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Consumer Protection
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October 16, 2024
Bitfinex Hacker Deserves 5 Years For Crypto Heist, Feds Say
The hacker who stole bitcoin now worth billions of dollars from crypto exchange Bitfinex should serve just 60 months for the exploit and subsequent laundering of the funds because his post-arrest cooperation "benefitted numerous investigations" and merits a below-guidelines sentence, prosecutors told a federal judge.
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October 16, 2024
NY Urges Sotomayor Not To Block Broadband Price Cap Law
New York is fighting the telecommunications industry's effort to halt its new law capping broadband prices for low-income residents, telling U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to reject a petition that would stay the law's implementation pending a forthcoming certiorari bid challenging the law.
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October 16, 2024
Pa. AG Wants State Claims Restored In FTC Amazon Suit
Pennsylvania's attorney general wants to get back into a joint state and federal antitrust case against Amazon, asking a Washington federal judge to reconsider tossing claims under Pennsylvania's consumer protection law because Amazon allegedly concealed its unfair trade practices from Pennsylvania customers.
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October 16, 2024
Lender To Pay $10M To Settle Birmingham Redlining Claims
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the U.S. Department of Justice said a mortgage lender the agencies accused of redlining in Birmingham, Alabama, will pay nearly $10 million and open a loan office in a majority-Black neighborhood to resolve the claims.
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October 16, 2024
Key Bank Blocking Hunt For Apt. Co-Op's $1.3M, Towns Say
Key Bank NA should be held in contempt of court because four insurance checks totaling $1.3 million seem to have vanished from a troubled housing co-op's accounts, and the bank is preventing a receiver in charge of the 924-unit Success Village Apartments from figuring out what happened, two Connecticut municipalities have said.
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October 16, 2024
Railroad Holding Locomotive 'Hostage,' G&W Unit Says
A Connecticut railroad has held a locomotive "hostage" since it derailed in August and is trying to "extort" its rightful owner for more than $100,000, according to a federal lawsuit that brings claims including larceny and unfair trade practices against Housatonic Railroad Co. Inc.
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October 16, 2024
Kia Drivers Say Automatic Van Doors Have Dangerous Defect
A proposed class of drivers is suing Kia Corp. and Kia America Inc. in Maryland federal court, alleging Kia sold minivans with automatic sliding doors that don't stop or reverse when blocked like they are supposed to.
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October 16, 2024
US Fails To Revoke Bail Of Crypto Chief Wanted In Fraud Case
The U.S. government failed on Wednesday to keep the former chief executive of a $7.5 billion crypto-asset business in custody while he fights extradition for allegedly manipulating the market for his company's virtual tokens, as a judge deemed him a low flight risk.
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October 15, 2024
Boeing Judge Wants DEI Monitor Pick Info Before Plea Ruling
The Texas federal judge overseeing prosecutors' criminal case against The Boeing Co. on Tuesday said he needs more information on a provision of the proposed plea deal regarding how the U.S. Department of Justice would select an independent monitor in compliance with the agency's diversity and inclusion policies.
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October 15, 2024
CFPB Funding Shouldn't Stop Texas' Fraud Suit, Judge Says
A Houston federal magistrate judge has endorsed allowing the state of Texas to proceed with a real estate fraud suit against land developer Colony Ridge, rejecting objections tied in part to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding from Federal Reserve "earnings."
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October 15, 2024
Meta Limits But Can't Shake Social Media Addiction MDL
A California federal judge on Tuesday refused to ax sprawling multidistrict litigation accusing Meta Platforms Inc. and other social media giants of designing their platforms to addict children, finding that a broad tech liability shield required claims pressed by dozens of state attorneys general to be narrowed but not tossed.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule
Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.
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In Biz Account Breaches, Look Beyond The Payment Platform
A business's legal path to recovering funds after bad actors access a payment platform account and engage in unauthorized transactions can lead into murky legal territory where liability is unclear, and pursuing the payment platform itself will be an uphill, if not insurmountable, struggle, say Edward Marshall and Morgan Harrison at Arnall Golden.
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4 Steps To Repair Defense Credibility In Opening Statements
Given the continued rise of record-breaking verdicts, defense counsel need to consider fresh approaches to counteract the factors coloring juror attitudes — starting with a formula for rebuilding credibility at the very beginning of opening statements, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
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Arbitration Implications Of High Court Coinbase Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Coinbase v. Suski ruling not only reaffirmed the long-standing principle that arbitration is a matter of contract, but also established new and more general principles concerning the courts' jurisdiction to decide challenges to delegation clauses and the severability rule, say Tamar Meshel at the University of Alberta.
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Prejudicial Evidence Takeaways From Trump Hush Money Trial
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office's prosecution and conviction of former President Donald Trump on 34 felony counts provides a lesson on whether evidence may cause substantial unfair prejudice, or if its prejudicial potential is perfectly fair within the bounds of the law, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Making Plans For BNPL Consumer Protection Compliance
With an interpretive rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau set to require buy-now, pay-later providers to implement credit card-like consumer safeguards by the end of July, loan providers must solidify their federally compliant customer dispute resolution and disclosure procedures before the newly emboldened bureau's deadline, say attorneys at Steptoe.
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After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1
The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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New Laws, Regs Mean More Scrutiny Of Airline Carbon Claims
Recent climate disclosure laws and regulations in the U.S. and Europe mean that scrutiny of airlines' green claims will likely continue to intensify — so carriers must make sure their efforts to reduce carbon emissions through use of sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen and carbon offsets measure up to their marketing, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers
BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.
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How Uyghur Forced Labor Law Affects Importing Companies
Amid a growing focus on forced labor in supply chains and a likely increase in enforcement under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, companies may face costly import delays unless they develop and implement compliance best practices, say Thad McBride and Lauren Gammer at Bass Berry.
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What Companies Should Consider Amid Multistate AG Actions
The rise of multistate attorney general actions is characterized by increased collaboration and heightened scrutiny across various industries — including Big Tech and gaming — and though coalitions present challenges for targeted companies, they also offer opportunities for streamlined resolutions and coordinated public relations efforts, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.
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Series
Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.
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3 Surprising Deposition Dangers Attorneys Must Heed
Attorneys often do not think of discovery as a particularly risky phase of litigation, but counsel must closely heed some surprisingly strict and frequently overlooked requirements before, during and after depositions that can lead to draconian consequences, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.
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Careful Data Governance Is A Must Amid Enforcement Focus
Federal and state regulators' heightened focus on privacy enforcement, including the Federal Trade Commission's recent guidance on consumer protection in the car industry, highlight the importance of proactive risk management, compliance and data governance, say Jason Priebe and Danny Riley at Seyfarth.
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5 Critical Factors Driving Settlement Values In Cyber Litigation
Recent ransomware incidents and their legal repercussions offer five valuable insights into the determinants of settlement values in cyberattack-related litigation, and understanding these trends and their implications can better prepare organizations for the potential legal fallout from future breaches, says Peter Kamminga at JAMS.