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Consumer Protection
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July 30, 2024
Pickleball Paddle Co. Says Error, Not Fraud, Led To 'False' Ads
Joola-brand pickleball paddle maker Sport Squad Inc. is blasting accusations that it falsely marketed its equipment as approved for tournament play, instead blaming an administrative error that has given rise to a sprawling proposed class action.
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July 30, 2024
FTC, Career Step Pitch $43.5M Deal For Alleged Bogus Claims
Career Step LLC, a for-profit online career training company, has struck a $43.5 million proposed settlement to resolve Federal Trade Commission claims it targeted servicemembers and their spouses with deceptive advertising about its programs and the successes of its students.
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July 30, 2024
Financial Co. To Pay $20M To Resolve DOL Embezzlement Suit
A financial planner agreed to pay $20 million to 17 retirement plans it manages to resolve a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Labor accusing it of improperly shuffling money between accounts and embezzling at least $5 million in plan assets, a filing in Pennsylvania federal court said.
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July 30, 2024
Texas, Meta Reach Historic $1.4B Deal In Biometric Data Suit
The state of Texas has reached a historic $1.4 billion settlement with Meta Platforms Inc. in a lawsuit accusing the social media giant of illegally collecting Facebook users' biometric data through its now-discontinued facial recognition feature, attorneys for the state announced Tuesday.
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July 29, 2024
5th Circ. Pauses DOT's New 'Junk Fees' Rule Amid Review
The Fifth Circuit on Monday agreed to temporarily block a U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring airlines to clearly disclose add-on fees upfront while the appellate court reviews the rule, which has been challenged by major airlines and airline associations.
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July 29, 2024
Live Nation Judge Tightens In-House Counsel's Access To Docs
A New York federal judge imposed new restrictions Monday on Live Nation in-house counsel's access to documents and testimony from witnesses from its rivals in the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit, tightening a days-old two-tiered system after hearing concerns from those competitors.
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July 29, 2024
9th Circ. Partly Revives BofA Customers' ATM Fee Suit
The Ninth Circuit on Monday partially reinstated a proposed class action alleging Bank of America charged out-of-network fees for balance inquiries customers said they didn't know they authorized on ATMs, finding customers can be charged under their contract only if it's clear they sought the information and initiated the transaction.
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July 29, 2024
Chemical Groups Say Chevron Sinks EPA Ethylene Oxide Rule
A chemical company and two chemical associations are telling the D.C. Circuit that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision undermines the federal government's risk value for ethylene oxide, which they are challenging as being too high.
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July 29, 2024
CFPB Cites Thomas In New Bid To Transfer Late Fee Rule Suit
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday took another whack at getting an industry-backed legal challenge to its $8 credit card late fee rule transferred from Texas federal court to Washington, D.C., this time drawing on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for a little rhetorical help.
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July 29, 2024
8th Circ. Urged To Ax FDIC's Multiple NSF Fee Guidance
Minnesota state bankers have urged the Eighth Circuit to uphold their challenge to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. guidance conscribing the use of non-sufficient funds fees, arguing a Minnesota federal judge was wrong to reject their case as premature.
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July 29, 2024
Making Broadcasters File Disaster Reports Not Wise, FCC Told
Broadcasters say it's a bad idea for the Federal Communications Commission to force them to start reporting disaster-related outages to the agency like other communications companies are required to because it would distract them from reporting about whatever disaster is happening.
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July 29, 2024
FTC, Challengers, Their Backers Vie For Noncompetes' Fate
The fate of the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban is on the line as the agency trades blows with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other challengers spread across three different federal courts, all now grappling with a decision last week providing important backing to the FTC's rulemaking authority.
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July 29, 2024
CFPB Says Lease-To-Own Co. Acima Misled Vulnerable Users
Lease-to-own fintech company Acima had customers paying more than twice the retail price of home goods by deceptively locking them into high-cost "virtual rent-to-own" financing plans, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleged in a new lawsuit filed Friday in Utah federal court.
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July 29, 2024
Pole Owners Must Pay Half Of Upgrades, Advocacy Org. Says
School and library advocates are calling for the Federal Communications Commission to follow Canada's lead in mandating that utility pole owners cover half the cost of upgrades for broadband equipment, saying that because both pole owners and broadband equipment attachers benefit from upgrades, they should share in the costs.
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July 29, 2024
Judge Blocks Medical Records Co.'s Anti-Bot Captchas
A Maryland federal judge on Monday enjoined electronic medical records company PointClickCare from blocking nursing home analytics company Real Time Medical Systems from accessing patient data with automated bots, saying PCC's firewall wasn't justified by concerns over security or system speed.
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July 29, 2024
Charter Pays $15M To End FCC's Network Outage Probe
Charter has agreed to shell out $15 million and create a novel cybersecurity program meant to resolve issues raised during a Federal Communications Commission probe of major network outages affecting 911 service, the FCC said Monday.
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July 29, 2024
MoneyGram Opposes CFPB, NY's 'Futile' Bid To Bolster Case
MoneyGram told a New York federal judge that the state and federal regulators' bid to update their complaint against the remittance service is a "bad faith attempt" to "salvage" a case that should either be transferred to MoneyGram's home district of Texas or tossed entirely.
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July 29, 2024
DirecTV Calls Bundled Service Exemption For Fee Regs Unfair
If the Federal Communication Commission decides to exclude bundled services from new rules it plans to put in place banning cable and satellite providers from charging early termination fees, satellite providers will be the only ones actually bound by the rules, DirecTV has told the agency.
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July 29, 2024
SEC Says Penny Stock CEO Lied About COVID-19 Deal
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday sued former penny stock company CEO Juan Campo for securities fraud, alleging he lied to investors about acquiring a Colombian cannabis company and about the company's development of a temperature screening device during the COVID-19 pandemic, among other things.
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July 29, 2024
Tenn. Republican Seeks To Block Net Neutrality In Senate
Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn is trying to gut the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules, mirroring an ongoing effort by House Republicans.
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July 29, 2024
Senate To Vote On Bills To Protect Kids Online
The Senate is poised to vote on Tuesday on a package of two major bipartisan bills to protect children online that could represent a watershed moment in technology regulation.
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July 29, 2024
Ga. Auto Salvage Chain Hit With Suit Over Harassing Texts
Pull-A-Part LLC on Friday was slapped with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court that accuses the Atlanta-based junkyard and auto salvage chain of sending unsolicited promotional text messages to consumers even after they asked to stop receiving them in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
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July 29, 2024
Gun Owner Says He Legally Carried When Sig Sauer Shot Him
A gun owner suing Sig Sauer Inc. alleging a faulty pistol went off in his holster and shot him in the leg is asking a North Carolina federal court to reject the gun company's bid to add a defense that he was breaking the law when it went off by concealing the weapon.
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July 29, 2024
Ariz. Man Avoids Jail In Fraud Involving 'Housewives' Star
A Manhattan federal judge on Monday allowed an Arizona businessman who helped operate large-scale telemarketing scams to avoid time behind bars, citing his cooperation in an investigation that ultimately saw "Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star Jen Shah sentenced to prison.
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July 29, 2024
'Grave' NatSec Concerns Justify TikTok Ban, DC Circ. Told
The U.S. government told the D.C. Circuit that TikTok's data collection practices and content recommendation algorithm threaten national security, in defending a federal law banning the social media platform from the United States unless it cuts ties with its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
Expert Analysis
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FDIC Bank Disclosure Rules Raise Important Questions
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new rules mandating disclosures for nonbanks offering deposit products leave traditional financial institutions in a no-man's land between fintech-oriented requirements and the reality of personal service demanded by customers, say Paul Clark and Casey Jennings at Seward & Kissel.
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Setting Goals For Kicking Corruption Off FIFA World Cup Field
The unprecedented tri-country nature of the 2026 men's World Cup will add to the complexity of an already complicated event, but best practices can help businesses stay on the right side of anti-corruption rules during this historic competition, say Sandra Moser and Emily Ahdieh at Morgan Lewis.
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Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert
As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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Takeaways From FDIC's Spring Supervisory Highlights
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s spring 2024 consumer compliance supervisory report found that relatively few institutions had significant consumer compliance issues last year, but the common thread among those that did were inadequacies or failures in disclosures to consumers, says Matthew Hanaghan at Nutter.
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Online Portal Helps Fortify Feds' Unfair Health Practices Fight
The Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently launched an online portal where the public can report potentially unfair healthcare practices, effectively maximizing enforcers' abilities to police anti-competitive actions that can drive up healthcare costs and chill innovation, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
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Series
Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
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Key Issues Raised By Colorado's Brain Data Privacy Bill
Colorado recently became the first state to provide consumer privacy protections for data generated from a person's brain waves, and despite the bill’s ambiguity and open questions introduced, the new law has helped turn the spotlight on neurodata, says Sara Pullen Guercio at Alston & Bird.
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Birkin Bag Case Carries Competition Lessons For Retailers
A recently proposed antitrust class action alleging that Hermès violated federal and California law when selling its iconic Birkin and Kelly handbags highlights some issues that other brands and retailers should consider, particularly given a prevailing landscape that seems to prioritize antitrust scrutiny, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Expect Tougher Bank Exams 1 Year After Spring 2023 Failures
With federal banking agencies still implementing harsher examinations with swifter escalations a year after the spring 2023 bank failures, banks can gain insight into changing expectations by monitoring how the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are coordinating and updating their exam policies, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic
Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Breaking Down EPA's Rule On PFAS In Drinking Water
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized the first enforceable federal drinking water regulation for PFAS, which, along with reporting and compliance requirements for regulated entities, will have a number of indirect effects, including increased cleanup costs and the possible expansion of existing Superfund sites, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.
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The Drawbacks Of Banking Regulators' Merger Review Plans
Recent proposals for bank merger review criteria by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. share common pitfalls: increased likelihood of delays, uncertainties, and new hurdles to transactions that could impede the long-term safety and soundness of the banks involved, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Opinion
The FTC's Noncompete Rule Is Likely Dead On Arrival
The Federal Trade Commission's April 23 noncompete ban ignores the consequences to the employees it claims to help — but the rule is unlikely to go into effect provided the ideological makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court remains the same, say Erik Weibust and Stuart Gerson at Epstein Becker.
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'Beauty From Within' Trend Poses Regulatory Risks For Cos.
Companies capitalizing on the current trend in oral supplements touting cosmetic benefits must note that a product claim that would be acceptable for an externally applied cosmetic may draw much stronger scrutiny from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration when applied to a supplement, say Natalie Rainer and Katherine Staba at K&L Gates.