Consumer Protection

  • October 18, 2024

    JPMorgan Says Trial 'Needless' After Couple Loses $20M Suit

    JPMorgan Chase Bank NA told a Massachusetts federal judge Thursday there is no need for a two-week trial on the bank's counterclaims after it scored a pretrial win in a suit brought by an elderly couple who said bad investments cost them $20 million.

  • October 18, 2024

    BREAKING: Tesla Car's Pedestrian Crash Opens NHTSA Death Probe

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday said that it is investigating Tesla's self-driving systems after several accidents, including one that struck and killed a pedestrian.

  • October 17, 2024

    Apple's $20M Watch Defect Deal Lacks Info, Judge Says

    A California federal judge has declined to preliminarily approve Apple's $20 million deal to resolve a proposed class action alleging certain Apple Watches have a battery defect that can cause serious injuries, ordering counsel to submit additional information, including details on the lawsuit's maximum value if consumers win at trial.

  • October 17, 2024

    Monsanto Again Seeks Pause As Seattle PCB Trial Begins

    Monsanto is continuing its appellate bid to put off a chemical poisoning trial already underway in Washington state court as the plaintiffs told a Seattle jury on Thursday the company owes them more than $450 million, in the 10th such trial tied to an Evergreen State school.

  • October 17, 2024

    SEC Fines Broker-Dealer PHX, Sues Rep Over Reg BI Claims

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has fined broker-dealer PHX Financial Inc. and sued one of its registered representatives over claims that the representative improperly advised a handful of retail clients to engage in a trading strategy that caused them massive losses but generated significant fees and commissions for the firm and the representative.

  • October 17, 2024

    E-Cig Regs Are Congress' Job, Not FDA's, GOP Pols Tell Justices

    Republican lawmakers told the U.S. Supreme Court that Congress, not the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, should regulate flavored e-cigarettes, and that the regulator overstepped its authority by banning the sale of the vape products.

  • October 17, 2024

    'It's The First Amendment, Stupid': Judge Blasts Fla.'s Threats

    A Florida federal judge on Thursday blocked the state from threatening television stations with criminal prosecution if they did not pull a campaign ad promoting an abortion rights ballot initiative, calling the ads political speech that "is at the core of the First Amendment."

  • October 17, 2024

    Acadia Hid Wrongful Detainment Of Patients, Investor Claims

    Behavioral healthcare provider Acadia Healthcare was hit with a proposed securities class action in Tennessee federal court alleging that investors were damaged after The New York Times published an investigative report saying the company detained patients in its psychiatric facilities for financial gain rather than out of medical necessity.

  • October 17, 2024

    CFPB Sues Vocational School Lender Climb Credit, VC Backer

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday sued an online private student lender and its venture capital backer in New York federal court, alleging borrowers have been duped into taking out loans for coding school and other vocational programs with false claims about their educational "return-on-investment."

  • October 17, 2024

    CFTC Says Court 'Erred At Every Turn' In Election Betting Suit

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission told the D.C. Circuit that the district court "erred at every turn" when it allowed trading platform KalshiEx LLC to offer event contracts based on the outcome of U.S. elections.

  • October 17, 2024

    DC Circ. Scrutinizes New TSA Worker Screening Rule

    D.C. Circuit judges on Thursday sought an explanation from municipal airport operators challenging new federal screening rules as a costly burden that saddles them with unconstitutional liabilities, questioning them on how the new rules differ from other requirements for airports.

  • October 17, 2024

    NTIA Drops 1st List Of Self-Identified 'Build America' Makers

    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has released the first list of self-identifying manufacturers complying with the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program's Build America, Buy America waiver.

  • October 17, 2024

    Consumer Groups Back DOT In Airline Fees Rule Fight

    Consumer advocates have told the Fifth Circuit that a U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring airlines to more clearly disclose add-on fees upfront would curtail the industry's trickery in airfare marketing, foster competition and save individual travelers frustration, time and money.

  • October 17, 2024

    Golf Course Co. Data Breach Claimants Want 4 Cases Merged

    The plaintiffs in four separate proposed class actions alleging an Illinois-based operator of golf courses failed to protect customers' information following a data breach have asked an Illinois federal court to consolidate their cases, arguing that their claims arise from the same operative facts.

  • October 17, 2024

    Wash. Library Says Insurers Undervalued $4.8M Damage

    A Washington island library district blamed its insurers for undervaluing damages caused by frozen sprinkler pipes that burst during a snowstorm by more than $2.9 million in a case removed to Washington federal court.

  • October 17, 2024

    DOJ Defends States' Right To Recoup Live Nation Overcharges

    The federal government and 40 states are urging a New York federal court not to trim their antitrust case against Live Nation, arguing that states have the right to go after overcharges customers allegedly paid for concert tickets and also defending a tying claim based on venues and promotion services.

  • October 17, 2024

    Oregon Appeals Court Says E-Cig Rules Violate Free Speech

    Oregon's intermediate appellate court ruled Wednesday that a state law governing how e-cigarettes and cannabis vapes can be packaged violated guarantees of free speech enshrined in the state's constitution.

  • October 17, 2024

    FTC Admits Federal Court Merger Fights Are Usually Decisive

    Federal Trade Commission complaint counsel has admitted a reality that the agency has long resisted: While federal court preliminary injunction fights are ostensibly meant only to pause a merger while a merits case plays out through an in-house court, the federal court case usually decides the transaction's fate.

  • October 17, 2024

    FCC OKs New Rules Mandating Georouting For 988 Calls

    Calls that come into the 988 suicide and crisis hotline will now be routed to centers based on where the call is coming from, following the Federal Communications Commission's decision to adopt rules requiring georouting on Thursday.

  • October 17, 2024

    3rd Circ. Undoes Arbitration Denial In Experian Row

    The Third Circuit on Thursday clarified its standard for when courts should order discovery into whether a dispute should be arbitrated, in an opinion that said a New Jersey woman had admitted she signed an arbitration agreement with an affiliate of Experian that could apply to her Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuit.

  • October 17, 2024

    Solar Site Settles Conn. AG's Claims Over Social Media Ads

    The Connecticut attorney general's office has reached a settlement with EnergyBillCruncher.com to resolve claims that it ran deceptive social media ads falsely claiming that the "government will cover the cost" of solar panel installation and improperly displaying the state seal.

  • October 17, 2024

    FCA Blames Supplier For Defective Parts Leading To Recalls

    FCA US LLC is suing one of its parts suppliers in Michigan federal court, alleging that it sold the automaker air heater grid relays for its Ram pickup trucks with a defect that can cause fires even when the vehicles are turned off and caused multiple recalls.

  • October 17, 2024

    Sen. Report Slams Insurers For Medicare Advantage Denials

    A trio of major Medicare Advantage insurers are driving profits by denying coverage for patient stays at "costly but critical" facilities for those recovering from injuries and illnesses, according to a report issued Thursday by a Congressional committee.

  • October 17, 2024

    Google Asks 9th Circ. To Immediately Pause Epic Injunction

    Google filed an emergency motion late Wednesday in its antitrust battle with Epic Games Inc. asking the Ninth Circuit to stay a lower court's injunction that's set to take effect Nov. 1 requiring Google to open up its Play Store to competing app stores, slamming the injunction as harmful and "unworkable."

  • October 17, 2024

    DQ'd Atty Says It Was Wrong To Boot Her From Dominion Suit

    An attorney barred from defending former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne in a defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems implored a D.C. federal judge during a Thursday hearing to allow her back on the case, insisting that a magistrate judge was wrong to disqualify her.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Rental Price-Fixing Suit Against RealPage Doesn't Add Up

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    Recent government antitrust litigation against RealPage, alleging that the software company's algorithm for setting rental prices amounts to price-fixing, has failed to allege an actual conspiracy, and is an example of regulatory overreach that should be reined in, says Andrew Ketterer at Ketterer & Ketterer.

  • Compliance Pointers For Amended Pa. Data Breach Law

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    Recent updates to the Pennsylvania Breach of Personal Information Notification Act include a requirement that organizations alert the state's attorney general of certain consumer data breach notifications, and several incident response and cybersecurity considerations will be necessary to ensure compliance, say Matthew Meade and Laura Decker at Eckert Seamans.

  • Opinion

    FDIC's Foray Into Index Fund Rules Risks Regulatory Chaos

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    A proposed Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. rule concerning control over passive index fund investments in banks is outside the agency's remit, clashes with an existing Federal Reserve process and would inhibit competition in the index fund sector, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.

  • Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys

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    Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.

  • Ga. Fintech Bank Charter Could Reshape Payments Industry

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    Georgia’s recent granting of a special banking charter to transaction processor Fiserv, allowing the fintech company to access major card payment networks without a traditional bank as intermediary, could spark a restructuring of the national payments infrastructure and open new possibilities for businesses and consumers, says Jessica Cino at Krevolin & Horst.

  • Opinion

    Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code

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    As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.

  • Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan

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    Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.

  • California's AI Safety Bill Veto: The Path Forward

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    California Gov. Gavin Newsom's veto of a bill that sought to impose stringent regulations on advanced artificial intelligence model development has sparked a renewed debate on how best to balance innovation with safety in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, say Bobby Malhotra and Carson Swope at Winston & Strawn.

  • Staying Off The CFPB's Financial Services Offender Registry

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's soon-to-launch registry of financial services companies that have faced public enforcement orders is designed to ratchet up long-term scrutiny of entities that could become repeat offenders, so companies should take their new compliance and filing requirements seriously, say Andrea Mitchell and Chris Napier at Mitchell Sandler.

  • New TCPA Rule Faces Uncertain Future Post-Loper Bright

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    The Federal Communications Commission's new rule aiming to eliminate lead generators' use of unlawful robocalls is now in doubt with the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, and the Eleventh Circuit's Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC is poised to be a test case of the agency's ability to enforce the Telephone Consumer Protection Act post-Chevron, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • To Report Or Not To Report Others' Export Control Violations

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    A recent Bureau of Industry and Security enforcement policy change grants cooperation credit to those that report violations of the Export Administration Regulations committed by others, but the benefits of doing so must be weighed against significant drawbacks, including the costs of preparing and submitting a report, says Megan Lew at Cravath.

  • Earned Wage Access Laws Form A Prickly Policy Patchwork

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    Conflicting earned wage access laws across the country, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently issued rule, mean providers must adopt a proactive compliance approach and adjust business models where needed, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • What FDIC Expansion Of Change In Bank Control Could Mean

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    A recent Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposal pertaining to the Change in Bank Control Act has the potential to create uncertainty around investments by mutual fund complexes in banking organizations, which represent a stable source of capital for the banking industry, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • HSR Amendments Intensify Merger Filing Burdens, Data Risk

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    The antitrust agencies' long-awaited changes to premerger notification rules under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act stand to significantly increase the time and cost involved in preparing an initial HSR notification, and will require more proactive attention to data issues, says Andrew Szwez at FTI Technology.

  • Deadline Extension Highlights PFAS Reporting Complexities

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent extension of reporting and recordkeeping timelines for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act offers relief to the regulated community, but the unprecedented volume of data required means that businesses must remain diligent in their data collection efforts, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

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