Consumer Protection

  • August 13, 2024

    Capital One Blames Customers For 'Refer A Friend' Texts

    Capital One urged a Washington federal judge on Monday to throw out a proposed class action accusing it of violating a state law banning ads in unsolicited texts, contending its customers are ultimately responsible for hitting send on "refer a friend" messages providing others credit card sign-up links.

  • August 13, 2024

    HP Inks Deal To End Claims Printer Update Locked Out Rivals

    HP Inc. and a certified class of consumers told a California magistrate judge Monday that they have reached a settlement in principle to resolve a class action alleging the printer maker illegally forced customers to purchase overpriced HP-branded ink and toner supply cartridges by making alternative products incompatible with their printers.

  • August 13, 2024

    Congress Didn't Want Utility-Style Internet Regs, 6th Circ. Told

    Internet service providers urged the Sixth Circuit to deep-six the Federal Communications Commission's recent decision to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service and impose net neutrality rules, saying Congress never intended that change even under the broadest reading of federal law.

  • August 13, 2024

    Telecoms Fret Over FCC's Pole Attachment Deadlines

    Negotiating big pole attachment orders can take longer than the Federal Communications Commission might sometimes like, a telecom industry trade group says, warning the agency that a regulation requiring the first of 3,000 such attachments to be ready in 45 days isn't realistic.

  • August 13, 2024

    Flyers Denied Standing To Stop Alaska-Hawaiian Airlines Deal

    A Hawaii federal judge has tossed an antitrust lawsuit seeking to block Alaska Airlines' proposed merger with Hawaiian Airlines, saying a group of airline passengers and travel agents spearheading the lawsuit haven't alleged any concrete harm from the would-be merger.

  • August 13, 2024

    NC Lawmakers Ask 4th Circ. To Restore Abortion Drug Limits

    North Carolina Republican lawmakers want the Fourth Circuit to reinstate restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone, telling the court the new rules concerning the medication are not preempted by U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations.

  • August 13, 2024

    NY, NJ And Conn. Score $4.5M Penalty Over Enzo Data Breach

    Molecular diagnostics company Enzo Biochem Inc. has agreed to pay a $4.5 million penalty after an investigation found that the company failed to implement recommended security protocols ahead of a data breach that affected millions of patients, New York's attorney general announced Tuesday.

  • August 13, 2024

    United Customer's Greenwashing Suit Preempted, Judge Says

    A Maryland federal judge ruled Tuesday that federal law preempts a proposed class action alleging United Airlines misled customers by deceptively marketing its use of sustainable aviation fuels and its efforts to be green and carbon-neutral.

  • August 13, 2024

    DC Circ. Backs EPA's Ethylene Oxide Cancer Risk Value

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday upheld federal environmental regulators' assessment of the cancer risk from exposure to certain chemical manufacturers' ethylene oxide emissions, rejecting a challenge from a chemical company and two chemical associations that argued the risk assessment was arbitrary and capricious.

  • August 13, 2024

    FTC Says Fix In Epic's Google Case Should Spur Competition

    The Federal Trade Commission has told a California federal court that it has the power to impose a wide range of remedies after a jury found that Google violated antitrust law through its app store policies and urged the court to reject Google's concerns about the proposed changes.

  • August 13, 2024

    'Clever' Scheme Is Concealing Talc Litigation Funding, J&J Says

    The Beasley Allen Law Firm needs to disclose alleged litigation funding fueling its litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder even if that funding was not given directly to the firm since the disclosure rules apply to "parties" and not "law firms," J&J has told a New Jersey federal court.

  • August 12, 2024

    Texas Wants Debt Relief Review In Wake Of 8th Circ. Ruling

    Texas' solicitor general on Saturday pressed the U.S. Supreme Court to shut down the Biden administration's student debt relief plan, arguing that a recent Eighth Circuit decision granting an injunction against the plan in a similar case "underscores" why the high court should grant its petition for certiorari.

  • August 12, 2024

    Nasdaq Isn't Immune From Racial Bias Claims, Investor Says

    The Nasdaq Stock Market isn't immune from racial discrimination claims because such claims are "simply too different" from the claims it actually is protected from as a self-regulatory organization, an investor in a minority-led special purpose acquisition company has argued.

  • August 12, 2024

    Adviser To Pay SEC $6M Over Undisclosed Conflicts

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday that investment advisory firm Cadaret Grant & Co. Inc. will pay more than $6 million to settle claims that it failed to make sufficient disclosures to clients regarding its revenue-sharing agreements and conflicts of interests associated with its financial recommendations.

  • August 12, 2024

    FTC Seeks To Undo Trimming Of Walmart Money Transfer Suit

    The Federal Trade Commission has urged an Illinois federal judge to walk back a previous decision that threw out much of its suit accusing Walmart of facilitating fraud through its money transfer services, arguing its now-dismissed claims about the retail giant were held to an overly exacting standard.

  • August 12, 2024

    Groups Call On IHS To End Amalgam Use On Tribal Lands

    A consortium of groups, including Consumers for Dental Choice and the International Indian Treaty Council, are calling on the U.S. Indian Health Service and other governments to immediately stop using mercury-containing dental fillings on Native Americans.

  • August 12, 2024

    FCC Looks To Require Better Cable, Phone Customer Service

    The Federal Communications Commission may soon seek to impose new customer services rules on phone, cable and broadband providers, including making it easier for subscribers to cancel their accounts.

  • August 12, 2024

    Navy Federal, Recording Software Co. Want Privacy Suit Nixed

    Navy Federal Credit Union customers can't bring an invasion of privacy class action over the credit union's use of artificial intelligence software to analyze and record customer calls, in part because its recording practices were appropriately disclosed, the nation's largest credit union has argued.

  • August 12, 2024

    DOJ Says Live Nation NY Suit 'Far Beyond' DC Merger Deal

    The U.S. Department of Justice has urged a New York federal judge not to transfer its antitrust suit against Live Nation, arguing its allegations go well beyond the 2010 deal clearing the purchase of Ticketmaster, a deal Live Nation says warrants sending the case to Washington, D.C.

  • August 12, 2024

    TelexFree Victims To Depose Alleged Scammer's Estranged Wife

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday denied a request from the estranged wife of alleged TelexFree Ponzi schemer Carlos Wanzeler to escape a civil lawsuit filed by victims of the alleged $3 billion ploy and ordered her to sit for a Sept. 17 deposition and hand over documents requested by victims of the scheme.

  • August 12, 2024

    Intelsat Dinged $160K For Sending Satellite To Wrong Area

    Intelsat has agreed to pay the $160,000 penalty associated with deploying a satellite out into a region of space outside what the satellite network provider's authorization from the Federal Communications Commission permitted.

  • August 12, 2024

    Gamers Freed From Arbitration Take On Valve's 30% Cut

    Valve, the operator of the dominant PC game marketplace Steam, is facing a new proposed class action accusing the company of monopolizing the gaming market to artificially inflate prices, this time from a group of plaintiffs who say they have overcome the company's arbitration agreements.

  • August 12, 2024

    Tougher 'Spectrum Screen' Would Spur Competition, FCC Told

    To make room for at least a fourth competitor in the wireless industry, advocacy groups want the Federal Communications Commission to further tighten limits on the holdings of the three biggest holders of commercial spectrum.

  • August 12, 2024

    States Want Teva Generic Price Fixing Case Tried 1st

    A coalition of state attorneys general suing a slew of generic drugmakers are asking for a Connecticut federal court to proceed with one of the two cases before the other, saying the outcome in that case will have a "significant impact" on settlement talks with other pharmaceutical company plaintiffs.

  • August 12, 2024

    The Biggest Telecom Developments Of 2024: Midyear Report

    The first half of 2024 saw sweeping change in the telecom sphere as the Federal Communications Commission's Democratic majority pushed through controversial net neutrality rules and confronted challenges on artificial intelligence, national security and more, but also faces the prospect of new headwinds as the nation's top court pared back powers of federal agencies.

Expert Analysis

  • How 3rd Circ. Raised Bar For Constitutional Case Injunctions

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    The Third Circuit's decision in Delaware State Sportsmen's Association v. Delaware Department of Safety & Homeland Security, rejecting the relaxed preliminary injunction standards many courts have used when plaintiffs allege constitutional harms, could portend a shift in such cases in at least four ways, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • 7th Circ. Ruling Expands CFPB Power In Post-Chevron Era

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Townstone Financial interprets the Equal Credit Opportunity Act broadly, paving the way for increased CFPB enforcement and hinting at how federal courts may approach statutory interpretation in the post-Chevron world, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • Opinion

    Expert Witness Standards Must Consider Peer Review Crisis

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    For nearly two decades, the so-called replication crisis has upended how the scientific community views the reliability of peer-reviewed studies, and it’s time for courts to reevaluate whether peer review is a trustworthy proxy for expert witness reliability, say Jeffrey Gross and Robert LaCroix at Reid Collins.

  • What's In NYDFS Guidance On Use Of AI In Insurance

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    Matthew Gaul and Shlomo Potesky at Willkie summarize the New York Department of Financial Services' recently adopted circular letter on the use of artificial intelligence in insurance underwriting and pricing, and highlight the material changes made to it in response to comments on the draft circular letter.

  • Drip Pricing Exemption Isn't A Free Pass For Calif. Eateries

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    A new exemption relieves California bars and restaurants from the recently effective law banning prices that don't reflect mandatory fees and charges — but such establishments aren't entirely off the hook for drip pricing, due to uncertainty over disclosure requirements and pending federal junk fee regulations, say Alexandria Ruiz and Amy Lally at Sidley.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Opinion

    Data Breach Reporting Requirements Must Change In AI Age

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    Outdated data breach reporting laws are inadequate to protect consumers in the age of artificial intelligence, as AI’s ability to determine relationships coupled with its improvements to deepfake technology mean that the very definitions used in breach reporting laws are no longer sufficient, says Collin Walke at Hall Estill.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • What To Know As Children's Privacy Law Rapidly Evolves

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    If your business hasn't been paying attention to growing state and federal efforts to protect children online, now is the time to start — there is no sign of this regulation slowing down, and more aggressive enforcement actions are to be expected in the coming year, says Susan Rohol at Willkie Farr.

  • What Cos. Should Know About New Global Plastics Regs

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    As the global regulatory landscape for plastics and recycling changes rapidly — with new policies coming into effect in California, at the federal level, in the European Union and at the United Nations — businesses that operate across jurisdictions must stay informed to remain compliant, mitigate legal risk and achieve stewardship goals, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

  • Dissecting Treasury's Call For Input On AI In Financial Sector

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    The U.S. Department of the Treasury's request for comments on the potential benefits and challenges AI may pose to the financial services sector, which asks how stakeholders are addressing and mitigating increased fraud risks, reflects the federal government's continued interest in AI's effects across the economy, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Opinion

    The FTC Needs To Challenge The Novo-Catalent Deal

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    Novo's acquisition of Catalent threatens to substantially lessen competition in the manufacturing and marketing of GLP-1 diabetes and obesity drugs, and the Federal Trade Commission should challenge it under a vertical theory of harm, as it aligns with last year's merger guidelines and the Fifth Circuit decision in Illumina, says attorney David Balto.

  • Md. Deal Highlights Consumer Finance Program Regulations

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    Maryland regulators’ recent settlement with the Bank of Missouri and its consumer lending partners, Atlanticus and Fortiva, offers a reminder that it is important to properly structure such partnerships and conduct sufficient due diligence on state licensing requirements, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

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