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Consumer Protection
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October 15, 2024
Conn. Trader Pilfered $4.1M From Struggling Firm, SEC Says
A Greenwich, Conn.-based investment adviser stole more than $4.1 million from a pair of investment funds he managed to help prop up his family's "expensive lifestyle" and counter his personal financial woes, including several tax liens and foreclosure attempts on his home, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has alleged.
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October 15, 2024
Qualcomm Milked 'Weak Patents' For Monopoly, 9th Circ. Told
An attorney for a proposed class of cellphone buyers urged the 9th Circuit Monday to revive antitrust claims against Qualcomm, saying it used "weak patents" to secure licensing agreements that forced companies to give up their right to challenge the patents, although one judge questioned whether the plaintiffs had waived that argument.
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October 15, 2024
UBH Surprise Billing Fight 'Begs' For Issue Cert., Judge Says
A California federal judge deciding whether to certify classes of patients who allege United Behavioral Health and billing contractor MultiPlan underpaid thousands of claims for out-of-network substance use disorder treatment told counsel Tuesday the case "begs" for issue certification, while adding that the U.S. medical system is "an absolute mess."
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October 15, 2024
Crypto Huckster Slammed With 20 Years For Forcount Fraud
A New York federal judge on Tuesday sentenced an Ecuadorean man from Florida to 20 years in prison for pushing the $14 million, international Forcount cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme on his fellow Latinos over five years, saying he caused incalculable damage.
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October 15, 2024
DOT Fines Lufthansa $4M For Barring 128 Jews From Flight
German airline Lufthansa has agreed to pay a record $4 million fine for refusing to let 128 Jewish passengers board a connecting flight after a few passengers allegedly failed to follow crew instructions, the largest-ever fine against an airline for civil rights violations, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Tuesday.
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October 15, 2024
Horizon Lodges 4-Fold Attack On Tepezza MDL Bellwethers
Horizon Therapeutics argued Tuesday that an Illinois federal judge should toss out nine of the dozen cases selected as bellwethers in multidistrict litigation targeting hearing loss issues with its biologic Tepezza, saying they're preempted because the label was approved with those problems in mind.
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October 15, 2024
Transport Monopoly Judge Accepts Antitrust Guilty Plea
A Texas federal judge has accepted a guilty plea from one of a dozen individuals in an antitrust case whom the government accused of using violence and intimidation to monopolize cross-border sales of used vehicles and other goods from the U.S. to Central America.
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October 15, 2024
In Pivot, 5th Circ. Gives CFPB Extension In Exam Policy Case
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can take an extra two weeks to file a brief with the Fifth Circuit in its closely watched appeal of a ruling that struck down the agency's anti-bias examination policies, the circuit court has decided.
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October 15, 2024
SafeMoon Execs Can't Beat Fraud Charges Now, Feds Say
The crypto executives behind the alleged SafeMoon fraud can't claim their conduct was beyond the reach of U.S. courts at this stage of litigation, federal prosecutors said in a brief that pushed back on the executives' bid to dismiss the indictment.
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October 15, 2024
'Gold Standard' PFAS Test Rejected In Tampax Class Suit
A California federal judge on Tuesday rejected the reliability of a testing method described by a putative consumer class as the "gold standard" for detecting so-called forever chemicals, tossing for now claims that The Procter & Gamble Co. falsely advertised its "pure cotton" Tampax tampons.
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October 15, 2024
Split FCC Votes To Explore How Data Caps Affect Consumers
The Federal Communications Commission will look at how data cap practices are affecting the public to decide whether it need involve itself further in the matter, something the Republican minority on the commission made clear Tuesday that it does not support.
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October 15, 2024
Patent Co. Drops IP Suits To Go After Carriers In Antitrust Cases
Patent-holding company VoIP-Pal.com announced Monday that it will refocus its legal efforts on antitrust litigation targeting the big three telecommunications carriers, days after dropping recently filed patent suits against Verizon and T-Mobile.
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October 15, 2024
Gamers End Challenge Of Microsoft's $69B Activision Deal
Microsoft reached an agreement ending a challenge from a group of gamers targeting its $69 billion deal for Activision Blizzard as a merger challenge from the Federal Trade Commission remains pending at the Ninth Circuit.
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October 15, 2024
Realtors Ask High Court To Quash DOJ Antitrust Probe
The National Association of Realtors has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for review of a ruling that would allow the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division to reopen an investigation into the trade group's rules and policies after an earlier settlement.
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October 15, 2024
Feds Seek Court's OK On $350M Norfolk Southern Spill Deal
The federal government has asked an Ohio federal judge to approve a nearly $350 million settlement to close out the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's legal claims against Norfolk Southern over the fiery February 2023 train derailment and toxic chemical spill in East Palestine.
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October 15, 2024
Motley Rice May Avoid DQ In Boston Opioid Case, Judge Hints
A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday appeared skeptical of a bid by pharmacy benefit manager OptumRX to disqualify Motley Rice LLC from representing the city of Boston in a lawsuit over the company's alleged role in the opioid crisis.
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October 15, 2024
No 'Third Bite' For Ex-Lender's FDIC Suit, Judge Rules
A D.C. federal judge has tossed a lawsuit from a former small business financier contesting the constitutionality of a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. enforcement action against him, saying the plaintiff has already twice litigated and lost the case in Rhode Island.
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October 15, 2024
Justices Mull RICO's Scope In Trucker's CBD Case
U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared conflicted whether to sanction a commercial trucker's attempt to bring a racketeering claim against CBD companies, whose allegedly mislabeled products the trucker claims led to his firing.
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October 15, 2024
Morgan Stanley, BofA Sued Over Cash Sweep Programs
Minnesota-based financial services company Safron Capital Corp. launched a pair of proposed class actions against Morgan Stanley and Bank of America in New York alleging the firms used their so-called cash sweep programs "to generate massive revenue for themselves at the expense of their customers."
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October 15, 2024
Mich. Judge Unsure If PE Firm's Loan Broke Usury Law
The interest rate on a private equity firm's loan to a Detroit house-flipping venture exceeded usury limits, but it was unclear whether the lender knowingly charged an excessive rate, a Michigan state judge ruled after the case returned from a trip to the Michigan Supreme Court.
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October 15, 2024
Google Seeks To Pause Play Store Injunction Amid Appeal
Google has urged a California federal judge to issue an immediate stay in its antitrust battle with Epic Games Inc. that would pause a three-year injunction requiring Google to open up its Play Store to competing app stores pending the outcome of its Ninth Circuit appeal.
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October 15, 2024
LA Injury Law Firm Sued Over Unsolicited Robocalls
A California man is suing Los Angeles-based personal injury firm Wilshire Law PLC in federal court, alleging the firm is violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by making unsolicited robocalls to drum up business.
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October 15, 2024
J&J Hit With $15M Verdict In Builder's Mesothelioma Suit
A Connecticut state court jury on Tuesday slammed Johnson & Johnson and several subsidiaries with a $15 million compensatory damages verdict for a real estate developer who sought to hold the companies liable for his mesothelioma diagnosis.
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October 15, 2024
LabCorp Gets Google Health Info Suit Sent To Arbitration
Laboratory Corporation of America succeeded in its bid to have a patient privacy lawsuit handled by arbitration, after a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled that users of the company's website who sued it for allegedly sharing sensitive information with Google agreed to arbitration by using the patient portal.
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October 15, 2024
Atty Says Appellate Co.'s Ads Look Like Case Updates
A California attorney has launched a proposed class action against appellate case management company Record Press in California federal court alleging that the New York-based company sends lawyers spam emails that deceptively appear to be important updates about ongoing litigation.
Expert Analysis
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Conn. Court Split May Lead To Vertical Forum Shopping
As shown by a recent ruling in State v. Exxon Mobil, Connecticut state and federal courts are split on personal jurisdiction, and until the Connecticut Supreme Court steps in, parties may be incentivized to forum shop, causing foreign entities to endure costly litigation and uncertain liability, says Matthew Gibbons at Shipman & Goodwin.
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Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys
Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.
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Series
Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3
In the third quarter of the year, California continued to be at the forefront of banking regulation as it enacted legislation on unfair banking practices and junk fees, and the state Department of Financial Protection and Innovation notably initiated enforcement actions focused on crypto-assets and student loan debt relief, say Stuart Richter and Eric Hail at Katten.
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Opinion
FTC's Report Criticizing Drug Middlemen Is Flawed
The Federal Trade Commission's July report, which claims that pharmacy benefit managers are inflating drug costs, does not offer a credible analysis of PBMs, and its methodology lacks rigor, says Jay Ezrielev at Elevecon.
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2 High Court Securities Cases Could Clarify Pleading Rules
In granting certiorari in a pair of securities fraud cases against Facebook and Nvidia, respectively, the U.S. Supreme Court has signaled its intention to align interpretations of the heightened pleading standard under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act amid its uneven application among the circuit courts, say attorneys at V&E.
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What 2 Key Rulings Mean For Solicitation Under TCPA
Two recent rulings from federal district courts in New York and California — each of which came to a different conclusion — bring to light courts' continued focus on and analysis of when an alleged communication constitutes a solicitation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, say Felix Shipkevich and Jessica Livingston at Shipkevich.
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Series
NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3
In a relatively light few months for banking legal updates in New York, the state Department of Financial Services previewed its views on banking sector artificial intelligence use via insurer guidance, and an anti-money laundering enforcement action underscored the importance of international monitoring processes, say Eric McLaughlin and Dana Bayersdorfer at Davis Polk.
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Series
Collecting Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The therapeutic aspects of appreciating and collecting art improve my legal practice by enhancing my observation skills, empathy, creativity and cultural awareness, says attorney Michael McCready.
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Navigating The Complexities Of Cyber Incident Reporting
When it comes to cybersecurity incident response plans, the uptick in the number and targets of legal and regulatory actions emphasizes the necessity for businesses to document the facts underlying the assumptions, complexities and obstacles of their decisions during the incident response, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Aviation Watch: Boeing Plea Agreement May Not Serve Public
The proposed plea agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Boeing — the latest outgrowth of the company's 737 Max travails — is opposed by crash victims' families, faces an uncertain fate in court, and may ultimately serve no beneficial purpose, even if approved, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.
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Using Primacy And Recency Effects In Opening Statements
By understanding and strategically employing the primacy and recency effects in opening statements, attorneys can significantly enhance their persuasive impact, ensuring that their narrative is both compelling and memorable from the outset, says Bill Kanasky at Courtroom Sciences.
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Litigation Inspiration: Honoring Your Learned Profession
About 30,000 people who took the bar exam in July will learn they passed this fall, marking a fitting time for all attorneys to remember that they are members in a specialty club of learned professionals — and the more they can keep this in mind, the more benefits they will see, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Series
In The CFPB Playbook: No Lazy, Hazy Days Of Summer
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is headed for a brisk fall season, on the heels of a heated summer, which included the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the CFPB funding structure is constitutional, and in advance of the November election, says Eamonn Moran at Holland & Knight.
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Payward And The Secondary Crypto Transaction Confusion
Following orders in cases against Coinbase and Binance, the recent California federal court ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Payward raises even more questions about regulation of secondary transactions involving crypto-assets, as it tries to sidestep fundamental flaws in the SEC's legal theories, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.
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FTC Focus: How Scrutiny Of PBMs And Insulin May Play Out
Should Express Scripts' recent judicial challenge to the Federal Trade Commission succeed, any new targets could add litigation and choice of forum to their playbooks, and potential FTC court action on insulin could be forced to parallel venues as the issues between the commission and PBMs evolve, say attorneys at Proskauer.