Consumer Protection

  • February 25, 2025

    Insurers Owe Chubb $3.3M For Safelite Defense Costs

    Two insurers must contribute $1.65 million each toward costs a Chubb unit incurred defending windshield repair company Safelite against a competitor's suit, an Ohio federal court ruled, finding the pair were not prejudiced by breaches of their policies' notice and voluntary payment provisions.

  • February 25, 2025

    8th Circ. Says Mo. Law Bars $60M Asbestos Coverage Suit

    An Eighth Circuit appeals panel affirmed that an insurer could not make arguments in Missouri federal court regarding payment of over $60 million for asbestos litigation because it had been battling its insured "for years" over the same issues in state court.

  • February 25, 2025

    FCC Hires US House Lawyer As Regulator's Deputy GC

    The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday named a top lawyer from the legislative branch as the agency's new deputy general counsel for litigation.

  • February 24, 2025

    9th Circ. Axes Fee Award In California Pizza Kitchen Hack Deal

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday scrapped an attorney fee award of $800,000 given to class counsel as part of a deal resolving data breach litigation against California Pizza Kitchen, finding that the lower court had failed to properly compare the "actual value" of the settlement — which the panel put around $950,000 — to the requested fees.

  • February 24, 2025

    FDIC Scraps 10th Circ. Brief Backing Colo.'s Opt-Out Law

    In a pivot, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Monday withdrew a Tenth Circuit brief that had supported Colorado in industry litigation against the state's "opt-out" law aimed at curbing higher-cost online lending.

  • February 24, 2025

    DC Judge Wary Of Constitutionality Of Musk's DOGE

    A D.C. federal judge on Monday questioned the constitutionality of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency while expressing skepticism that groups challenging the department's access to federal systems housing Americans' sensitive data had established the irreparable harm needed to block access.

  • February 24, 2025

    FCC Set To Change View On Online Platforms' Liability Shield

    The Federal Communications Commission appears ready to make some changes to how it views the legal protections afforded to online platforms for content posted by their users.

  • February 24, 2025

    SEC Crypto Task Force Wants Input, Commissioner Says

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Hester Peirce urged firms to bring their input to her Crypto Task Force in a Friday statement that outlined a series of questions the group is grappling with, including the taxonomy of tokens.

  • February 24, 2025

    Comerica Bank Wants Dismissal Of CFPB's Benefits Card Suit

    Comerica Bank has urged a Texas federal judge to toss a suit brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, accusing the bank of multiple failures in administering a government benefits card program, arguing the case overextends the agency's authority, among other things.

  • February 24, 2025

    Bigelow Says Class Trial Is On 'Road To Nowhere'

    Counsel for R.C. Bigelow Inc. urged a California federal judge Monday to call off an upcoming class action damages trial over the tea-maker's "manufactured in the USA" labels, saying the proceeding would be a "road to nowhere" because of fatally flawed sales data.

  • February 24, 2025

    Baby Bottle Cos. Get Parts Of Microplastics Suit Tossed

    Parents who sued Philips over allegations that microplastics leach from its "BPA free" baby bottles and sippy cups saw their lawsuit partially trimmed, after a California federal judge said that the company's label isn't misleading because it doesn't promise the products are "devoid of all harmful plastic."

  • February 24, 2025

    Norfolk Southern's Tank Car Co. Liability Claims Head To Trial

    An Ohio federal judge said that Norfolk Southern can pursue its claims seeking to have tank car companies pay at least some of the damages over 2023's East Palestine derailment, teeing up for trial key questions of liability concerning the tank cars' maintenance and transport of toxic chemicals.

  • February 24, 2025

    Insurer Needn't Cover Hospital's $2.5M Virus Vax Probe Costs

    A Chubb unit has no obligation to pay an Illinois hospital for $2.5 million in legal costs associated with responding to federal and state probes into its COVID-19 vaccine distribution program, a federal court ruled, finding that the policy's $1 million regulatory claims sublimit applies.

  • February 24, 2025

    'Fraternal Duty' No Grounds For Conspiracy, 11th Circ. Told

    A Georgia man found guilty last year of participating in a bid-rigging and price-fixing scheme for tens of millions of dollars of ready-mix concrete contracts asked the Eleventh Circuit Friday to throw out his conviction, arguing federal prosecutors failed to prove a wide-ranging conspiracy that captured the coastal concrete market.

  • February 24, 2025

    Robinhood, OpenSea Say SEC Closed Crypto Inquiries

    Robinhood said Monday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission "has officially closed" an investigation into its cryptocurrency arm without any enforcement action, joining a growing number of crypto matters the SEC has dropped or paused under the new Trump administration.

  • February 24, 2025

    PBMs To Challenge FTC Case At 8th Circ., But Without Pause

    A Missouri federal judge summarily refused, again, on Monday to temporarily block the Federal Trade Commission's in-house case accusing Caremark Rx, Express Scripts and OptumRx of artificially inflating insulin prices, letting the case proceed while the pharmacy benefits managers appeal to the Eighth Circuit.

  • February 24, 2025

    Vape Interests Urge 6th Circ. To Halt Kentucky E-Cig Law

    A coalition of e-cigarette interests is urging the Sixth Circuit to halt enforcement of a new Kentucky law regulating vaping products while their appeal plays out.

  • February 24, 2025

    DraftKings Rips 'Flawed' Privacy Suit Over Meta Tracking Pixel

    DraftKings Inc. wants a New York federal judge to toss a "fundamentally flawed" suit that accuses the company of disclosing customer information to third parties for targeted advertising, arguing the plaintiff is attempting to expand the Video Privacy Protection Act beyond its intended purpose.

  • February 24, 2025

    NY Regulator Imposes $20.4M In Fines Against Auto Insurers

    New York's insurance regulator announced Monday the agency has concluded a multiyear investigation into auto insurers' failure to report vehicle information to the state Department of Motor Vehicles in a timely manner, resulting in $20.4 million in fines across 37 separate consent orders.

  • February 24, 2025

    FCA Didn't Forfeit Arbitration Rights In Defect Suit, Judge Says

    An arbitrator must decide whether some drivers alleging Fiat Chrysler sold them vehicles with defective engines that shut off during use can pursue their claims, a Michigan federal judge said, finding the automaker didn't waive its right to seek arbitration by attacking the claims' merits before seeing if the drivers' purchase agreements had an arbitration clause.

  • February 24, 2025

    Feds Fight Reinstatement Of Ousted Inspectors General

    The Trump administration fired back at a lawsuit brought by eight inspectors general who were fired last month, telling a D.C. federal judge that federal law does not require the president to hold off on the terminations for 30 days after notifying Congress.

  • February 24, 2025

    Chinese E-Cig Maker Removes Explosion Suit On Eve Of Trial

    A Chinese electronic cigarette maker has removed to federal court a suit alleging that the battery in one of its products exploded, just days before trial was set to start in Texas state court.

  • February 24, 2025

    Boehringer Ingelheim Wins Illinois Zantac Cancer Retrial

    An Illinois state jury swiftly sided with Boehringer Ingelheim on Monday over two men's claims that taking the company's over-the-counter Zantac for decades contributed to their prostate cancer diagnoses, handing each of the men a trial loss after juries in their previous trials had deadlocked.

  • February 24, 2025

    Elizabeth Holmes Loses 9th Circ. Appeal Over Theranos Fraud

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday affirmed the criminal fraud convictions of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes and former Theranos executive Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani along with their respective 11-year and nearly 13-year prison sentences, rejecting arguments that the lower court made multiple evidentiary errors that unfairly swayed jurors.

  • February 24, 2025

    Justices Won't Rehear Case Against NY Broadband Price Cap

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday again rejected a telecom industry bid to reverse a New York state law capping the price for basic broadband service plans that must be offered to low-income households after first turning down the case in December.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    6 Changes I Would Make If I Ran A Law School

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    Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner identifies several key issues plaguing law schools and discusses potential solutions, such as opting out of the rankings game and mandating courses in basic writing skills.

  • How CFPB Rule Would Affect Data Brokers And Beyond

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently proposed a rule that would not only expand data broker oversight by classifying many as consumer reporting agencies, but would also impose new limitations on companies seeking to obtain information from them, potentially requiring such entities to alter their business models, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Firms Still Have The Edge In Lateral Hiring, But Buyer Beware

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    Partner mobility data suggests that the third quarter of this year continued to be a buyer’s market, with the average candidate demanding less compensation for a larger book of business — but moving into the fourth quarter, firms should slow down their hiring process to minimize risks, say officers at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Reviewing 2024's State Consumer Privacy Law Enforcement

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    While we are still in the infancy of state consumer privacy laws, a review of enforcement activity this year suggests substantial overlaps in regulatory priorities across the most active states and gives insight into the likely paths of future enforcement, says Thomas Nolan at Quinn Emanuel.

  • Preparing For The New Restrictions On Investment Into China

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    In light of a new regulatory program governing U.S. investments in China-related technology companies of national security concern, investors should keep several considerations in mind, including the rules' effect on existing and new investments, compliance hurdles, and penalties for noncompliance ahead of the rules' January implementation, say attorneys at Gunderson Dettmer.

  • Teaching Your Witness To Beat The Freeze/Appease Response

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    In addition to fight-or-flight, witnesses may experience the freeze/appease response at trial or deposition — where they become a deer in headlights, agreeing with opposing counsel’s questions and damaging their credibility in the process — but certain strategies can help, says Bill Kanasky at Courtroom Sciences.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out

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    In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • FTX Exec's Sentencing Shows Pros And Cons Of Cooperation

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    The sentencing of former FTX tech deputy Gary Wang, whose cooperation netted him a rare outcome of no prison time, offers critical takeaways for attorneys and clients navigating the burgeoning world of crypto-related prosecutions, says Andrew Meck at Whiteford.

  • SEC Custody Rule Creates Crypto Compliance Conundrum

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    While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's application of the custody rule may be a good faith attempt to enhance consumer protections for client assets, it doesn't appreciate the unique characteristics of crypto-assets, forcing advisers to choose between pursuing their clients' objectives and complying with the rule, say attorneys at Willkie.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity

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    Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Tracking The Uncertainty Of The FTC's Negative Option Rule

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    The fate of the Federal Trade Commission's final rule requiring businesses that utilize negative options to provide consumers with a simple cancellation method remains in limbo as it faces multiple legal challenges and the threat of possible congressional action looms, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • Antitrust in Retail: Handbag Ruling Won't Go Out Of Fashion

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    Although a New York federal court’s recent decision to enjoin a proposed $8.5 billion merger between the owners of Michael Kors and Coach applied noncontroversial antitrust interpretations, several notable aspects of the opinion stand out as likely candidates for further discussion in future merger litigation, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.

  • SEC Prioritized Enforcement Sweeps As Cases Slowed In '24

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    Following three consecutive years of increasing activity, fiscal year 2024 marked the lowest number of cases the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has brought since Gary Gensler assumed office in April 2021, buttressed by some familiar enforcement sweeps, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review

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    For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

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