Consumer Protection

  • November 19, 2024

    Court Won't Toss Consumer Antitrust Case Against Amazon

    A Washington federal court issued a sealed order Tuesday denying Amazon's bid to toss updated claims from consumers seeking billions of dollars over allegations that they pay higher prices thanks to the e-commerce giant's treatment of sellers on its platform.

  • November 19, 2024

    Shaq Reaches $11M Deal With Astrals NFT Buyers

    Hall of Fame basketball player Shaquille O'Neal and the creators of the Astrals nonfungible token project have agreed to pay $11 million to settle a proposed securities class action with buyers of the tokens that O'Neal allegedly promoted.

  • November 19, 2024

    32 State AGs Urge Congress To Back Kids' Online Safety Bill

    More than 30 state attorneys general urged federal lawmakers to back bipartisan legislation aimed at bolstering youth safety online, writing a letter Monday encouraging Congress to "act to aid our state-level efforts" which included opening investigations and commencing with litigation against social media companies like TikTok and Meta. 

  • November 19, 2024

    NHTSA Letter Unmoots Fire Risk Claims, Ford Drivers Say

    Drivers seeking another shot at their tossed case claiming they overpaid for Ford vehicles that spontaneously catch fire say new evidence shows the recall that mooted their claims didn't fix the alleged fuel injector defect, telling a Michigan federal judge Tuesday regulators' concern over the recall's adequacy supports renewing their allegations.

  • November 19, 2024

    10th Circ. Iffy On Colo.'s Remedy To Generic EpiPen Takings

    A Tenth Circuit panel on Tuesday pressed Colorado regulators on whether requiring epinephrine auto-injector makers to repeatedly sue over the cost of complying with a state program provides an adequate legal remedy, with one judge saying that that route offers no finality for manufacturers.

  • November 19, 2024

    Fox TV Renewal Calls For Strict License Test, Advocates Say

    A media advocacy group said Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission needs to act quickly to "establish a bright-line test" for broadcasters' fitness for a station license by setting up a hearing on the controversial renewal bid for Fox TV's Philadelphia station.

  • November 19, 2024

    Undefined Terms Cinch Cloudera's Win In 'Cloudy' Fraud Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday upheld the dismissal of a proposed class action against Cloudera Inc. alleging the data management and analytics company duped investors into buying stock at artificially inflated prices, saying the suit didn't substantiate its falsity claims with clear definitions for terms like "cloud native."

  • November 19, 2024

    DOJ Effort To Force Google Chrome Sale Draws Criticism

    Google's regulatory chief and at least one trade group are blasting a reported push from the U.S. Department of Justice to seek expansive remedies and potentially force a sale of Google Chrome in an ongoing court battle with the tech giant.

  • November 19, 2024

    FCC To Vote On More Credit Options To Back Broadband Aid

    The Federal Communications Commission is poised to allow more financial institutions to issue letters of credit that broadband providers can rely on to secure federal funding for high-speed infrastructure projects.

  • November 19, 2024

    Senators Blast Visa And Mastercard, Promise Action On Fees

    A bipartisan group of Senate Judiciary Committee members blasted executives from Visa and Mastercard on Tuesday over swipe fees charged to merchants, promising to rein in what the lawmakers called the companies' monopoly on credit card payments if they do not change their practices.

  • November 19, 2024

    Calif. Man Wants 9th Circ. To Rehear LG Battery Decision

    A California man who alleges that a faulty LG Chem Ltd. 18650 lithium-ion battery melted the skin off his hand is asking the Ninth Circuit for an en banc rehearing of a decision dismissing his defect claims against the company, saying the panel broke with other circuits and binding precedent by finding that California courts did not have jurisdiction over the Seoul-based company.

  • November 19, 2024

    Ballard Spahr Brings On Former Federal Prosecutor In LA

    Ballard Spahr LLP is expanding its consumer finance services team, announcing Tuesday that a former assistant U.S. attorney is joining its Los Angeles office as of counsel.

  • November 19, 2024

    1st Circ. Won't Pause Prison Phone Rate Caps

    The First Circuit said it won't stop the Federal Communications Commission from enforcing new caps on rates charged for prison phone calls while service providers challenge the rules in court.

  • November 19, 2024

    Unjust PJM Power Auction Rules Must Be Redone, FERC Told

    State consumer advocates want the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to rewrite the electricity capacity auction rules for the nation's largest regional grid operator, saying PJM Interconnection's existing rules unjustly saddle consumers with billions of dollars of extra costs.

  • November 19, 2024

    FDIC's Gruenberg To Exit On Eve Of Trump's Inauguration

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s embattled chairman, Martin Gruenberg, said Tuesday that he will step down and retire from the agency before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, clearing the way for a new, likely Republican leader at the deposit insurer.

  • November 18, 2024

    Meta, Netflix Shook Hands On Illicit Streaming Deal, Suit Says

    Meta Platforms and Netflix made an unlawful agreement where the social media giant would cede the video-streaming market to Netflix by hobbling its competing service and the streaming giant would funnel its customers' data to boost Facebook's advertising algorithms, according to a proposed class action filed Monday in Illinois federal court.

  • November 18, 2024

    Monsanto PCB Jury Hears About Ex-Schoolchildren's Illness

    Four teenagers and a mother suing Monsanto over PCB damage at their former school took the stand Monday to testify, some tearfully, about physical and mental maladies they believe stem from exposure to decades-old light fixture fluid.

  • November 18, 2024

    Plaintiffs Dispute Ruling Applying BIPA Change To Past Cases

    Workers suing over the allegedly unlawful collection of their fingerprints are urging an Illinois federal court to reject a recent ruling that a legislative amendment limiting damages under the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act applies to previously filed disputes, arguing that several state courts have reached the opposite conclusion.

  • November 18, 2024

    'You Stepped Over The Line': Judge Rips Quinn Emanuel Atty

    A California federal judge told a Quinn Emanuel partner defending Natera Inc. at trial Monday in Guardant Health Inc.'s false advertising case that she'd be sanctioned over her questioning of a Natera expert about Guardant's alleged damages, saying, "You stepped over the line, and you did it several times."

  • November 18, 2024

    Apple Gets Some AirTag Stalking Claims Tossed, For Now

    The California federal judge overseeing a proposed class action accusing Apple of failing to safeguard its AirTag tracking device from being abused by stalkers on Monday tossed product liability claims brought by consumers outside of California, saying Golden State law calls for the "place of the wrong" to take precedence.

  • November 18, 2024

    5th Circ. Indicates DOT Airline Fees Rule May Need Reworking

    A pair of Fifth Circuit judges signaled Monday that the U.S. Department of Transportation may have to rework its rule requiring airlines to more clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, suggesting that it might be too costly for airlines to comply with the mandate and consumers would be overloaded with information.

  • November 18, 2024

    Judge Won't Release Kraken To Appeal Order In SEC Suit

    A California federal judge on Monday refused to let the operator of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken make an immediate appeal of his order denying its motion to dismiss a suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, saying it would only delay resolution of the case.

  • November 18, 2024

    Justices Urged To Pass On 3rd Circ. CFPB Loan Trust Case

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to deny an appeal by a group of student loan trusts fighting an enforcement action by the agency, arguing that industry concerns about the Third Circuit case are overblown and unavailing.

  • November 18, 2024

    Will AG-Elect Stick To NC Dems' Playbook, Or Take New Path?

    Incoming North Carolina Attorney General and "TikTok candidate" Jeff Jackson may be the latest in a long line of Democrats to serve as the state's top cop, but questions remain as to how closely he might follow in the footsteps of his powerful predecessors when it comes to issues like pursuing the very social media app that bolstered his campaign.

  • November 18, 2024

    Industry Group Wants Trump-Era SEC Proxy Rules Reinstated

    The National Association of Manufacturers has urged the D.C. Circuit to reverse a ruling that struck down a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulation on proxy voting, arguing the ruling severely limits the agency's regulatory power without any statutory backing.

Expert Analysis

  • Where Can Privacy Plaintiffs Sue When Injury Is Online?

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    Website owners need to understand wiretapping laws to understand whether they may be sued for activity tracking in California or Pennsylvania courts, where the statutory damages for violations of half-century-old laws can be substantial — and a recent Third Circuit decision suggests establishing specific jurisdiction is not as easy as 1-2-3, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity

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    Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.

  • Crypto.com's Suit Against SEC Could Hold Major Implications

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    Crypto.com's recent lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could affect the operation and regulation of crypto markets in the U.S., potentially raising more questions about the SEC's authority to regulate the industry when it's unclear whether another agency is ready to assume it, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • How DOJ's Visa Debit Monopolization Suit May Unfold

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recently filed Section 2 monopolization suit against Visa offers several scenarios for a vigorous case and is likely to reveal some of the challenges faced by antitrust plaintiffs following the U.S. Supreme Court's split 2018 American Express decision, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules

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    The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

  • Fluoride Ruling Charts Path To Bypass EPA Risk Evaluations

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    A California federal court's recent ruling in Food and Water Watch v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ordering the agency to address the public health risks of fluoridated drinking water, establishes a road map for other citizen petitioners to bypass the EPA's formal risk evaluation process, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

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    The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.

  • Inside FTC's Decision To Exit Key Merger Review Labor Memo

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    Despite the Federal Trade Commission's recent withdrawal from a multiagency memorandum of understanding to step up enforcement of labor issues in merger investigations, the antitrust agencies aren't likely to give up their labor market focus, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • FDIC Guidance Puts Next-Gen ATMs In Regulatory Spotlight

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    The boring existence of ATMs is changing thanks to the emergence of new-age interactive teller machines, prompting the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to sound off in a potentially influential August letter to branches on which services might need regulatory approval, says Thomas Walker at Jones Walker.

  • 7 Tips To Help Your Witness Be A Cross-Exam Heavyweight

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    Because jurors tend to pay a little more attention to cross-examination, attorneys should train their witnesses to strike a balance — making it tough for opposing counsel to make their side’s case, without coming across as difficult to the jury, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Understanding New ACH Network Anti-Fraud Rules

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    Many of the National Automated Clearing House Association’s recent amendments to ACH network risk management rules went into effect this month, so financial institutions and corporations must review and update their internal policies as needed, says Aisha Hall at Taft.

  • 6 Tips For Cos. Facing Service Provider Cyber Incidents

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    When a third-party service provider experiences a cybersecurity incident, businesses may wonder if their information is compromised and if their systems are safe, but there are certain steps that can help businesses prepare for and respond to targeted attacks on vendors, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Unpacking State AG Approaches To Digital Asset Enforcement

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    Attorneys at Cozen O'Connor survey recent digital asset enforcement by attorneys general nationwide driven by concerns over regulatory gaps where technological developments and market changes have outpaced legislation.

  • Opinion

    Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

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    With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

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