Consumer Protection

  • December 05, 2024

    Airbnb Customers Drop 'Assistance Fee' Suit Against Insurers

    A proposed class of Airbnb customers permanently dropped a suit accusing two of the company's insurance providers of violating Washington state law by charging an "assistance fee" when selling travel coverage.

  • December 05, 2024

    DEI Provision Dooms Boeing's 737 Max Plea Deal

    A Texas federal judge on Thursday rejected Boeing's plea agreement in its 737 Max criminal conspiracy case, finding flaws in how the U.S. Department of Justice intended to use race and diversity to select an independent compliance monitor to oversee Boeing, and how the court was cut out of that process.

  • December 05, 2024

    French Antitrust Regulator Fines Airlines €14.6M For Collusion

    France's competition authority has hit two airlines with fines totaling €14.6 million ($15.3 million) after it concluded that they had colluded to inflate ticket prices while reducing services for "captive customers" on French Caribbean islands.

  • December 04, 2024

    Ford Must Face Claims Over Vendor's Website Chat Access

    A California federal judge has narrowed but refused to toss a revised putative class action accusing Ford Motor Co. of allowing a third-party software provider to eavesdrop on website chats, finding that the plaintiff had adequately alleged that the automaker was "aware" of the vendor's allegedly unlawful conduct. 

  • December 04, 2024

    Meta Genocide Defense Spurs 'Yeah Right' From 9th Circ.

    Ninth Circuit judges doubted Wednesday whether women fleeing genocide of the Rohingya people in Myanmar could have realistically investigated Facebook's role in spreading disinformation and called a lawyer, with one judge calling the defense argument "silly" and another judge responding, "yeah right."

  • December 04, 2024

    Rep. Hill Vows To Tackle Crypto 'De-Banking' In Next Congress

    Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle plan to investigate alleged government efforts to cut off cryptocurrency businesses from the traditional banking system, Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., said Wednesday during a House Financial Services Committee hearing that also saw its retiring chair feted with a celebration of bow ties.

  • December 04, 2024

    Quaker Beats 'Simply Granola' False Ad Suit, For Now

    An Illinois federal judge has freed the Quaker Oats Company from a putative class action alleging it deceived consumers into believing its "Simply Granola" product contained only oats, honey, raisins and almonds, saying no reasonable consumer would conclude those were the only ingredients based on the products' label.

  • December 04, 2024

    Keesal Young Sued Over Data Breach Affecting 316K People

    Law firm Keesal Young & Logan failed to secure Social Security and passport numbers, medical information and other sensitive personal information of over 316,000 people and waited more than five months to inform potential victims of the data breach, a proposed class action filed Tuesday in California federal court alleges.

  • December 04, 2024

    Acima Can't 'Outrace' CFPB To Texas Court, Utah Judge Says

    A Utah federal judge has smacked down a bid by Rent-A-Center affiliate Acima to move its fight against a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lawsuit to Texas, where the lease-to-own fintech filed a slightly earlier, preemptive challenge to the agency's jurisdiction that remains pending.

  • December 04, 2024

    Solar Co. Targeted By Conn. AG Denies Deceiving Consumers

    Bright Planet Solar Inc. has denied the Connecticut attorney general's claims that it lured unsuspecting consumers into signing long-term contracts without adequate consent and performed unauthorized home improvements, telling a court that it acted in concert with "reasonable commercial practices."

  • December 04, 2024

    Debt Relief Co. Agrees To Be Banned Under CFPB Settlement

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau informed a California federal court that a purported debt relief services company and its owner have agreed to cease operations and pay civil penalties for allegedly charging customers illegal upfront fees.

  • December 04, 2024

    Live Nation Shields Legal Strategy Emails From DOJ Scrutiny

    A Manhattan federal judge rejected the U.S. Department of Justice's bid to see emails between Live Nation Entertainment Inc. lawyers and counsel for arena operator Oak View Group, holding Wednesday that these communications discussed a joint legal strategy for the government's antitrust investigation.

  • December 04, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Allow Bookseller Group In FTC's Amazon Suit

    An independent bookstore association can't join the government's antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, the Ninth Circuit said Wednesday, with the panel's majority agreeing with the Federal Trade Commission and e-commerce giant that the trade group's allegations involve different anticompetitive conduct in different markets.

  • December 04, 2024

    9th Circ. Mulls Waiting To Weigh In On Amazon Suicide Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel Wednesday appeared open to waiting for the Washington Supreme Court to clarify the state's duty-to-warn statute before deciding whether to revive allegations Amazon.com negligently sold chemicals used in suicides while one judge observed that Amazon created an algorithm that recommended lethal product-mixes, "so it's intentional."

  • December 04, 2024

    Yelp Blasts Paxton's Anti-Abortion Center Suit As 'Bad Faith'

    Yelp is urging the Ninth Circuit to revive its bid to block Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's lawsuit alleging the review service misinformed users with disclaimers about limited medical services at crisis pregnancy centers, arguing Wednesday it should've been allowed to pursue discovery to show Paxton sued in bad faith.

  • December 04, 2024

    Boeing, Spirit Say Flyers Can't Forum-Shop 737 Blowout Suit

    Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems and Alaska Airlines have blasted an attempt by passengers to redo their suit over January's 737 Max 9 door plug blowout, saying the plaintiffs are improperly forum-shopping when their case is set for a consolidated bench trial in Washington federal court.

  • December 04, 2024

    Starbucks Brass Face Derivative Suit Over 'Reinvention' Flop

    Officers and directors of coffee chain Starbucks are facing shareholder derivative claims over the company's so-called Triple Shot Reinvention strategy after the company disappointed the markets in April with updates about the plan.

  • December 04, 2024

    RealPage Says DOJ's Antitrust Markets 'Hide The Ball'

    RealPage has urged a North Carolina federal court to throw out the government's antitrust case against it, arguing that enforcers have not shown that use of its software is raising rental rates in any part of the country and that landlords use it to offer competitive rents.

  • December 04, 2024

    Chase Will Settle Calif. Atty's Mortgage Rate-Lock Suit

    JPMorgan Chase Bank NA has reached a tentative, individual settlement with an attorney suing it for allegedly gouging him and other borrowers with sham mortgage rate-lock deals, heading off a potential class action.

  • December 04, 2024

    Frontier To Pay $288K FCC Fine Over Broadband Data

    Frontier Communications has agreed to pay almost $288,000 to end a Federal Communications Commission probe into a Wisconsin agency's claims that the internet service provider submitted inaccurate information to the FCC during a challenge to data used in mapping national broadband service, according to a consent decree made public Wednesday.

  • December 04, 2024

    Amazon Held To Prior Fights, Ongoing Rules In Antitrust Row

    Amazon.com Inc. can't duck updated consumer antitrust suits because it failed to raise some arguments against prior iterations and because plaintiffs adequately alleged substantial, ongoing anticompetitive conduct and effects from rules punishing sellers who offer their goods cheaper elsewhere, according to a decision unsealed in Washington federal court.

  • December 04, 2024

    Columbia Univ., Publisher Face Suit Over Reading Program

    Columbia University Teachers College and the creators and publishers of two widely used reading instructional programs have ignored concerns about their effectiveness for years, leaving many children functionally illiterate, a proposed class action filed Wednesday in Massachusetts state court alleges.

  • December 04, 2024

    SEC Taps New Co-Leaders For Crypto Enforcement Unit

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has promoted the assistant director of its crypto and cyber enforcement unit and a counsel to an outgoing Democratic commissioner to co-lead the regulator's crypto enforcement efforts ahead of a coming administration shake-up that could change the agency's approach to the digital asset industry.

  • December 04, 2024

    Outgoing FCC Chief Lacerates With A Grin At 'Telecom Prom'

    Lawyers who gathered for the telecom bar's marquee yearly dinner Tuesday were treated to the traditional night of sardonic wit as the outgoing head of the Federal Communications Commission took aim at the new power structure looming in Washington, D.C.

  • December 04, 2024

    Wells Fargo Wants Suits Over $300M Scheme Tossed

    Wells Fargo Bank NA urged a Florida federal judge on Wednesday to toss both a proposed class action and a receiver's lawsuit claiming the bank aided and abetted a $300 million Ponzi scheme that duped more than 1,000 investors, arguing that neither pleading sufficiently shows that Wells Fargo knew about the fraud.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Ways To Limit Risks Of Black-Box AI In Financial Services

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    As regulators increasingly highlight the potential for artificial intelligence to make unfair consumer credit decisions, and require financial institutions to explain how these so-called black-box algorithms arrive at conclusions, companies should consider three key questions to reduce their regulatory risks from these tools, say Jeffrey Naimon and Caroline Stapleton at Orrick.

  • Takeaways From EU's 'Pay Or Consent' Advertising Probe

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    Anne-Gabrielle Haie and Charles Whiddington at Steptoe examine key points from the European Commission's recent investigation into Big Tech's use of "pay or consent" advertising models, as well as the European Data Protection Board’s opinion on how such models can comply with EU competition and data protection laws.

  • When Banks Unknowingly Become HIPAA Biz Associates

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    There appears to be significant confusion regarding the application of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to financial institutions when serving healthcare-related clients, so these institutions should consider undertaking several steps as a starting point in the effort to achieve compliance, say attorneys at Vorys.

  • From Muppet Heads To OJ's Glove: How To Use Props At Trial

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    Demonstrative graphics have become so commonplace in the courtroom that jurors may start to find them boring, but attorneys can keep jurors engaged and improve their recall by effectively using physical props at trial, says Clint Townson at Townson Consulting.

  • Opinion

    The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address

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    A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • Opting In To CIPA Risk Mitigation After New Precedent

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    A recent California federal court decision, adopting a new, broad interpretation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, will likely increase the volume of CIPA claims and should prompt businesses to undertake certain preventative measures, including adopting an opt-in approach to using third-party website advertising technologies, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union

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    As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • CFPB's Earned Wage Access Rule Marks Regulatory Shift

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's newly issued interpretive rule on earned wage access products, classifying them as extensions of credit, marks a significant shift in their regulatory landscape and raises some important questions regarding potential fringe cases and legal challenges, say Erin Bryan and Courina Yulisa at Dorsey & Whitney.

  • What 7th Circ. Samsung Decision Means For Mass Arbitration

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    The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in Wallrich v. Samsung highlights the dilemma faced by mass arbitration filers in the face of nonpayment of arbitration fees by the defending party — but also suggests that there are risks for defendants in pursuing such a strategy, says Daniel Campbell at McDermott.

  • How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act

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    In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.

  • FTC Drives Crackdown On Connected Cars' Data Privacy Risk

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    After the Federal Trade Commission's warning to automakers about data privacy, which continues to emerge as a national concern, automakers must carefully examine their data collection, use and retention practices, say Catherine Castaldo and Michael Rubayo at Reed Smith.

  • Jarkesy May Thwart Consumer Agencies' Civil Penalty Power

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy not only implicates future SEC administrative adjudications, but those of other agencies that operate similarly — and may stymie regulators' efforts to levy civil monetary penalties in a range of consumer protection enforcement actions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • How Courts Split On Damages Analysis In Automotive Suits

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    As high-profile vehicle recalls and lawsuits alleging vehicle defects surge, many plaintiffs are turning to choice-based conjoint analysis to calculate damages, but a review of federal district court decisions reveals a range of views on the validity of this methodology, say Joshua Hochberg and Shireen Meer at Berkeley Research.

  • Considerations As State AGs Step Up Privacy Enforcement

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    As new state privacy laws take effect, businesses are facing an increasingly complex patchwork of compliance obligations and risk of scrutiny by attorneys general, but companies can gain a competitive edge by building consumer trust and staying ahead of regulatory trends, say Ann-Marie Luciano and Meghan Stoppel at Cozen O’Connor.

  • 2 Vital Trial Principles Endure Amid Tech Advances

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    Progress in trial technologies in the last 10 years has been transformative for courtroom presentations, but two core communication axioms are still relevant in today's world of drone footage evidence and 3D animations, say Adam Bloomberg and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.

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