Consumer Protection

  • July 16, 2025

    Calif. Senate Won't Tackle Consumer Internet Cap

    State legislation to limit how much companies can charge consumers for internet service in California has been pulled from consideration in the state's Senate, for now, the bill's sponsor told Law360 Wednesday.

  • July 16, 2025

    Utah Judge Ends Startup's Antitrust Suit Against NAR, Brokerages

    A Utah federal judge permanently tossed an antitrust suit lodged by a residential brokerage startup against the National Association of Realtors and multiple brokerages, ruling that the claims were time-barred.

  • July 16, 2025

    Kratom Seltzers 'Addictive,' Wash. Class Suit Alleges

    A proposed class of kratom product buyers is suing Mitra-9 Brands LLC in Washington federal court, alleging that the company knew — but failed to warn customers — that the products are addictive in the same way as opioids and can cause withdrawal symptoms.

  • July 15, 2025

    HomeServices, Douglas Elliman Nix Broker Fee Antitrust Suit

    HomeServices of America and Douglas Elliman escaped homebuyers' proposed antitrust class action alleging real estate agents conspired to artificially inflate broke service commissions for home sales, after a Florida federal judge ruled the buyers lacked standing since home sellers are the ones who paid those commission fees. 

  • July 15, 2025

    GTCR Seeks Rival's Sales Data To Counter FTC Challenge

    The private equity firm looking to buy medical device coating company Surmodics is seeking Salesforce data from another competitor in the space, saying the information is crucial to showing that the industry will still be competitive if its acquisition is cleared.

  • July 15, 2025

    Tornado Founder Wasn't In On Crypto Laundering, Jury Told

    Counsel for a Seattle-area software developer and co-founder of Tornado Cash told a New York federal jury on Tuesday that he had nothing to do with North Korean cybercriminals and others who used the cryptocurrency mixer to launder more than $1 billion in ill-gotten gains.

  • July 15, 2025

    FTC Says Merger Penalty Deal In The Works With 7-Eleven

    The Federal Trade Commission is inching closer to a settlement with 7-Eleven in its suit seeking to slap the convenience store chain with a $77.5 million penalty for violating a settlement that it inked with the agency in order to get a merger approved back in 2018.

  • July 15, 2025

    Consumers Say Apple's Bid To End App Store Case Will Fail

    A massive class of consumers accusing Apple of monopolizing the distribution of apps on its devices has told a California federal court the tech giant's planned summary judgment bid should be rejected because there's evidence showing harm to both users and developers.

  • July 15, 2025

    House Passes Bill To Codify FCC Network Security Council

    The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday that would cement into law a federal advisory panel on network security.

  • July 15, 2025

    Split 4th Circ. Rejects GenBioPro Abortion Ban Challenge

    A split Fourth Circuit panel on Tuesday rejected GenBioPro's challenge to a West Virginia law banning medication abortion with narrow exceptions, with the majority finding the ban does not conflict with federal regulators' statutory authority to impose safety requirements on drug manufacturers.

  • July 15, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Nature's Way Loss In Supplements TM Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday upheld a lower court's finding that a Doctor's Best Inc. brand of supplements didn't infringe a trademark of competitor Nature's Way Products LLC because the Doctor's Best products were all sold outside the U.S.

  • July 15, 2025

    FCC Hunts For Customer Info On Cellcom Network Outage

    Regional wireless service provider Cellcom's mid-May network outage has prompted a public inquiry by federal regulators who want to know how customers handled their inability to make or receive texts and calls.

  • July 15, 2025

    FTC Still Bans Ex-Pioneer CEO From Exxon Board, For Now

    If the current Federal Trade Commission upends Biden-era Democrats' ban on the former CEO of Pioneer from serving on Exxon's board, it will be on the now-Republican-led commission's own volition rather than through a petition by the executive.

  • July 15, 2025

    Tesla Engineer Says Company Kept Scant Safety Data

    Tesla did not document safety statistics of its autopilot system in the early years of its implementation, according to testimony from a Tesla engineer that jurors in Miami heard Tuesday in a trial over a fatal Florida Keys crash.

  • July 15, 2025

    FCC Drops 'Single Seller' Marketing Reg After 11th Circ. Ruling

    The Federal Communications Commission has plucked from the books a rule requiring individual consumer consent for companies to contact customers through comparison shopping sites after the Eleventh Circuit declared the regulation an overstep.

  • July 15, 2025

    Ex-Yankee Wants $69K Tacked Onto Moldy Mansion Trial Win

    A retired New York Yankees player is seeking nearly $70,000 in prejudgment interest after a Connecticut federal jury handed him a $222,000 win in his suit that sought to hold his former landlord liable for mold in a Greenwich mansion.

  • July 15, 2025

    Texas Cities Cite Gov't Immunity In Farmers' PFAS Suit

    Governmental entities led by Fort Worth submitted a brief to a Texas federal court Tuesday supporting their immunity in managing wastewater operations in connection with a proposed class action from farmers who claim their lands were contaminated by toxic chemicals.

  • July 15, 2025

    Take New Spectrum Auction Powers Out For Spin, Feds Told

    Telecom regulators need to act quickly to open a critical portion of midband airwaves to wireless companies while ensuring safeguards to block any interference with aircraft safety equipment using a nearby band, a mobile services group said this week.

  • July 15, 2025

    Roku Attacks Mich. AG's Standing In Child Data Privacy Suit

    Michigan's attorney general lacks the authority to assert privacy claims on behalf of millions of Great Lakes State residents, Roku Inc. said Monday in a bid to narrow a lawsuit accusing the streaming platform of illegally collecting and sharing children's data.

  • July 15, 2025

    11th Circ. Says Big Rig Driver's Fire Risk Was 'Obvious'

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld an early win for truck manufacturer Daimler Truck AG in a suit from a Georgia driver who was badly burned in a crash with a Daimler-manufactured truck, ruling that the "open and obvious" risk of a fire in a high-speed collision doomed his failure to warn claim.

  • July 15, 2025

    NYC's Suit Against Flavored E-Cig Sellers Can Continue

    A Manhattan federal judge on Monday rejected a bid by eight vape wholesalers to toss an action brought by New York City alleging the companies flooded the city with flavored e-cigarettes in violation of federal, state and local law.

  • July 15, 2025

    Car Buyer Wants Class Cert. Over VIN Etching Price

    A Connecticut state court should grant class certification to more than 3,100 customers of the Milford-based Nissan dealership Napoli Motors Inc. on claims that its $299 charge for a service known as VIN etching violates a state law requiring "reasonable rates," the named plaintiff said in a new motion.

  • July 15, 2025

    Class Action Targets Archery Cos. For Alleged Price-Fixing

    A Tennessee man alleged a vast scheme to fix prices on archery goods in a proposed class action in federal court Monday, naming the sport's top trade association, manufacturers and retailers as key figures in the decade-long conspiracy.

  • July 15, 2025

    PVC Pipe Buyers Seek Initial OK Of $6M Deal In Antitrust Row

    Counsel for two classes of purchasers of polyvinyl chloride pipe urged an Illinois federal judge Tuesday to grant preliminary approval to two $3 million settlements resolving their antitrust claims against an analytics service allegedly used in a conspiracy by PVC pipe makers to inflate the price of their products.

  • July 15, 2025

    Small Carriers Caught Off Guard By Demand-Free T-Mobile OK

    Rural wireless carriers appeared stunned by the feds' recent decision to let T-Mobile absorb most of UScellular without setting new requirements meant to protect their service areas, but they aren't the only ones dismayed by the turn of events.

Expert Analysis

  • Reassessing Corporate Separateness After Explosion Of LLCs

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    Following the dramatic increase of limited liability companies in the U.S., the Corporate Transparency Act's enactment and the Trump administration's subsequent narrowing of that law, it's worth revisiting the underlying legal principles that govern shell companies in order to remedy the problems that initially motivated the CTA, says Jeff Newton at Omni Bridgeway.

  • What Banks Should Note As Regulators Plan To Nix CRA Rule

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    While federal bank regulators’ recently announced intent to rescind a Biden-era Community Reinvestment Act final rule will loosen the framework for evaluating banks’ lending, service and investing activities, the decision means industry innovations and changes will remain unaddressed, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Playing Guitar Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a lawyer not only requires logic and hard work, but also belief, emotion, situational awareness and lots of natural energy — playing guitar enhances all of these qualities, increasing my capacity to do my best work, says Kosta Stojilkovic at Wilkinson Stekloff.

  • Crisis Management Lessons From The Parenting Playbook

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    The parenting skills we use to help our kids through challenges — like rehearsing for stressful situations, modeling confidence and taking time to reset our emotions — can also teach us the fundamentals of leading clients through a corporate crisis, say Deborah Solmor at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Cara Peterman at Alston & Bird.

  • High Court's Ruling May Not Stop Ghost Gun Makers

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    In Bondi v. VanDerStok, a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Gun Control Act applies to untraceable "ghost gun" kits under certain circumstances — but companies that produce these kits may still be able to use creative regulatory workarounds to evade government oversight, says Samuel Bassett at Minton Bassett.

  • Justices' Labcorp Questions Explore Class Cert. Tensions

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    At the recent oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings v. Davis, the justices' questioning highlighted a fundamental tension between constitutional standing requirements, the procedural framework of Rule 23, and the practical challenges of managing large, diverse classes in complex litigation, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • 4 Ways To Leverage A Jury's Underdog Perceptions

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    Counsel should consider how common factors that speak to their client's size, power, past challenges and alignment with jurors can be presented to try and paint their client as a sympathetic underdog, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • CFPB Vacatur Bid Sheds Light On Agency Decision-Making

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    While the CFPB's joint motion to vacate the settlement it reached with Townstone Financial last year won't affect precedent on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act's scope, it serves as a road map to CFPB decisional processes and provides insight into how other regulators make similar decisions, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.

  • Why Hiring Former Jurors As Consultants Can Be Risky

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    The defense team's decision to hire former juror Victoria George in the high-profile retrial of Karen Read shines a spotlight on this controversial strategy, which raises important legal, ethical and tactical questions despite not being explicitly prohibited, says Nikoleta Despodova at ND Litigation.

  • The Potential Efficiencies, Risks Of Folding PCAOB Into SEC

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    Integrating the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board into the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission offers the potential for regulatory efficiencies, as well as a more streamlined and consistent enforcement approach, but it also presents constitutional and operational uncertainties, say attorneys at Hilgers Graben.

  • Tips For Companies Crafting Tariff Surcharge Disclosures

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    As the Trump administration imposes tariffs on imports, retail businesses considering itemizing tariff-related costs separately for consumers must ensure that any disclosures are both accurate and defensible to avoid regulatory enforcement or private suits, says Christopher Cole at Katten.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw

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    While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.

  • Top 3 Litigation Finance Deal-Killers, And How To Avoid Them

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    Like all transactions, litigation finance deals can sometimes collapse, but understanding the most common reasons for failure, including a lack of trust or a misunderstanding of deal terms, can help both parties avoid problems, say Rebecca Berrebi at Avenue 33 and Boris Ziser at Schulte Roth.

  • Compliance Lessons From Warby Parker's HIPAA Fine

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' civil money penalty against Warby Parker highlights the emerging challenges that consumer-facing brands encounter when expanding into healthcare-adjacent sectors, with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance being a potential focus of regulatory attention, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients

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    Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

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