Consumer Protection

  • August 22, 2024

    Calif. Justices Revive PwC's $2.5M Sanction Against LA

    The California Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously restored a $2.5 million sanction sought by PwC against the city of Los Angeles for pervasive discovery misconduct in an underlying utility billing fight, finding that the trial court had the authority to impose monetary sanctions under the state's Code of Civil Procedure.

  • August 22, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Suit Over App-Maker's Anti-Bullying Pledge

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived a lawsuit against anonymous messaging app-maker Yolo Technologies over claims it didn't enforce its commitment to reveal and ban users who harass and bully others, finding Yolo repeatedly promised to do so, but never did, "and may have never intended to."

  • August 22, 2024

    Zantac Cases Must Remain In State Court, Conn. Judge Rules

    Two groups of patients can continue their lawsuits in Connecticut state court against GlaxoSmithKline LLC, Pfizer Inc. and Sanofi-Aventis US LLC, a judge has ruled, refusing to immediately truncate novel tort claims that seek to connect generic versions of Zantac with cancer.

  • August 22, 2024

    UK Antitrust Arm Pauses Google, Apple Probes For New Law

    United Kingdom antitrust authorities hit pause on investigations into Google and Apple policies allegedly locking app developers into their in-app payment systems, preferring to wait until new powers come online even as officials said commitments offered by Google aren't enough to address their concerns.

  • August 22, 2024

    Consumers Will Appeal Tossed Apple Web App Antitrust Case

    Consumers have told a California federal court they plan to appeal the dismissal of a case accusing Apple of violating antitrust law by preventing iPhones from running web-based apps, instead of amending the proposed class action.

  • August 22, 2024

    9th Circ. Rebuffs Crypto Law Firm's Bid To Revive SEC Suit

    A Ninth Circuit appeals panel said Thursday that a California federal judge was right to toss a crypto-focused law firm's preemptive challenge to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission since the firm failed to show it faced any "realistic danger" of catching an enforcement case over its use of the ethereum network.

  • August 22, 2024

    State Bank Coalition Establishes AI Advisory Group

    The Conference of State Bank Supervisors has created a new advisory group to guide it on the development and use of artificial intelligence in the financial services sector, according to a Thursday statement.

  • August 22, 2024

    Consumer Rebuffs Reynolds' Bid To Nix 'Made In The USA' Case

    A woman challenging Reynolds Consumers Products LLC's aluminum foil's "Made in the U.S.A." labeling urged a New York federal court against freeing the company from her lawsuit, arguing that she had sufficiently shown how the label could harm consumers.

  • August 22, 2024

    Ex-Morgan Stanley Representative Concedes SEC Suit

    A former Morgan Stanley representative who was criminally convicted in a $4.8 million Ponzi scheme has conceded in a suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, saying he agrees with the agency that judgment should be issued against him.

  • August 22, 2024

    Appeals Court Revives DC AG's Amazon Antitrust Suit

    A Washington, D.C., appeals court ruled Thursday that the D.C. attorney general can pursue an antitrust suit against Amazon, overturning a lower court order that tossed district enforcers' complaint against the e-commerce giant.

  • August 22, 2024

    Ameriprise Benefits Most From Cash Sweeps, Customer Says

    Ameriprise was hit with a proposed class action in Minnesota federal court by a customer over its cash sweep program that allegedly yields low interest for customers and high fees for the bank, adding to a growing list of customer and regulatory scrutiny financial institutions are facing over the account type.

  • August 22, 2024

    California Fires Back At Red State Attacks On Climate Torts

    California and a contingent of blue states told the U.S. Supreme Court that their climate change torts against fossil fuel companies are on solid legal ground and that an effort by Alabama and other red states to undercut them must be rejected.

  • August 22, 2024

    Kroger-Albertsons Wrong On Labor Law In FTC Row: NLRB

    The National Labor Relations Board used an amicus brief Wednesday to call out Kroger and Albertsons for their "mistaken" citation to labor law as a defense against Federal Trade Commission claims that the grocery giants' $25 billion megamerger threatens union bargaining leverage.

  • August 22, 2024

    Missouri Gov. Clashes With Secretary Of State Over Hemp Ban

    Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday blasted the state's secretary of state for declining to implement an emergency rulemaking that would have banned psychoactive consumable cannabis products manufactured outside the state's regulated adult-use marijuana market.

  • August 22, 2024

    Flyers Chided For Late Bid To Block Alaska-Hawaiian Deal

    A Hawaii federal judge refused to pause the planned $1.9 billion tie-up between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines on Wednesday, telling attorneys for the passengers and travel agents bringing a merger challenge that they appear to have "forgotten" the case was tossed.

  • August 22, 2024

    Crypto Lobbyist Hit With FTX Campaign Finance Charges

    Manhattan federal prosecutors announced Thursday that Michelle Bond, a crypto industry lobbyist and the girlfriend of convicted former FTX executive Ryan Salame, has been charged with getting the now-defunct digital asset exchange to illegally finance her unsuccessful 2022 congressional campaign.

  • August 21, 2024

    FTX's Salame Says Feds Broke Deal Not To Probe Girlfriend

    Former FTX executive Ryan Salame urged a New York federal judge Wednesday to either vacate his May conviction or stop federal prosecutors from investigating his domestic partner Michelle Bond for related political campaign-finance offenses, saying prosecutors induced his guilty plea by promising not to probe Bond.

  • August 21, 2024

    Fla. Co. To Pay $5M To End CFPB's Illegal Foreclosure Claims

    Florida-based mortgage servicer Fay Servicing agreed Wednesday to pay a total of $5 million and its founder and CEO Edward Fay faces potential pay restrictions to resolve the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's claims the company violated a prior 2017 agreement and multiple federal laws that protect borrowers against illegal foreclosure practices.

  • August 21, 2024

    Finance Guru Can't Send Timeshare Fraud Suit To Arbitration

    Celebrity financial planner David L. Ramsey III and his company can't pause and arbitrate a proposed class action alleging they promoted a timeshare exit fraud scheme on his radio show, a Washington federal judge said Wednesday, finding they were not included in arbitration agreements with the timeshare owners.

  • August 21, 2024

    Tobacco Cos. Ask Justices To Review FDA's New Warnings

    R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Fifth Circuit decision affirming an FDA rule mandating new health warnings on cigarette packaging and advertisements, arguing that the court created an unjustified circuit split when it found the graphic warnings are "purely factual and uncontroversial."

  • August 21, 2024

    Maryland Water Park Settles Liability Claim Over Injury

    A Maryland water park-goer who was permanently injured after an inflatable tube buckled on a ride and slammed her feet against the bottom of the pool has settled her suit seeking to hold the facility liable for her injuries.

  • August 21, 2024

    Conn. Justices Back Insurer's Out-Of-Network Patient Bills

    The Connecticut Supreme Court on Wednesday limited an emergency physician group's attempt to require a medical insurer to shoulder patient costs under the state's surprise medical billing law, holding that insurers can charge patients for shared costs, such as deductibles and copayments, at lower levels without violating consumer protection laws.

  • August 21, 2024

    9th Circ. Upholds Toss Of Suit Over Car Insurer's Data Breach

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive a proposed class action accusing auto insurance provider Noblr Reciprocal Exchange of failing to safeguard driver's license numbers exposed in a 2021 data breach, finding that the plaintiffs had failed to credibly allege that their data had actually been stolen. 

  • August 21, 2024

    FTC Fails 1st Test Of Rulemaking Push In Noncompetes Loss

    The Federal Trade Commission suffered its first definitive loss Tuesday in the push to ban employment noncompete agreements, although the decision probably isn't the final word given a likely appeal and two other pending challenges also viewed as a test of the agency's efforts to expand its rulemaking footprint.

  • August 21, 2024

    8th Circ. Reboots Fed Swipe Fee Suit After High Court Ruling

    An Eighth Circuit panel on Wednesday remanded a suit challenging Federal Reserve debit card swipe fee rules, ordering new proceedings in the case after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was not untimely after all.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The second quarter of 2024 in California, which saw efforts to expand consumer protection legislation and enforcement actions in areas of federal focus like medical debt and student loans, demonstrated that the state's role as a trendsetter in consumer financial protection will continue for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • What Passage Of House Crypto Bill Could Mean For Industry

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    While the prospects of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which recently passed the House in a bipartisan fashion, becoming law remain murky, the manner of its passage may give crypto markets a real cause for hope, say Neel Maitra and Dale Beggs at Dechert.

  • Series

    NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The second quarter of 2024 saw less enforcement activity in the realm of New York financial services, but brought substantial regulatory and legislative developments, including state regulators' guidance on cybersecurity compliance and customer service processes for virtual currency entities, say James Vivenzio and Andrew Lucas at Perkins Coie.

  • 4 Important Events In Bank Regulation: A Midyear Review

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    The first six months of 2024 have been fairly stable for the banking industry, though U.S. Supreme Court decisions and proposals from regulators have significantly affected the regulatory standards applicable to insured depository institutions, says Christina Grigorian at Katten.

  • FTC Focus: Competition And The Right To Repair

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    If the Federal Trade Commission includes commercial and industrial products as part of copyright exemptions that allow consumers to modify or repair products, then businesses and affected rights holders will need to consider copyrights' impact on infringement issues, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Advisers Can Avoid Gaps In SEC Marketing Rule Compliance

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    A recent risk alert from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the enforcement history of the marketing rule indicate that advisers have encountered persistent difficulties in achieving compliance — but there are steps advisers can take to mitigate risks of violations, say Scott Moss and Jimmy Kang at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Air Ambulance Ruling Severely Undermines No Surprises Act

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    A Texas federal court's recent decision in Guardian Flight v. Health Care Service — that the No Surprises Act lacks a judicial remedy when a health insurer refuses to pay the amount established through an independent review — likely throws a huge monkey wrench into the elaborate protections the NSA was enacted to provide, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

  • In Biz Account Breaches, Look Beyond The Payment Platform

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    A business's legal path to recovering funds after bad actors access a payment platform account and engage in unauthorized transactions can lead into murky legal territory where liability is unclear, and pursuing the payment platform itself will be an uphill, if not insurmountable, struggle, say Edward Marshall and Morgan Harrison at Arnall Golden.

  • 4 Steps To Repair Defense Credibility In Opening Statements

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    Given the continued rise of record-breaking verdicts, defense counsel need to consider fresh approaches to counteract the factors coloring juror attitudes — starting with a formula for rebuilding credibility at the very beginning of opening statements, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Arbitration Implications Of High Court Coinbase Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Coinbase v. Suski ruling not only reaffirmed the long-standing principle that arbitration is a matter of contract, but also established new and more general principles concerning the courts' jurisdiction to decide challenges to delegation clauses and the severability rule, say Tamar Meshel at the University of Alberta.

  • Prejudicial Evidence Takeaways From Trump Hush Money Trial

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    The Manhattan District Attorney's Office's prosecution and conviction of former President Donald Trump on 34 felony counts provides a lesson on whether evidence may cause substantial unfair prejudice, or if its prejudicial potential is perfectly fair within the bounds of the law, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

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