Consumer Protection

  • July 17, 2024

    Immigrant Bond Cos. Appeal Injunction After $811M Loss

    Immigrant bond companies subject to an $811 million judgment for abusive bonding practices told the Fourth Circuit that a lower court's injunction against them is vague and far broader than federal law allows.

  • July 17, 2024

    Fla. Co. Says NY Lender Charges Usurious 950% Interest Rate

    A Florida-based startup has sued a New York small business lender, alleging the lender saddled it with "a high interest usurious loan" when it thought it was entering into a future receivables agreement.

  • July 17, 2024

    Ex-SEC Lawyer's Fellow Penny Stock Fraudster To Pay $1M

    A Texas federal judge handed down final judgment Tuesday to a co-defendant of an ex-SEC lawyer turned fraudster in a civil case involving a penny stock scheme, barring Justin Herman from ever dealing penny stocks again and ordering him to pay over $1 million.

  • July 17, 2024

    AT&T Sued Over Breach Of 'Nearly All' Cell Users' Records

    AT&T Inc. is facing separate class actions in Texas, Montana and New Jersey federal courts after the company disclosed Friday that hackers had downloaded phone call and text message records belonging to "nearly all" the telecom giant's wireless customers between May 2022 and early last year.

  • July 17, 2024

    Calif. Asks 9th Circ. To Lift Injunction On Kids' Privacy Law

    California urged the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday to remove an injunction blocking a groundbreaking new law requiring social media platforms to bolster privacy protections for children, defending the protections and arguing that any unconstitutional provision should be severed following the U.S. Supreme Court's Moody v. NetChoice decision.

  • July 17, 2024

    9th Circ. Open To X's Challenge To Content Disclosure Law

    A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel appeared open Wednesday to granting X Corp.'s request to block at least some of a new California law requiring social media companies to provide semiannual disclosures regarding their content moderation policies, with each judge saying one particular provision appears to infringe free speech rights.

  • July 17, 2024

    FTC Cites 3rd Circ. In Defending Noncompete Ban

    The Federal Trade Commission has continued to argue against a preliminary injunction a tree services company wants against its noncompete ban, directing a Pennsylvania federal judge to look at a Third Circuit decision from the day before calling for a high bar on initial court blocks absent immediate and permanent harm.

  • July 17, 2024

    FCC To Vote On Smart Car Technology's Use Of 5.9 GHz

    The Federal Communications Commission is ready to vote on rules that would bring advanced vehicle communications technology to the 5.9 GHz band, setting standards for the technology's use in the slice of spectrum and greenlighting the use of in-vehicle and roadside units running on the technology.

  • July 17, 2024

    Wahlburgers-Tied Pickle Co. Settles Rival's Labeling Spat

    A pickle company told a New Jersey federal court that its suit accusing a rival of ripping off recipes to make mislabeled pickles for actor Mark Wahlberg's restaurant business has been settled. 

  • July 17, 2024

    Whirlpool Wants To Wash Away Service Plan Repair Claims

    Whirlpool asked a Washington federal judge to send a proposed consumer class action down the drain, saying the aggrieved customer can't claim she was deceived about the details of an extended repair plan for a dishwasher when the full terms have always been easy to find online.

  • July 17, 2024

    Firm Can't Dodge Veteran's Class Claims Over Fees

    A North Carolina federal judge has refused to throw out a proposed class action alleging that a consulting firm charged veterans millions in illegal fees, saying the suit needs more litigation before a dismissal is considered.

  • July 17, 2024

    Jimmy John's Biometric Info Suit 'Barely' Avoids Dismissal

    An Illinois federal judge refused Wednesday to toss a putative class action alleging Jimmy John's LLC unlawfully records customers via technology embedded in drive-through intercoms in violation of the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act, but he remarked on the "thinness" of the allegations and said the complaint "barely" survives.

  • July 17, 2024

    Pharma Co. Slams Magistrate's Venue Report In Opioid Suit

    A pharmaceuticals distributor is objecting to an Oklahoma federal magistrate judge's recent recommendation to deny as moot the company's bid to dismiss a Cherokee Nation suit accusing it of flooding tribal communities with opioids, saying the case shouldn't be sent to state court.

  • July 17, 2024

    Ill. Judge Signals Issue With Chicken Consumers' Expert

    An Illinois federal judge signaled Wednesday that he was unlikely to allow chicken end users' economics expert to testify about damages they suffered in an alleged price-fixing conspiracy if the expert cannot focus his opinion on just the conduct allowed to be heard at trial.

  • July 17, 2024

    9th Circ. Scrubs Dismissal In Plant-Based Huggies Wipes Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday partially reinstated a suit alleging that Kimberly Clark Corp.'s baby wipes mislead consumers into thinking they're made entirely from plant products, saying the district court wrongly considered the back label when dismissing claims regarding certain products.

  • July 17, 2024

    Keep Consumer Protection Suit Against Bill Pay Co., FTC Says

    Seattle-based online bill pay platform Doxo Inc. shouldn't be allowed to escape the Federal Trade Commission's claims that Doxo tricked consumers into using its services, the FTC has argued in a brief calling the company's dismissal bid a "jumble of arguments."

  • July 17, 2024

    CFTC Says Its Sanctions Spat Not Relevant To Gemini Case

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has pushed back against Gemini Trust Co.'s efforts to paint the regulator's defense of misconduct claims in one case as contradictory to its arguments in its enforcement action against the Winklevoss-owned crypto exchange, telling a federal court that the two matters have "no legal or factual bearing" on each other.

  • July 17, 2024

    Drivers' Transmission Complaints Are 'Old News,' GM Says

    Drivers waited too long to file a proposed class action accusing General Motors LLC of selling vehicles with faulty transmissions, the automaker said in a motion Tuesday arguing that many of the claims must be dismissed.

  • July 17, 2024

    Hospital Trims Its Insulin Pen Claims Against Novo Nordisk

    A Connecticut hospital and Novo Nordisk Inc. have agreed to dismiss several of the pharmaceutical giant's corporate entities from a suit seeking to make the company pay for the hospital's $1 million settlement from an underlying patient class action over allegedly defective insulin pens the firm made.

  • July 17, 2024

    Settlement Talks Stall In NC Driver Suit Over Crash Data

    A North Carolina woman and the city of Charlotte failed to reach a deal outside of court that would end her proposed class action accusing the city of violating privacy laws by making car accident reports public, according to a newly filed mediator's report.

  • July 17, 2024

    Grayscale Rival's False Ad Suit Won't Move To New Court

    A Connecticut state judge on Wednesday denied Grayscale Investments LLC's request to transfer a competitor's unfair trade practices lawsuit from Bridgeport to the state court system's complex litigation docket, sustaining the plaintiff's objection that said the move would unduly delay a July 2025 trial without a valid reason.

  • July 17, 2024

    Feds Uphold Tech Co.'s Fine For Auction Talks With AT&T

    The Federal Communications Commission upheld its $100,000 fine against internet service provider AMG Technology Investment Group for discussing bidding strategy during an infrastructure funding auction with AT&T, saying it has no basis to reconsider the penalty Wednesday.

  • July 17, 2024

    Target Hit With Suit After Texas Infant Died In Baby Lounger

    Target and the makers of an infant lounger have been hit with a product liability lawsuit from a Texas couple who allege their 7-month-old daughter died after falling out of the device.

  • July 17, 2024

    FCC To Vote On New Emergency Code For Missing Persons

    The Federal Communications Commission announced Tuesday that it plans to vote Aug. 7 on new rules for radio and TV broadcasters to add a code for missing adults to the emergency alert system.

  • July 17, 2024

    Burr & Forman Accused Of Aiding Health Insurance Fraud

    Burr & Forman LLP has been hit with a malpractice suit in Georgia federal court by the liquidating trustees of two purported health insurance companies after the firm allegedly aided in a scheme to defraud customers by charging exorbitant fees and denying promised coverage, saying the attorneys helped create a web of LLCs to which it siphoned off millions.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Lessons On Challenging Class Plaintiffs' Expert Testimony

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    In class actions seeking damages, plaintiffs are increasingly using expert opinions to establish predominance, but several recent rulings from California federal courts shed light on how defendants can respond, say Jennifer Romano and Raija Horstman at Crowell & Moring.

  • Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

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    A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

  • FTC Noncompete Rule's Impact On Healthcare Nonprofits

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    Healthcare entities that are nonprofit or tax-exempt and thus outside of the pending Federal Trade Commission noncompete rule's reach should evaluate a number of potential risk factors and impacts, starting by assessing their own status, say Ben Shook and Tania Archer at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Businesses Should Take Their AI Contracts Off Auto-Renew

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    When subscribing to artificial intelligence tools — or to any technology in a highly competitive and legally thorny market — companies should push back on automatic renewal contract clauses for reasons including litigation and regulatory risk, and competition, says Chris Wlach at Huge Inc.

  • Trump Hush Money Case Offers Master Class In Trial Strategy

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    The New York criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump typifies some of the greatest challenges that lawyers face in crafting persuasive presentations, providing lessons on how to handle bad facts, craft a simple story that withstands attack, and cross-examine with that story in mind, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Devil's In The Details On FDCPA, Article III Standing

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    The Third Circuit’s recent decision in Barclift v. Keystone Credit Services concerning the alleged harm needed to support a class action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is in line with other circuits' interpretations of Article III of the Constitution, notwithstanding disagreement over the minutiae of a proper Article III analysis, says Nick Agnello at Burr & Forman.

  • Leveraging Insurance Amid Microplastics Concerns

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    A pending microplastics lawsuit — New York v. PepsiCo Inc. — may be a harbinger of what is to come for companies whose products are exposed to the environment, so any company considering how to address microplastics liability should include a careful assessment of the potential for insurance coverage in its due diligence, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Airlines Must Prepare For State AG Investigations

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    A recent agreement between the U.S. Department of Transportation and 18 states and territories will allow attorneys general to investigate consumer complaints against commercial passenger airlines — so carriers must be ready for heightened scrutiny and possibly inconsistent enforcement, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.

  • A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System

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    As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.

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