Consumer Protection

  • January 03, 2025

    Insurers Ordered To Pay $165M For Deceptive Marketing

    Insurance companies banned from selling policies in Massachusetts due to alleged deceptive marketing practices have been ordered to pay $165 million for selling the plans anyway and using similar false advertising in their pitches to consumers, a state judge has ruled.

  • January 02, 2025

    Calif. Judge Ices Social Media Addiction Law For 30 Days

    A California federal judge Thursday blocked the state from beginning its enforcement of a new law designed to bar online platforms from using algorithms to deliver addictive feeds to children, finding there was "great value" in giving the Ninth Circuit 30 days to consider his decision to largely uphold the measure. 

  • January 02, 2025

    Ex-Bank Chair Asks 7th Circ. To Halt FDIC Enforcement Order

    An Illinois community bank's onetime chairman has asked the Seventh Circuit for an emergency stay of professional sanctions ordered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. after an in-house proceeding that he argues was unconstitutional and wrongly decided.

  • January 02, 2025

    DC Kept Disabled People In Restrictive Care Too Long: Ruling

    After 15 years of litigation, a D.C. federal judge ruled this week that the District of Columbia has been violating a federal law that prohibits the segregation of people with disabilities by refusing to remove people from Medicaid-funded nursing homes into less restrictive forms of care.

  • January 02, 2025

    NTIA Clarifies Use Of Broadband Funds For Alternative Techs

    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has dropped more information to make the way forward clearer for states that want to use their federal broadband dollars to fund alternative means of connecting people, such as satellites.

  • January 02, 2025

    Stanley Cup Maker Sued Over Alleged Lid Hazard

    The Seattle-based maker of the trending Stanley-brand tumbler has been hit with a proposed class action in Washington federal court by a New York consumer accusing the manufacturer of failing to adequately compensate customers for a lid defect that led to the recall of 2.6 million travel mugs.

  • January 02, 2025

    DC Allowed To Resubmit AvalonBay Rent-Fixing Claims

    The District of Columbia will get another chance to tweak its claims against landlord AvalonBay Communities and see if the changes are enough to prop up allegations that it has been using the property management platform RealPage to fix the price of rentals.

  • January 02, 2025

    DOJ Joins FTC Suit Against Fintech Lender Dave

    The U.S. Department of Justice has taken the reins in the Federal Trade Commission's suit against fintech app Dave and added its CEO as a defendant, while the mobile banking platform decried the updated complaint as "a continued example of government overreach."

  • January 02, 2025

    Southern Comfort Malt Liquor Buyers Score False Ad Cert.

    A New York federal judge certified a class of Southern Comfort customers alleging Sazerac Co. deceptively labeled its malt beverage products, but declined to allow one plaintiff to serve as class representative, finding Thursday he lied in interrogatory answers and "appeared not to know the basic premise of the case."

  • January 02, 2025

    Meta Seeks To Pause Social Media MDL Coverage Fight

    Meta has urged a California federal court to find that its insurers cannot yet litigate to attempt to avoid covering thousands of pending lawsuits accusing the social media giant of deliberately designing its platforms to be addictive to adolescents, arguing that the coverage issues overlap with issues in the underlying cases.

  • January 02, 2025

    Epic Tells 9th Circ. Google's Legal 'Reckoning Long Overdue'

    Epic Games Inc. has slammed Google's Ninth Circuit appeal of an injunction requiring the tech giant to open up its Android Play Store to rival app distributors, defending the ruling and a jury's liability verdict and arguing that Google's appeal is a meritless attempt to avoid a "reckoning long overdue."

  • January 02, 2025

    Rep. Jordan Picks Wis. Lawmaker For House Antitrust Panel

    Republicans are moving to install a frequent critic of President Joe Biden's Federal Trade Commission at the head of the House of Representatives' antitrust subcommittee, naming Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., to the post Tuesday.

  • January 02, 2025

    ERISA Can't Shield Packaging Co. From Genetic Privacy Suit

    A food packaging company must face a former employee's lawsuit claiming it unlawfully asked about her family medical history, an Illinois federal judge ruled, saying the claims weren't preempted by federal benefits law because it wasn't clear a corporate wellness plan was involved.

  • January 02, 2025

    Uber Can't Hold Off Seattle Driver Deactivation Law

    A Washington federal judge denied Uber's bid to temporarily bar the city of Seattle from enforcing new app-based worker account deactivation rules against it, finding the day before the challenged ordinance took effect that the company is unlikely to succeed in its claims of a First Amendment violation.

  • January 02, 2025

    Amazon Gets Zulily's Antitrust Suit Trimmed, For Now

    A Seattle federal judge trimmed a lawsuit brought by now-defunct online retailer Zulily that accuses Amazon of using its monopoly power to shut out competition from other online retailers, tossing conspiracy and state consumer protection law claims, but allowing Zulily to rework its complaint.

  • January 02, 2025

    Amazon Says FTC Stalling Discovery In Prime Sign-Up Suit

    Amazon said the Federal Trade Commission is stonewalling discovery efforts vital to showing that the agency knew a federal law protecting online shoppers from deceptive billing practices was vague, in an enforcement action accusing the e-commerce giant of duping customers onto signing up for Prime subscriptions.

  • January 02, 2025

    Tempur Sealy Ups Floor Space Promise In FTC Merger Case

    Tempur Sealy is increasing its commitments to preserve floor space for rivals' mattresses in Mattress Firm stores, attempting to beat the Federal Trade Commission's merger challenge by extending the current floor space "slot" distribution after a Texas federal judge noted that prior commitments were below current allotments.

  • January 02, 2025

    Apple Reaches $95M Privacy Deal With Millions Of Siri Users

    A proposed class of tens of millions of Apple customers asked a California federal judge to approve a $95 million settlement that would end the litigation accusing the tech company of privacy violations over its voice-activated software Siri eavesdropping on conversations. 

  • January 02, 2025

    NJ Panel Tosses Honda CR-V Product Defect Suit

    A 2016 Honda CR-V was not defectively designed because it lacked some available driver-assistance technologies, which were not mandated by state or federal law, a New Jersey appellate panel said Thursday in dismissing with prejudice a plaintiff's product liability and negligence claims arising from a fatal crash.

  • January 02, 2025

    Colo. AG Launches 2026 Bid For Governor

    Colorado Attorney General Philip J. Weiser, a former law school dean who served in the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, on Thursday announced his bid to become the state's next governor in 2026.

  • January 02, 2025

    Crypto Scam Victim Says Fraudsters' Banks Ignore Red Flags

    A California man who says he lost nearly a million dollars to a crypto "pig butchering" scam sued the alleged fraudsters and their banking partners, claiming the financial institutions ignored red flags and failed to conduct basic checks that would have revealed the scammers' actual business.

  • January 02, 2025

    Aetna Sues Drugmakers In Conn., Alleging Generics Price-Fixing

    Health insurer Aetna has sued 23 drugmakers, including Novartis and Pfizer, over an alleged scheme to fix the prices of 111 generic medications, citing information gleaned from a congressional probe, lawsuits by state attorneys general, a Pennsylvania multidistrict litigation proceeding, and U.S. Department of Justice findings.

  • January 02, 2025

    Beasley Allen Aims To Toss Suit From Ex-Ally Firm

    Beasley Allen has called on a Mississippi federal court to dismiss or transfer a defamation and breach of contract lawsuit from The Smith Law Firm PLLC over their joint venture agreement for talc litigation against Johnson & Johnson, arguing the case should be tossed in favor of its own suit filed earlier in Alabama.

  • January 02, 2025

    Ga. County Sues 3M, Daikin To Remove PFAS From Landfill

    A Georgia county has filed a lawsuit against 3M Co., Daikin America Inc. and several other manufacturers and users of so-called forever chemicals, alleging the sale and use of the toxic chemicals in carpet manufacturing has caused a "public-health crisis" across the northwestern part of the state.

  • January 02, 2025

    6th Circ. Overturns FCC Net Neutrality Rules

    The Sixth Circuit upended the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules Thursday, holding that commercial broadband providers cannot be regulated as telecommunications common carriers.

Expert Analysis

  • Service Providers Must Mitigate 'Secondary Target' Risks

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    A lawsuit recently filed in an Illinois federal court against marketing agency Publicis over its work for opioid manufacturers highlights an uptick in litigation against professional service providers hired by clients that engaged in alleged misconduct — so potential targets of such suits should be sure to conduct proper risk analysis and mitigation, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • 5 Ways SEC's Crypto Approach Could Change Under Trump

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    Given the Trump campaign's procrypto stance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could take a number of different approaches to crypto policy in the next administration, including pausing registration-only enforcement actions and proposing tailored rules that take into account the differences between crypto-assets and traditional securities, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Opinion

    FTC Actions In Oil Cases Go Against Its Own Rulemaking

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    Two recent Federal Trade Commission actions concerning the oil and gas industry appear to defy its own merger guidelines, with allegations that fall far short of the commission's own standard — raising serious questions about the agency's current approach, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.

  • Series

    Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.

  • 9th Circ.'s High Bar May Limit Keyword Confusion TM Claims

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    A recent Ninth Circuit ruling that a law firm did not infringe upon a competitor’s trademarks by paying Google to promote its website when users searched for the rival’s name signals that plaintiffs likely can no longer win infringement suits by claiming competitive keyword advertising confuses internet-savvy consumers, say attorneys at Mitchell Silberberg.

  • 'Reverse Redlining' Suit Reveals Language Risks For Lenders

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    The Justice Department's case against consumer finance provider Colony Ridge highlights the government's focus on lending to consumers with limited English proficiency and the risks of generating marketing materials in other languages while conducting actual transactions in English, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • What Trump's Next Term May Mean For Biz Immigration

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    Leonard D'Arrigo at Harris Beach discusses the employment-based immigration policies businesses can potentially expect during President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, based on policies enacted during his first administration, statements made during his campaign and proposals in Project 2025.

  • Takeaways From Final Regulations For China Investment Ban

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    ​The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s final rule banning U.S. investment in emerging Chinese technology clarifies some key requirements, includes additional exceptions for covered transactions and attempts to address concerns that the rule will put U.S. businesses at a competitive disadvantage, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Compliance Considerations Of DOJ Data Security Rule

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    Under the U.S. Department of Justice's proposed rule aiming to prevent certain countries' access to bulk U.S. sensitive personal data, companies must ensure their vendor, employment and investment agreements meet strict new data security requirements — or determine whether such contracts are worth the cost of compliance, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Balancing Health Tech Advances And Clinical Responsibility

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    To maintain their clinical responsibilities and mitigate potential legal risk, health professionals should incorporate the benefits of new medical technology powered by artificial intelligence while addressing its risks and limitations, says Kathleen Fisher Enyeart at Lathrop GPM.

  • Defense Insights As PFAS Consumer Product Claims Rise

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    Amid the recent proliferation of lawsuits seeking damages for failure to disclose the presence of PFAS in consumer products, manufacturers, distributors and consumer product companies should follow the science and consider a significant flaw in many of the filings, say attorneys at Farella Braun.

  • AI Monitoring And FCRA: Employer Compliance Essentials

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    As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission signal determination to treat AI-based workplace surveillance as a potential Fair Credit Reporting Act issue, employers must commit to educating HR and compliance staff on these quickly evolving regulatory expectations, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Series

    Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.

  • Crypto Cos. Add New Play In Their Offense Against SEC

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    Consensys and Crypto.com have adopted a novel strategy of preempting U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions by moving to crypto-friendly Texas and filing declaratory lawsuits challenging the SEC's jurisdiction to regulate crypto-assets — an aggressive approach that may pay off, say attorneys at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Recent Listeria Outbreaks Hold Key Compliance Lessons

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    Listeria outbreaks in ready-to-eat foods from Boar's Head and other companies, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration responses to these outbreaks, should be closely evaluated from an overall compliance and risk management perspective by food manufacturers, retailers and industry investors, say attorneys at Kirkland.

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