Consumer Protection

  • July 15, 2024

    FTC Warns Franchisors About Unfair Contract Terms

    The Federal Trade Commission warned franchisors in a new policy statement not to use contract provisions or other tactics to prevent their franchisees from reporting potential law violations to government enforcers.

  • July 15, 2024

    Lululemon's Sustainability Ads Are 'Greenwashing,' Suit Says

    Lululemon's global "greenwashing" marketing campaign has lied to consumers that its products and businesses are eco-friendly while the athleisure company has continued to have a negative impact on the environment, a lawsuit in a Florida federal court said.

  • July 15, 2024

    Auto Defect Suits Taxing Mich. Court Resources, Judge Says

    A Michigan federal judge indicated Monday he would approve a $150 million settlement to end class claims that General Motors sold vehicles with defective batteries that make cars overheat and cause fires, as he noted major auto defects cases have been straining the court's resources. 

  • July 15, 2024

    Fiat Chrysler Gets More Infotainment-Defect Claims Slashed

    A Michigan federal judge has further slashed a consolidated proposed class action alleging that certain Chrysler minivans and sedans had malfunctioning infotainment systems, axing some claims under Illinois and Pennsylvania consumer protection laws but allowing some claims under California and Florida law to proceed.

  • July 15, 2024

    Personal Injury, Med Mal Cases To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2024

    A Pennsylvania case over hospitals' liability for not admitting a mental health patient who ended up killing his girlfriend and a Texas high court case over solicitations by personal injury attorneys are among the cases injury and malpractice attorneys will be following in the second half of 2024.

  • July 15, 2024

    DC Circ. Won't Rethink Revived DOJ Realtor Antitrust Probe

    The D.C. Circuit won't reconsider a ruling that allowed the U.S. Department of Justice to reopen an investigation into certain rules and policies of the National Association of Realtors, rejecting the trade group's request that the court correct "far-reaching and exceptionally important" legal errors.

  • July 15, 2024

    Neoprene Maker Tells 5th Circ. Louisiana Can Stall EPA Rule

    A Louisiana neoprene manufacturer is asking the Fifth Circuit to affirm a state regulator's decision to grant the company a two-year extension to comply with a final chemical emissions rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

  • July 15, 2024

    Polaris Throttle Defect Blamed For Paralyzing Off-Road Crash

    Polaris has been hit with a negligence suit in Washington federal court by an Evergreen state couple who say the motorsport manufacturer is to blame for a throttle malfunction that caused the husband's off-road vehicle to ram into a tree, paralyzing his lower body.

  • July 15, 2024

    State Troopers Settle Ford Interceptor Suit After Sanctions

    A group of Washington state troopers have settled claims alleging they were "poisoned" by Ford Motor Co.'s Interceptor vehicles, according to a docket note Monday, less than a week after the troopers' attorney failed to show up for a sanctions hearing on missed discovery deadlines.

  • July 15, 2024

    Mich. Judge Recuses Himself From Ford Engine Fire Suit

    A Michigan federal judge has recused himself, without explanation, from overseeing a proposed class action alleging that Ford Motor Co. concealed a defect in some of its engines that caused fires.

  • July 15, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Chancery Court news was full of fees and settlements last week, with three multimillion-dollar deals getting a court OK, and a daylong discussion over a potentially multibillion-dollar fee award for attorneys who got Tesla CEO Elon Musk's astronomical pay package thrown out. The court also banged the gavel in cases involving e-payment venture SwervePay and managed care company Centene Corp., and heard arguments from software company SAP SE and biotech Renmatix Inc.

  • July 15, 2024

    LendingTree Urges FCC To Narrow Lead Consent Rule

    Loan marketplace LendingTree is asking the Federal Communications Commission to add an exception to its new "lead generator" consent rule, saying that as it's currently constructed, the rule disadvantages small businesses competing with larger brand names.

  • July 15, 2024

    No Sanctions For Milberg In Visa, Mastercard MDL

    A New York federal judge on Friday declined to order sanctions against Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman LLC after the firm admitted to mistakenly registering fraudulent clients in long-running multidistrict litigation that accused Visa and Mastercard of charging improper merchant fees.

  • July 15, 2024

    Coca-Cola Docs Would Clarify Soda Risk, Mexican Group Says

    A Mexican consumer advocacy group has asked a Georgia federal judge to force the Coca-Cola Company to hand over internal documents about the company's alleged efforts to manufacture scientific research that misled soda buyers about the dangerous health effects of sugary beverages.

  • July 15, 2024

    BMW, Customer Agree To Drop Motorcycle Gear Display Fight

    BMW of North America and a customer who brought a proposed class action against the company, alleging it sold motorcycles with defective gear indicators, have agreed to drop their dispute from New Jersey federal court, according to a joint stipulation.

  • July 12, 2024

    Law360 Names 2024's Top Attorneys Under 40

    Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2024, our list of 158 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.

  • July 12, 2024

    Loper Bright Is Shaking Up Dozens Of Regulatory Fights

    In the two weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference, the landmark decision has emerged as a live issue in dozens of administrative challenges, with federal courts already pausing agency regulations expanding LGBTQ+ rights in education and healthcare and with a wave of parties seeking to use the new decision to win their cases.

  • July 12, 2024

    GoDaddy Accused Of Kicking Tech Co. Off Platform

    The world's largest domain registrar, GoDaddy, is facing a lawsuit accusing it of blackballing a tech company from its platform so that it could force customers to use its own, worse version of the rival's tool for connecting third-party applications to their domains.

  • July 12, 2024

    2nd Circ. Revives 'Whole Wheat Flour' Cracker Label Suit

    Advertising which emphasized "organic whole wheat flour" in a box of crackers when white flour was the primary ingredient was misleading and "arguably false," according to the Second Circuit, which revived a lawsuit accusing Back to Nature Foods Co. of tricking its customers.

  • July 12, 2024

    Texas Courts Block Protections For Transgender Students

    Two Texas federal judges have blocked the U.S. Department of Education from enforcing protections for transgender students in Lone Star State schools while lawsuits against the rules are litigated, with one judge saying the measures provide "extra privileges to the transgender student based on subjective feelings of discomfort."

  • July 12, 2024

    Red State AGs Slam SEC 'Overreach' In Crypto Co. Challenge

    Seven Republican state attorneys general have told a Texas federal judge that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's alleged crypto policy of "rulemaking by district court enforcement action" threatens their ability to protect consumers as the court weighs a yet-to-launch crypto exchange's preemptive challenge to the securities regulator.

  • July 12, 2024

    FCC Says Rural Areas Get New Funds After Charter Defaults

    Charter is going to be dropping some of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund census blocks it took responsibility for and taking the fines that come with doing so, according to the FCC, which says the good news is that those blocks are now open for more federal funding for another provider.

  • July 12, 2024

    CFPB Takes Its 5th Circ. Lumps To Advance Late Fee Rule Suit

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has told the Fifth Circuit that it won't appeal a three-judge panel's decision forcing it defend its $8 credit card late fee rule in Texas rather than Washington, D.C., a move that could expedite the agency's efforts to free the rule from a lower-court injunction.

  • July 12, 2024

    DC Circ. Upholds FCC Approval Of SpaceX Satellite Plan

    A D.C. Circuit panel Friday affirmed a Federal Communications Commission license authorizing SpaceX to deploy thousands of its Starlink satellites, rejecting challenges from satellite TV provider Dish Network LLC and advocacy group DarkSky International.

  • July 12, 2024

    MoneyLion Cites High Court Rulings In Bid To Toss CFPB Suit

    MoneyLion Technologies Inc. told a New York federal judge on Friday that two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings, including the reversal of the so-called Chevron deference doctrine, support the challenge to military lending regulations it is accused of violating in a lawsuit by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Expert Analysis

  • Compliance Considerations For New Data Protection Law

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    Sam Castic at Hintze Law discusses how to determine if your organization is covered by the newly enacted Protecting Americans' Data from Foreign Adversaries Act, the scope of the law's restrictions, and how to go about compliance as its June 23 effective date approaches.

  • FTC Noncompete Rule Risks A Wave Of State AG Actions

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    The Federal Trade Commission's final rule language banning noncompetes may contribute to a waterfall enforcement effect in which state attorneys general deploy their broad authority to treat noncompetes as separate and independent violations, say Ryan Strasser and Carson Cox at Troutman Pepper.

  • CFPB Poised To Up The Ante After Supreme Court Victory

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    When the U.S. Supreme Court emphatically ruled last week that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure did not violate the Constitution, the agency boasted that it was "here to stay," signaling that it is moving full steam ahead with its regulatory, enforcement and supervisory agenda, says Jim Sandy at McGlinchey Stafford.

  • How To Use Exhibits Strategically Throughout Your Case

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    Exhibits, and documents in particular, are the lifeblood of legal advocacy, so attorneys must understand how to wield them effectively throughout different stages of a case to help build strategy, elevate witness preparation and effectively persuade the fact-finders, say Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie and Colorado prosecutor Adam Kendall.

  • Diving Deep Into Sweeping NY Financing Bill — And Its Pitfalls

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    A New York bill seeking to impose state usury limits onto a broader variety of financing arrangements and apply lender licensing requirements to more diverse entities would present near-insurmountable compliance challenges for lenders and retailers, say Kate Fisher and Tom Quinn at Hudson Cook.

  • Influencer Considerations As FINRA Initiates Crackdown

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    To avert risks when evaluating influencer and referral programs, firms should assess the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's recent settlements involving the supervision of social media tastemakers, as well as recent FINRA guidance in this area, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • What The FTC Report On AG Collabs Means For Cos.

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    The Federal Trade Commission's April report on working with state attorneys general shows collaboration can increase efficiency and consistency in how statutes are interpreted and enforced, which can minimize the likelihood of requests for inconsistent injunctive relief that can create operational problems for businesses, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • A Comparison Of FDIC, OCC Proposed Merger Approaches

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    Max Bonici and Connor Webb at Venable take a closer look at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's respective bank merger proposals and highlight certain common themes and important differences, in light of regulators continually rethinking their approaches to bank mergers.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • Behind Court Challenges To The FTC's Final Noncompete Rule

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent final rule banning noncompetes may not go into effect any time soon amid a couple of Texas federal court challenges seeking to bar the rule's implementation, which will likely see appeals all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, says Michael Elkins at MLE Law.

  • 15 Quick Tips For Uncovering And Mitigating Juror Biases

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    As highlighted by the recent jury selection process in the criminal hush money trial against former President Donald Trump, juror bias presents formidable challenges for defendants, and attorneys must employ proactive strategies — both new and old — to blunt its impact, say Monica Delgado and Jonathan Harris at Harris St. Laurent.

  • Colo. Lending Law Could Empower State-Chartered Banks

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    Lending programs that rely on rate exportation by state banks should pay close attention to legislative activity and ongoing litigation surrounding Colorado's decision to opt out of rate exportation, which could set a precedent that state-chartered banks have power on par with national banks, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

  • Tiny Tweaks To Bank Merger Forms May Have Big Impact

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    The impact of proposed changes to the Federal Reserve Board's and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s bank merger review forms would be significant, resulting in hundreds of additional burden hours for bank merger applicants and signaling a further shift by the prudential bank regulators toward more rigorous scrutiny of mergers, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • How CFPB Credit Card Rules Slot Into Broader Considerations

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    Swirling legal challenges against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent rulemaking concerning credit card late fees raise questions about how regulated entities should respond to the bureau's rules — and how quickly they should act, say Caitlin Mandel and Elizabeth Ireland at Winston & Strawn.

  • Car Apps, Abuse Survivor Safety And The FCC: Key Questions

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    A recent request for comment from the Federal Communications Commission, concerning how to protect the privacy of domestic violence survivors who use connected car services, raises key questions, including whether the FCC has the legal authority to limit access to a vehicle's connected features to survivors only, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

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