Consumer Protection

  • June 13, 2024

    NYC Sued Over Policy Targeting Unlicensed Pot Stores

    More than two dozen New York City retailers have launched a proposed federal class action against the city alleging that enforcement of a new policy targeting stores for selling cannabis without a license has resulted in the unconstitutional closing of hundreds of businesses.

  • June 13, 2024

    Judge Asks If Amazon Is Doomed To Stay In Wiretapping Suit

    A Washington federal judge questioned Thursday if Amazon Web Services Inc.'s terms of use with Capital One for call center technology "doom" the cloud-computing giant's attempt to avoid a proposed class action accusing it of violating California's wiretapping law.

  • June 13, 2024

    FCC Wants To Revamp Citizens Broadband Radio Service

    The head of the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday asked fellow members to back an overhaul of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service, a spectrum-sharing arrangement developed during Barack Obama's presidency.

  • June 13, 2024

    Apple Wants Discovery Hearing Closed In IPhone Class Action

    Apple is asking a California federal judge to close the courtroom during an upcoming discovery hearing in the ongoing antitrust class action it's facing from consumers, arguing that the proceeding is likely to reveal consumer data and billing information that should be kept out of public view.

  • June 13, 2024

    Michigan Supreme Court Curbs Voter Interference Law

    The Michigan Supreme Court narrowed the reach of a law criminalizing voter intimidation Thursday due to fears it could be used to chill political speech, sending prosecutions for robocalls that aimed to suppress Black voter turnout back to an appellate panel for more review.

  • June 13, 2024

    DOE Can't Limit Water Usage In Dishwashers, Shoppers Say

    Two men sued the U.S. Department of Energy in Texas federal court over the agency's new rules that govern how efficiently household appliances need to manage water usage, saying in a Thursday complaint that the agency surpassed its statutory authority and flouted a previous Fifth Circuit decision.

  • June 13, 2024

    FAA Chief Vows Diligent Boeing Oversight In Senate Hearing

    The Federal Aviation Administration's chief told a Senate panel Thursday that the regulator has diligently stepped up oversight of Boeing's manufacturing since January's harrowing midair door plug blowout on a 737 Max 9 jet, an incident that prompted multiple probes into Boeing's safety culture and quality control.

  • June 13, 2024

    Immigrant Bond Co. Says Sale Complied With $811M Order

    An immigrant bond company staring down an $811 million judgment for predatory lending practices is urging a Virginia federal court not to sanction it over its recent sale, saying the transaction complied with the judgment's restrictions on its operations.

  • June 13, 2024

    Fintech Remitly Hires Ex-Google Compliance Chief

    Remitly has hired Google's former chief compliance officer to run global compliance and enterprise risk programs at the remittance service, bringing his experience that includes risk leadership positions at TD Ameritrade, Vanguard and Goldman Sachs.

  • June 13, 2024

    Verizon Opposes AT&T's FirstNet As 4.9 GHz Band Manager

    Verizon is done letting proxies speak for it in the war of words over a plan to make AT&T's FirstNet the national manager of the 4.9 gigahertz public safety band, telling the Federal Communications Commission in a new filing that the idea would disrupt the public safety spectrum marketplace.

  • June 13, 2024

    EU Makes First Ever Formal Pharma Price-Fixing Complaint

    European Union antitrust authorities issued their first ever price-fixing complaint in the pharmaceutical industry Thursday, going after the only company that did not agree to a €13.4 million ($14.4 million) settlement in October.

  • June 13, 2024

    Starbucks Must Share Hot-Drink Training Info In Burn Suit

    Starbucks must turn over information on how it trains employees to handle hot drinks at drive-throughs and on recent complaints received in the Detroit area, a Michigan federal judge said Thursday after finding the information is relevant to a customer's suit alleging she was severely burned when a lid popped off her hot tea cup.

  • June 13, 2024

    Biden Picks CFTC's Goldsmith Romero For FDIC Chair

    The White House said Thursday that President Joe Biden will nominate Christy Goldsmith Romero, a Democratic member of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, for the top job at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

  • June 13, 2024

    FTC Urged To Get Moving On Stalled Privacy Rulemaking

    Nearly three dozen consumer advocacy groups are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to stop dragging its feet on efforts announced almost two years ago to craft sweeping data privacy and security rules, arguing that time is running out for the agency to clamp down on companies' "historic" drive to amass personal information and track consumers online. 

  • June 12, 2024

    Texas Judge 'Exasperated' By Parties In Skiplagged Suit

    An "exasperated" Texas federal judge on Wednesday ordered American Airlines and airfare search engine Skiplagged Inc. into mediation after the parties ran into their sixth discovery dispute in litigation around Skiplagged's alleged unauthorized ticket sales, saying the court didn't want to referee "countless discovery disputes used as litigation tactics."

  • June 12, 2024

    Axos Bank Can't Arbitrate 'Bait & Switch' Suit, Customers Say

    Customers suing Axos urged a federal judge not to let the bank arbitrate their claims in a consolidated dispute over how it handled interest rates on savings deposit accounts offered through online banking division UFB Direct, arguing that the court, not an arbitrator, must decide arbitrability.

  • June 12, 2024

    ZoomInfo's $30M Privacy Deal Gets Initial Green Light

    An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday granted preliminary approval to a proposed settlement in which ZoomInfo will shell out roughly $30 million to resolve claims it used people's names and identities, without their consent, to advertise paid access to its full database.

  • June 12, 2024

    FTC Tells DC Circ. It Can Modify $5B Meta Privacy Deal

    The Federal Trade Commission told the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday that it has the authority to reopen its in-house proceedings in order to revise a $5 billion privacy settlement with Meta Platforms, saying the courts do not have oversight of the agency's administrative order.

  • June 12, 2024

    Ex-Rehab Biz Manager Gets Prison For Theft From Resident

    The former business manager of a Connecticut rehabilitation center will serve at least nine months in prison for stealing money from an elderly resident's bank account, state prosecutors said.

  • June 12, 2024

    'Tiger-Wolf' Trader Cops To Wire Fraud For $700K Scheme

    A 26-year-old Charlotte man on Wednesday pled guilty to federal prosecutors' claims that he defrauded over 100 would-be investors in his purported hedge fund, Tiger-Wolf Capital LLC, spending much of their money on his own lavish lifestyle.

  • June 12, 2024

    FTC's Amazon Prime Trial Moved To June 2025 Amid Doc Fight

    A Washington federal judge agreed Wednesday to push back to June 2025 a high-stakes bench trial over the Federal Trade Commission's claims Amazon.com Inc. tricks consumers into enrolling in its Prime service, delaying the trial by months after the FTC accused Amazon of delaying discovery production.

  • June 12, 2024

    Chopra Rejects Fresh 'Earnings' Attack On CFPB Funding

    Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra told U.S. senators on Wednesday that an emerging line of attack on his agency's funding doesn't hold water, brushing aside a legal theory that has bubbled up in the aftermath of a recent U.S. Supreme Court defeat for critics of the agency.

  • June 12, 2024

    Teams Can't Prop Up Fox Philly TV License, Group Says

    The group of advocates calling for Fox's Philadelphia affiliate to lose its broadcast license over its parent company's 2020 election coverage is pushing back against claims from three of the city's sports teams, saying the station's sports content is beside the point.

  • June 12, 2024

    Wells Fargo Accused Of Mismanaging Forfeited 401(k) Funds

    A former Wells Fargo employee hit the San Francisco-based bank with a proposed class action in California federal court Tuesday, alleging Wells Fargo and its fiduciaries violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by using forfeited retirement funds to reduce its own contributions to other workers' 401(k)s.

  • June 12, 2024

    Texas Anesthesia Co. Appealing To Duck FTC Suit To 5th Circ.

    U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc. gave notice Wednesday that it will ask the Fifth Circuit to review a Texas federal judge's mid-May decision refusing to toss Federal Trade Commission allegations of a monopolistic "roll-up" of Lone Star State anesthesia practices.

Expert Analysis

  • Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent

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    Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

  • Antitrust Ruling Shows Limits Of US Law's Global Reach

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    Antitrust plaintiffs often cite the legislative history of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act to support application of U.S. antitrust law to alleged injuries abroad, but as a California federal court recognized recently in Figaro v. Apple, the cited history does no such thing, say Daniel Swanson and Eli Lazarus at Gibson Dunn.

  • Overdraft Opt-In Practices Hold Risks For Banks

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    A recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau action against Atlantic Union Bank regarding overdraft opt-in sales practices highlights compliance risks that financial institutions must be aware of, especially when enrolling customers by phone, says Kristen Larson at Ballard Spahr.

  • Opinion

    Intoxicating Hemp Products: It's High Time For Clarity

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    Thanks to ambiguity in the 2018 Farm Bill, intoxicating hemp cannabinoid products are largely unregulated and are widely available without restrictions on who can buy the products, and although there are several possible solutions, voluntary industry action by good actors is the best option, say Andrew Kline and Tommy Tobin at Perkins Coie.

  • Calif. High Court Ruling Has Lessons For Waiving Jury Trials

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    The California Supreme Court’s recent decision in TriCoast Builders v. Fonnegra, denying relief to a contractor that had waived its right to a jury trial, shows that litigants should always post jury fees as soon as possible, and seek writ review if the court denies relief from a waiver, say Steven Fleischman and Nicolas Sonnenburg at Horvitz & Levy.

  • HHS' Updated Tracking Tech Guidance Offers Little Clarity

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights' updated guidance on the use of online tracking technologies appears more focused on legal issues raised in ongoing litigation with the American Hospital Association and less on practical guidance for covered entities, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Take AG James' Suit Over Enviro Claims As A Warning

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    New York Attorney General Letitia James' recent suit against JBS USA Food Co. over allegedly misleading claims about its goal to reach net zero by 2040 indicates that challenges to green claims are likely to continue, and that companies should think twice about ignoring National Advertising Division recommendations, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: Benefits Of MDL Transfers

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    A recent order from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation highlights a critical part of the panel's work — moving cases into an existing MDL — and serves as a reminder that common arguments against such transfers don't outweigh the benefits of coordinating discovery and utilizing lead counsel, says Alan Rothman at Sidley Austin.

  • How Experian, Apple Aid CFPB's 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Goals

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    Experian’s recent voluntary addition of Apple's “buy now, pay later” loans to consumer credit reports makes now a useful occasion to reflect on past Consumer Financial Protection Bureau calls for wider transparency around these products, and to analyze how its stated priorities for regulating them may shape coming bureau guidance and rules, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

  • Ready Or Not, Big Tech Should Expect CFPB Surveillance

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    In light of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposed plan to supervise large companies providing the vast majority of digital money transfers, not only will Big Tech have to prepare for regulation previously reserved for traditional banks, but the CFPB will also likely face some difficult decisions and obstacles, says Meredith Osborn at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.

  • Examining The Arbitration Clause Landscape Amid Risks

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    Amid a new wave of mass arbitrations, recent developments in the courts and from the American Arbitration Association suggest that companies should improve arbitration clause drafting to protect themselves against big-ticket settlements and avoid major potential liability, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Takeaways From The 2023 DOJ Fraud Section Report

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    Attorneys at Wiley discuss notable trends from the U.S. Department of Justice's recently reported Fraud Section activity last year and highlight areas of enforcement to watch for in the future, including healthcare fraud and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.

  • 2nd Circ. Baby Food Ruling Disregards FDA's Expertise

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in White v. Beech-Nut Nutrition, refusing to defer litigation over heavy metals in baby food until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration weighs in on the issue, provides no indication that courts will resolve the issue with greater efficiency than the FDA, say attorneys at Phillips Lytle.

  • Conn. Loan Law Tweaks May Have 3 Major Effects On Lenders

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    Recently proposed minor amendments to Connecticut’s consumer protection laws could nonetheless mean major and unexpected changes to state consumer financial services regulations that dictate how lenders and their customer-facing service providers handle fee payments, mortgage servicer licensing and private student loans, says Jonathan Joshua at Joshua Law Firm.

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