Consumer Protection

  • June 06, 2024

    FTC And DOJ Divvy Up Probes Of OpenAI, Microsoft, Nvidia

    The Federal Trade Commission will investigate OpenAI and its investor Microsoft for potential competition issues, while the U.S. Department of Justice will look at chipmaker Nvidia's role in the quickly emerging artificial intelligence space, a source confirmed to Law360 on Thursday.

  • June 06, 2024

    6th Circuit Selected For Start Of Net Neutrality Fight

    The Sixth Circuit was chosen by random drawing Thursday to consolidate, at least for now, more than half a dozen challenges to the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules.

  • June 06, 2024

    High Bar For Booking.com Price Limits, EU High Court Told

    A European Court of Justice advocate general recommended a high bar Thursday for Booking.com assertions that price parity clauses imposed on contracts with hotels are "ancillary" to, and thus protected as, legitimate business arrangements.

  • June 06, 2024

    Alaska Air Passengers Refile Suit Over Boeing Blowout

    A group of passengers who were on an Alaska Airlines Inc. flight when a door plug blew out during a Jan. 5 flight have refiled their claims against the airline, Boeing Co. and Spirit AeroSystems Inc. in federal court — days after voluntarily dismissing their state court suit.

  • June 06, 2024

    Transport Monopoly Indictment Is Deficient, Accused Says

    One of 12 individuals who U.S. federal prosecutors claim conspired to monopolize cross-border sales of used vehicles and other goods from the U.S. to Central America using violence has moved to dismiss antitrust charges, saying prosecutors omitted elements of an indictable offense.

  • June 06, 2024

    FCC Floats New Rules On ISPs To Protect Internet Security

    The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday proposed to impose new rules on internet service providers to ensure security of the internet's crucial routing technology, the Border Gateway Protocol.

  • June 06, 2024

    Prof Can Test NC State Building For Carcinogens

    A split state appeals court has granted a former North Carolina State University employee stricken by cancer access to gather evidence in a campus building that studies showed contained cancer-causing materials.

  • June 06, 2024

    Meta Can't Get Section 230 Shield Over Scam Ads At 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit has ruled that Section 230 is "not limitless" and doesn't shield Meta from contract claims in a proposed consumer class action over Chinese vendors' scam ads on Facebook and Instagram, with one judge calling on the Ninth Circuit to rethink precedent that broadly interprets Section 230's scope.

  • June 06, 2024

    Co. Won't Face Defect Claims In Suit Over Lost Fingers

    A worker who lost her fingers after her right hand was pulled into an industrial laminating machine won't get the chance to add design defect claims to her lawsuit against the manufacturer, a Texas federal judge has ruled, saying she squandered her opportunity to investigate those claims.

  • June 06, 2024

    EPA To Reevaluate Widely Used Toxic Chemical Under TSCA

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a rule to limit the use of a chemical found in hundreds of products from paint to cleaning products that has been linked to miscarriages, reduced male fertility and other health issues.

  • June 06, 2024

    Abbott Labs Must Face Bulk Of Glucerna False Ad Suit

    A California federal judge won't free Abbott Laboratories from a proposed class action over its Glucerna shakes, saying the complaint plausibly alleges that the labeling would mislead consumers about the health aspects of the drinks.

  • June 06, 2024

    ZoomInfo To Pay Nearly $30M To End Privacy Suit

    ZoomInfo has agreed to come up with close to $30 million to resolve potential class claims that it nonconsensually used people's names and identities to advertise paid access to its full database, allowing monetary recovery for just more than a million class members in four states, class counsel told an Illinois federal judge Thursday.

  • June 06, 2024

    'Brussels Effect' Of EU's AI Act Is Uncertain, Legal Pros Say

    BigLaw attorneys advising international clients on the European Union's AI Act tell Law360 there are significant uncertainties over vague terms in the 458-page statute, how its steep eight-figure fines will be enforced, and whether it will set a new standard globally as part of the "Brussels effect."

  • June 05, 2024

    Texas AG Sets Up New Team To Enforce Data Privacy Laws

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is "doubling down" on efforts to curb companies' misuse of residents' personal information by establishing a new team dedicated to enforcing the state's data protections, including a comprehensive consumer data privacy law that's set to take effect next month. 

  • June 05, 2024

    Amazon Beats BIPA Suit Targeting Thermal Camera Use

    An Illinois federal judge handed Amazon a pretrial win over accusations that it violated workers' biometric privacy rights by using thermal cameras to screen for fevers during the pandemic, saying the company is immune from such claims under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act.

  • June 05, 2024

    Fubo Loses Bid To Toss Consumer's Privacy Suit

    Streaming service Fubo cannot escape a proposed class action alleging it unlawfully shared subscribers' personally identifiable information, or PII, with third-party advertisers, an Illinois federal judge ruled Tuesday.

  • June 05, 2024

    PwC Asks Calif. Justices To Revive $2.5M Sanction Against LA

    PwC urged the California Supreme Court on Wednesday to revive a $2.5 million sanction against the city of Los Angeles for yearslong discovery misconduct in an underlying utility billing dispute, arguing the trial court's inherent authority to pose such penalties isn't limited to nonmonetary sanctions.

  • June 05, 2024

    Catholic Broadcasters Angry Over FCC 'Gender Ideology' Rule

    The Catholic Radio Association is up in arms over the Federal Communications Commission's new workforce diversity reporting mandates that will require broadcasters to report how many nonbinary people they employ, telling the agency they're being forced to record something that "does not comport to reality."

  • June 05, 2024

    Bank Group Takes Fight Over FDIC Fee Letter To 8th Circ.

    A Minnesota bank industry group is appealing its federal district court loss in litigation over Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation guidance proscribing non-sufficient funds fees, or NSF fees, the organization said Wednesday.

  • June 05, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Review Cathay Pacific Ticket Refund Fight

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday refused to reconsider its decision ordering a couple who were left stranded in the Philippines during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to arbitrate their breach of contract dispute with Cathay Pacific Airways under their contract with a third-party booking site.

  • June 05, 2024

    Wells Fargo Sued For Allegedly Aiding $300M Ponzi Scheme

    Wells Fargo Bank NA has been hit with a proposed class action in Florida federal court alleging that it aided and abetted a $300 million Ponzi scheme that duped more than 1,000 investors, most of whom were elderly and lost substantial life savings due to the scheme.

  • June 05, 2024

    Fla. High Court Told Immunity Doesn't Bar UF COVID-19 Suit

    A University of Florida student on Wednesday urged the state's high court to revive his lawsuit over cancellation of on-campus services during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that sovereign immunity doesn't bar his breach-of-contract claim against the college.

  • June 05, 2024

    Google Legal Dept. Goes From Crisis Mode To Long Term

    As much of the major antitrust litigation against Google winds down, the company is shuffling around its in-house legal departments to add more people and settle from crisis mode into the more sustainable posture of a technology giant where lawsuits have likely become a permanent feature of its existence.

  • June 05, 2024

    Panel To Pick Venue For FCC Net Neutrality Challenges

    The federal courts are poised to randomly pick which circuit court will initially hear more than half a dozen legal challenges to the Federal Communications Commission's recently adopted net neutrality rules.

  • June 05, 2024

    Paddle Co. Misrepresented Pickleball Products, Suit Says

    The makers of the Joola brand, a major name in table tennis, falsely advertised many of their pickleball paddles, including some bearing athlete Ben Johns' name, as approved for tournament play in order to rapidly gain market share in the sport, according to a proposed class action filed in Florida federal court Wednesday seeking at least $5 million.

Expert Analysis

  • Considerations For Disclosing AI Use In SEC Filings

    Author Photo

    Recent remarks from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler should be heard as a clarion call for public companies to disclose artificial intelligence use, with four takeaways on what companies should disclose, says Richard Hong at Morrison Cohen.

  • Args In APA Case Amplify Justices' Focus On Agency Power

    Author Photo

    In arguments last week in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve, the U.S. Supreme Court justices paid particular importance to the possible ripple effects of their decision, which will address when a facial challenge to long-standing federal rules under the Administrative Procedure Act first accrues and could thus unleash a flood of new lawsuits, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Setting The Stage For High Court BofA Escrow Interest Case

    Author Photo

    Dori Bailey and Curtis Johnson at Bond Schoeneck examine relevant legislation and case law dating back 200 years ahead of oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in Cantero v. Bank of America, the outcome of which will determine whether state laws governing mortgage escrow accounts can be enforced against national banks.

  • What To Know About OCC Proposals For Bank Merger Review

    Author Photo

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's proposed changes to the agency's bank merger review process could exacerbate industry concerns with long and unpredictable processing periods because the proposal is ambiguous with respect to how the OCC will view certain transactions, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Using Arbitration And Class Waivers As Privacy Suit Tools

    Author Photo

    Amid a surge in data breach class actions over the last few years, several federal court decisions indicate that arbitration clauses and class action waiver provisions can be possible alternatives to public court battles and potentially reduce the costs of privacy litigation, say Mark Olthoff and Courtney Klaus at Polsinelli.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

    Author Photo

    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • 5 Lessons For SaaS Companies After Blackbaud Data Breach

    Author Photo

    Looking at the enforcement actions that software-as-a-service provider Blackbaud resolved with state attorneys general, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission in the past year can help SaaS companies manage these increasingly common forms of data breaches, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons

    Author Photo

    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five notable circuit court decisions on topics from property taxes to veteran's rights — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including class representative intervention, wage-and-hour dispute evidence and ascertainability requirements.

  • A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

    Author Photo

    After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

  • Predicting DeFi Regulations At Home And Abroad In 2024

    Author Photo

    Though decentralized finance has advocates on both sides of the Atlantic in figures like U.S. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, DeFi in 2024 seems likely to be folded into existing regulatory frameworks in the U.K. and EU, while anti-crypto scrutiny may discourage DeFi’s growth in the U.S., say Daniel Csefalvay and Eric Martin at BCLP.

  • Retailers Must Be Mindful Of Sale Ads As Class Actions Rise

    Author Photo

    A recent uptick in class actions filed against retailers over a breadth of allegedly deceptive pricing practices — including misleading reference prices for sales and discounts offered on a perpetual basis — show no sign of slowing down, indicating that class counsel are laser-focused on challenging advertising strategies, say Louis DiLorenzo and Paavana Kumar at Davis+Gilbert.

  • NY's Revamped Card Surcharge Ban Is Unique Among States

    Author Photo

    Newly revised New York legislation bolsters the state's ban on credit card surcharges, potentially reinvigorating similar laws across the country despite the fact that many of them have been ruled unconstitutional, say Tom Witherspoon and Audrey Carroll at Stinson.

  • Understanding SEC's Focus Amid Lack Of Final AI Rules

    Author Photo

    Although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed rules to govern artificial intelligence are likely far from being finalized, understanding existing regulatory provisions that could address AI risks with respect to development, disclosure, compliance and data protection could help firms anticipate and avoid pitfalls, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Legislative And Litigation Trends In Environmental Advertising

    Author Photo

    Companies that tout their products' environmental benefits can significantly reduce the risk that they will face allegations of greenwashing by staying up to date on related Federal Trade Commission guidance, state requirements and litigation trends, say Raqiyyah Pippins and Kelsie Sicinski at Arnold & Porter.

  • What's On The Horizon In Attorney General Enforcement

    Author Photo

    A look at recent attorney general actions, especially in the areas of antitrust and artificial intelligence, can help inform businesses on what they should expect in terms of enforcement trends as 10 attorney general races play out in 2024, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Consumer Protection archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!