinance requiring them to list their rental units in a public registry, because it had been replaced by a newer, narrower law, but two justices said they should have ruled on the case anyway to settle whether other governments could pass similar measures.
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June 18, 2024
Rival Pool Supply Co. Looks To Duck Blueworks Ch. 11 Stay
Pool supply company Hayward Industries Inc. has asked a bankruptcy court for a reprieve from the automatic stay protecting its bankrupt rival Blueworks Corp. as it seeks to secure final orders upholding a $16 million false advertising and unfair business practices judgment.
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June 18, 2024
5th Circ. Keeps Suit Over CFPB's Card Late Fee Rule In Texas
The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday ordered a banking industry lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's credit card late fee rule to remain in Texas federal court, rejecting a second attempted transfer of the case to Washington, D.C.
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June 18, 2024
Blue States And Enviro Groups Back DOE Furnace Rule
Several blue states and environmental and consumer groups have thrown their support behind the U.S. Department of Energy's tighter energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters, telling the D.C. Circuit that challenges to the new rules are meritless.
Expert Analysis
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Lessons On Challenging Class Plaintiffs' Expert Testimony
In class actions seeking damages, plaintiffs are increasingly using expert opinions to establish predominance, but several recent rulings from California federal courts shed light on how defendants can respond, say Jennifer Romano and Raija Horstman at Crowell & Moring.
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Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance
A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.
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FTC Noncompete Rule's Impact On Healthcare Nonprofits
Healthcare entities that are nonprofit or tax-exempt and thus outside of the pending Federal Trade Commission noncompete rule's reach should evaluate a number of potential risk factors and impacts, starting by assessing their own status, say Ben Shook and Tania Archer at Moore & Van Allen.
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Businesses Should Take Their AI Contracts Off Auto-Renew
When subscribing to artificial intelligence tools — or to any technology in a highly competitive and legally thorny market — companies should push back on automatic renewal contract clauses for reasons including litigation and regulatory risk, and competition, says Chris Wlach at Huge Inc.
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Trump Hush Money Case Offers Master Class In Trial Strategy
The New York criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump typifies some of the greatest challenges that lawyers face in crafting persuasive presentations, providing lessons on how to handle bad facts, craft a simple story that withstands attack, and cross-examine with that story in mind, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Devil's In The Details On FDCPA, Article III Standing
The Third Circuit’s recent decision in Barclift v. Keystone Credit Services concerning the alleged harm needed to support a class action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is in line with other circuits' interpretations of Article III of the Constitution, notwithstanding disagreement over the minutiae of a proper Article III analysis, says Nick Agnello at Burr & Forman.
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Leveraging Insurance Amid Microplastics Concerns
A pending microplastics lawsuit — New York v. PepsiCo Inc. — may be a harbinger of what is to come for companies whose products are exposed to the environment, so any company considering how to address microplastics liability should include a careful assessment of the potential for insurance coverage in its due diligence, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
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Airlines Must Prepare For State AG Investigations
A recent agreement between the U.S. Department of Transportation and 18 states and territories will allow attorneys general to investigate consumer complaints against commercial passenger airlines — so carriers must be ready for heightened scrutiny and possibly inconsistent enforcement, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Series
Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.
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A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System
As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.
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When The Platform Is A Product, Strict Liability Can Attach
A New York state court's recent ruling in Patterson v. Meta, holding that social media platforms can be considered products, appears to be the first of its kind — but if it is upheld and adopted by other courts, the liability implications for internet companies could be incredibly far-reaching, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.
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4 Sectors Will Likely Bear Initial Brunt Of FTC 'Junk Fees' Rule
If the Federal Trade Commission adopts its comprehensive proposed rule to ban unfair or deceptive fees across the U.S. economy, many businesses — including those in the lodging, event ticketing, dining and transportation sectors — will need to reexamine the way they market and price their products and services, say attorneys at Skadden.
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What Lies Behind Diverging US And UK Insolvency Trends
Contrasting U.K. and U.S. insolvency trends highlight the importance of policy interventions in shaping consumer financial outcomes and economic recovery, and while the U.K.'s approach seems to have mitigated issues, the U.S. faces challenges exacerbated by economic conditions and policy transitions, says Thomas Curran at Thomas H. Curran Associates.
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8 Legal Issues Influencing Investors In The Creator Economy
The rapidly expanding digital creator economy — funding for which more than doubled in the U.S. in the first quarter — comes with its own set of unique legal issues investors must carefully consider before diving in, say Louis Lehot and Alan Pate at Foley & Lardner.
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Key Antitrust Class Certification Questions Remain Unclear
The U.S. Supreme Court, by recently rejecting certiorari in Visa v. National ATM, turned down the opportunity to clarify how to analyze disputed evidence bearing on the certification of antitrust class actions, leaving the applicable standards unclear instead of resolving this split of authority, says Jonathan Berman at Jones Day.