Consumer Protection

  • June 21, 2024

    Costco Sued Over PFAS In Kirkland Brand Baby Wipes

    Costco is facing a proposed class action over its fragrance-free "natural" baby wipes, which consumers claim are made with toxic levels of forever chemicals, rendering them unsafe for use on children.

  • June 21, 2024

    Off The Bench: ACC-FSU Rematch, Supreme Win For Fla. Tribe

    In this week's Off The Bench, the next round of venue tug-of-war begins between the Atlantic Coast Conference and Florida State University, the U.S. Supreme Court hands Florida and the Seminole Tribe a lucrative gaming win, and Roger Goodell and Jerry Jones defend the NFL's handling of its Sunday Ticket package.

  • June 21, 2024

    4 From Cybercrime Group Charged In $71M Hacking Scheme

    Four members of the international cybercrime group known as FIN9 have been charged for their roles in hacking companies' computer networks and stealing more than $71 million through nonpublic information, employee benefits and other funds, Philip R. Sellinger, an attorney for the District of New Jersey, has announced.

  • June 21, 2024

    Rip And Replace 'Ruinous' Without Fed Funds, Carriers Say

    A rural telecoms trade group is warning the Federal Communications Commission of potentially "ruinous" financial predicaments for small carriers if the "rip and replace" program targeting Chinese-made telecommunications equipment isn't fully funded soon, saying in a new filing that carriers are considering reducing service because of the lack of funding.

  • June 21, 2024

    Sens. Introduce 'Complementary' Bill To TikTok Ban

    A bipartisan bill introduced Thursday would require websites and apps to disclose to their users if they are owned wholly or partially by China, North Korea, Russia or Iran or if data collected through those sites or apps is accessible to those countries.

  • June 20, 2024

    TikTok Says Alternatives To 'Dangerous' Ban Were Ignored

    TikTok said Thursday that federal lawmakers likely didn't even consider its "exhaustive, multi-year efforts" to address national security concerns before deciding to ban the social media platform, slamming the law as "unprecedented" and warning that it sets "a dangerous precedent."

  • June 20, 2024

    Calif. AG, City Atty Target SpongeBob App Over Kids' Privacy

    California's attorney general and the Los Angeles city attorney have teamed up to secure a deal that requires the operator of a SpongeBob SquarePants-themed app to pay $500,000 and overhaul its data-handling practices to resolve claims that the company gathered and shared children's personal information without consent. 

  • June 20, 2024

    Patent Owners, Challengers Spar Over PTAB Rule Proposal

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's scaled-back package of Patent Trial and Appeal Board rules has drawn a mixed reaction from legal and industry groups, which offered praise and concern about both the proposal and the topics it does not address.

  • June 20, 2024

    5th Circ. Starts Clock For Redo Bid In CFPB Payday Rule Case

    The Fifth Circuit said Wednesday that payday lender trade groups will have an opportunity to ask for another shot at litigating the validity of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's payday lending rule after their constitutional challenge fell flat at the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • June 20, 2024

    Kraken Unlikely To Escape SEC's Crypto Exchange Case

    A California federal judge said Thursday that he was not inclined to dismiss a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit claiming that cryptocurrency exchange Kraken illegally operated as an unregistered securities exchange, telling the company's lawyer, "You've got your work cut out for you" to change his mind.

  • June 20, 2024

    Colo.'s Opt-Out Interest Rate Law Halted In Trade Group Suit

    A Colorado federal judge has temporarily barred the state from imposing more restrictive interest rate caps on consumer loans made by banks located outside of Colorado, siding with a coalition of lending groups seeking to invalidate a 2023 law aimed at reining in high-cost online loans.

  • June 20, 2024

    BMW Escapes Suit Over Leaky Coolant Lines, For Now

    BMW drivers seeking to sue the automotive maker over allegedly defective engine cooling lines will have to get more specific in their allegations, a New Jersey federal judge said in a dismissal order, giving the consumers another chance to correct the issue and refile.

  • June 20, 2024

    GM's Cruise To Pay Calif. $112K Fine Over Robotaxi Crash

    Cruise LLC agreed to pay a $112,500 penalty for mishandling its response to an October accident involving a pedestrian and one of its autonomous vehicles, and promised to disclose additional data on any collisions to California regulators under a settlement agreement approved Thursday.

  • June 20, 2024

    Caltrans Tells FCC It's Against FirstNet Control Of 4.9 GHz

    California's Department of Transportation is adding its name to the list of public service entities lining up to tell the Federal Communications Commission that making AT&T's FirstNet the national manager of the 4.9 gigahertz safety band is a bad idea.

  • June 20, 2024

    FCC Slams Bid In 6th Circ. To Put Net Neutrality On Hold

    The Federal Communications Commission told the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday it should pay no heed to a collection of net neutrality challengers arguing that "dire consequences" will ensue if the appellate court doesn't stop the agency from reinstating open internet regulations while the two sides argue the matter out in court.

  • June 20, 2024

    Sutter Health Wins Trial Over $519M Double-Billing Claims

    A California state judge has handed Sutter Health a win following a weeks-long bench trial last year over a whistleblower's claims that the nonprofit hospital network violated the state's insurance fraud prevention statutes and owes $519 million for allegedly double-billing for certain operating-room services without documentation.

  • June 20, 2024

    Ex-ITT Students Net $12M Win In Predatory Lending Scheme

    A California federal judge has ordered loan servicer Vervent Inc. to pay $12 million to ex-students of bankrupt for-profit college ITT Education Services Inc. for Vervent's role in an alleged predatory lending scheme for ITT's benefit, finding it was appropriate to triple a $4 million jury award.

  • June 20, 2024

    Madonna Mulls Sanctions Bid After Fans Drop 'Frivolous' Suit

    Attorneys defending Madonna, Live Nation and the Barclays Center against allegations that fans were "lulled" into buying tickets for a tardy show slammed the plaintiffs' unannounced dismissal of the "frivolous" case, telling a New York federal judge Wednesday they don't agree to bear their own costs and might seek sanctions.

  • June 20, 2024

    Competition Raids Don't Need Warrant For Emails, ECJ Told

    European Union law doesn't bar member states from permitting competition authorities to search emails without a warrant amid a so-called dawn raid, according to an advisory opinion submitted to the bloc's top appeals court Thursday.

  • June 20, 2024

    Fireball Maker Must Still Face Claims It Duped Whiskey Lovers

    A Florida federal judge has trimmed allegations that Sazerac Co. duped consumers into believing miniature bottles of malt beverage were whiskey by selling them under the Fireball brand name, but said a consumer can pursue claims that the beverage's bottle and their display case are nevertheless deceptive.

  • June 20, 2024

    Crypto Co. Says SEC Won't Bring Case Over Ethereum

    Ethereum-focused software firm Consensys won't face an action over its dealings with the cryptocurrency ether, according to a notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but its preemptive lawsuit against the regulator is set to continue as the agency doesn't appear to have dropped concerns over Consensys products that deal in other assets.

  • June 20, 2024

    Walmart, Capital One Settle Credit Card Agreement Spat

    Capital One NA has reached a settlement with Walmart Inc. resolving the retailer's claims that its credit card partner wasn't meeting the customer service standards laid out in their agreement, according to a joint letter filed in New York federal court.

  • June 20, 2024

    Ga. Jury Awards $2.35M To Victim Of Sig Sauer Misfire

    A Georgia federal jury awarded over $2.35 million Thursday to a man who was shot when his Sig Sauer handgun accidentally fired in its holster, finding the company was negligent when it failed to put a trigger-mounted safety on its popular P320 pistol.

  • June 20, 2024

    FCC Allows Top-4 Exception So Gray Can Sell Station

    The Federal Communications Commission has granted an exception to its rule prohibiting ownership of stations carrying more than one top-four network in a local market, allowing Gray Television to sell a Cheyenne, Wyoming, station as part of a larger deal.

  • June 20, 2024

    Remote Depo Ruling 'Clearly' Wrong, MDL Judge Says

    A federal magistrate judge erred by allowing all plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation to take their depositions remotely in a case alleging automaker FCA sold vehicles that have an exploding defect, according to a Michigan district court judge who said the earlier decision relied on a discovery rule the drivers didn't raise and that doesn't apply to the situation.

Expert Analysis

  • Takeaways From Groundbreaking Data Transfer Order

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    A recent first-of-its-kind executive order and related proposed rulemaking lay the groundwork for important outbound U.S. data protections, but they may have unintended consequences related to the types of data and the subjects within their scope, say attorneys at Kirkland.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • Innodata Suit Highlights 'AI Washing' Liability Risk For Cos.

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    A class action against software company Innodata over so-called AI washing, one of the first of its kind, underscores the litigation and enforcement risks that can arise from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's novel theory about misleading artificial intelligence capabilities, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • The Epic Antitrust Cases And Challenges Of Injunctive Relief

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    The Epic cases against Apple and Google offer a window into the courts' considerable challenges in Big Tech litigation and establishing injunctive relief that enhances competition and benefits consumers, say Kelly Lear Nordby and Jon Tomlin at Ankura Consulting.

  • Banks Should Continue To Prep For CFPB Data Rule Rollout

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    Consumer Financial Protection Bureau-supervised banks should not expect industry pressure to delay the rollout of proposed Section 1033 open banking rules, which regulate how consumer financial information flows between financial institutions, and prepare their required data access portals and compliance procedures now, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • How Calif. Video Recording Ruling May Affect Insured Exams

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    A recent California appellate decision, Myasnyankin v. Nationwide, allowing policyholders to video record all parties to an insurance examination under oath, has changed the rules of the road for EUOs and potentially opened Pandora's box for future disputes, say John Edson and Preston Bennett at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 5 Things Trial Attorneys Can Learn From Good Teachers

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    Jennifer Cuculich at IMS Legal Strategies recounts lessons she learned during her time as a math teacher that can help trial attorneys connect with jurors, from the importance of framing core issues to the incorporation of different learning styles.

  • Fintech 'Prenups': Planning For A Card Program Breakup

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    After a year of economic downturns, some banks and their fintech partners are realizing they may have rushed to the altar without a good prenup, but planning ahead can curb both foreseeable and unexpected issues in the event of a termination of a bank-fintech card-issuing agreement, say Andrew Grant at Ketsal and Richard Malish at Community Federal Savings Bank.

  • Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies

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    As circular economy goals — generating revenue at multiple points in a product's life cycle — become nearly ubiquitous in corporate sustainability practices, companies should reassess existing strategies by focusing on government incentives, regulations, and reporting and disclosure requirements, say Rachel Saltzman and Erin Grisby at Hunton.

  • 3 Notification Pitfalls To Avoid With Arbitration Provisions

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    In Lipsett v. Popular Bank, the Second Circuit found that a bank's arbitration provision was unenforceable due to insufficient notice to a customer that he was bound by the agreement, highlighting the importance of adequate communication of arbitration provisions, and customers' options for opting out, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Tips For Orgs Facing AI Data Privacy Compliance Challenges

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    Regulators around the world are actively seeking to enforce data privacy and consumer protection laws against companies providing artificial intelligence-related services, raising complex compliance questions in areas like transparency, data minimization, lawfulness of processing, data subject rights and higher risk activities, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • What's At Play In Rising Lanham Act Cases At The ITC

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    Amid an uptick in Lanham Act claims involving false advertising related to medical devices at the U.S. International Trade Commission, Brian Busey and Maryrose McLaughlin at MoFo discuss recent ITC complaints from Eli Lilly and R.J. Reynolds, Lanham Act claim limits under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the issues practitioners face in this realm.

  • Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims

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    Food products like bottled water are increasingly likely to be targets of consumer fraud complaints due to alleged microplastics contamination — but depending on the labeling or advertising at issue, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act can provide a powerful preemption defense, say Tariq Naeem and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.

  • Enforcement Risk Amid Increased Consumer Data Use

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    While no state has introduced a private right of action for noncompliance with a comprehensive consumer privacy law — except for the California Consumer Privacy Act's data breach provision — organizations and retailers face risk from enforcement actions by state attorneys general and privacy regulators, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

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