Consumer Protection

  • November 15, 2024

    SEC's Top Cop Says Election Hasn't Slowed Enforcers Down

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement attorneys continue to work with "urgency" in the waning months of the Biden administration, the acting leader of the enforcement division said Friday at an event where he also spoke about a shuttered task force and the agency's approach to pursuing cases involving cybersecurity breaches.

  • November 15, 2024

    Hot Topic Shoppers' Info Stolen By 'Satanic' Hacker, Suit Says

    Hot Topic and its retail affiliates were hit with a proposed class action Wednesday in California federal court alleging an unknown hacker with the username "Satanic" infiltrated their databases containing personal information belonging to 350 million customers and offered to sell the information on an internet forum last month.

  • November 15, 2024

    FCC Passes New Satellite Spectrum Sharing Rules

    The Federal Communications Commission on Friday released new rules covering the sharing of spectrum by non-geostationary orbit fixed satellites that commissioners say will encourage industry growth but also protect existing systems.

  • November 15, 2024

    Pennsylvania AG Can't Stop Glass Plant From Moving To Ohio

    A Pennsylvania federal judge denied the Keystone State attorney general's bid to stop a private equity firm from shutting down a Pyrex plant it purchased and moving its operations to Ohio, ruling that "there is simply insufficient evidence presented" to show that the move will be anticompetitive.

  • November 15, 2024

    Monsanto Cleared In Philly's 7th Roundup Trial

    A Philadelphia jury on Friday cleared Bayer AG unit Monsanto of liability in a woman's lawsuit alleging she developed cancer by using the weedkiller Roundup, delivering the agrochemical giant its third victory in the city's mass tort.

  • November 15, 2024

    Teva Defends Mifepristone Antitrust Case Against Corcept

    Teva Pharmaceuticals has asked a California federal judge to reject a bid to dismiss its lawsuit against the maker of a brand-name drug used to treat a rare cortisol disorder, contending its complaint plausibly alleges an illegal scheme to suppress generic competition.

  • November 15, 2024

    Attys Get 'Final Warning' In Tepezza Hearing Loss MDL

    A magistrate judge has chastised attorneys on both sides of multidistrict litigation involving claims that a thyroid eye disease treatment manufactured by Horizon Pharmaceuticals Inc. causes hearing loss, calling for an end to their "improper" conduct during depositions.

  • November 15, 2024

    Ga. Law Firm Hit With Proposed Class Action Over Data Breach

    Atlanta-based personal injury law firm Montlick & Associates PC has been hit with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court over an August data breach that compromised the private information of clients and employees.

  • November 15, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Visa Says European Commission Investigating 'Acquirer' Fees

    Visa is telling investors that European competition regulators are looking into its merchant fees, disclosing in its annual report this week that the European Commission has been investigating it since August.

  • November 15, 2024

    NC AG Wins Early Halt Of Alleged Helene Price-Gouging

    A North Carolina court granted state attorney general and incoming governor Josh Stein's request for a preliminary injunction against a businessman accused of price-gouging for tree removal services in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and taking jobs he knew his businesses were not qualified to handle.

  • November 14, 2024

    Bitfinex Hacker Gets 5 Years For Laundering Stolen Crypto

    A hacker was sentenced in Washington, D.C., federal court on Thursday to five years in prison for laundering hundreds of thousands of bitcoins now worth more than $10 billion that he stole from cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex.

  • November 14, 2024

    Judge Vows Atty Fee Trims For Handling Of $90M Google Deal

    A California federal judge overseeing Google's $90 million antitrust deal with Play Store developers on Thursday blasted counsel representing smaller developer plaintiffs and the administration company handling the settlement, criticizing the administrator's work as "the worst performance I've seen" and vowing to trim the attorney fees "substantially."

  • November 14, 2024

    Student Loan Servicer Wants CFPB Deal Paused Amid Appeal

    The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency has asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to pause its obligation to pay more than $3.2 million as a part of a settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that is being challenged in the Third Circuit by a third party.

  • November 14, 2024

    Calif. Privacy Agency Inks 1st Settlements With Data Brokers

    The California Privacy Protection Agency has issued its first monetary penalties in its almost four-year existence, announcing Thursday that a pair of data brokers would pay nearly $70,000 to resolve claims that they failed to comply with the registration requirements of a groundbreaking state data deletion law. 

  • November 14, 2024

    Florida AG Says FEMA Failed Trump Supporters After Storms

    The Florida Attorney General's Office announced Thursday it has launched a federal lawsuit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency's administrator and a fired agency official over an alleged directive instructing hurricane relief workers to avoid homes displaying signs in support of President-elect Donald Trump.

  • November 14, 2024

    Kraft Mac & Cheese Artificial Ingredients Claims Survive

    An Illinois federal judge said Wednesday that Kraft Heinz Co. can't escape a proposed class action alleging that its Kraft macaroni and cheese products, which are labeled as containing no artificial preservatives, actually do contain those artificial ingredients.

  • November 14, 2024

    CFPB Orders Prison Telecom, Payment Provider To Pay $3M

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Thursday it has instructed one of the largest prison service providers to pay $3 million to settle claims tied to the company's money transfer and telecommunications businesses, including a claim alleging it froze and drained incarcerated individuals' accounts.

  • November 14, 2024

    'The World Has Changed': Google's $700M Deal Gets 2nd Look

    The California federal judge considering Google's $700 million antitrust deal with states and consumers told plaintiffs' counsel Thursday to review the settlement terms to ensure that they comport with Google Play store changes he ordered in Epic Games' separate lawsuit, saying "the world has changed" since they struck the deal.

  • November 14, 2024

    Hasbro's Excess Toy Inventory Tanked Stock, Suit Says

    Toy and entertainment company Hasbro Inc. has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging it falsely portrayed high inventory levels as a protective measure against supply chain issues despite knowing its inventory far exceeded actual consumer demand.

  • November 14, 2024

    MDL Counsel Present Deal With FTX Estate To Fla. Court

    Counsel for plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation over the collapse of cryptocurrency trading platform FTX Trading Ltd. told a Florida federal judge Thursday that they have reached a deal with the FTX estate in bankruptcy.

  • November 14, 2024

    Hemp Companies Take NJ Challenge To 3rd Circ.

    A group of companies that manufacture and sell hemp products is urging the Third Circuit to take a second look at an order that blocked part of a New Jersey law that regulates the sale of intoxicating hemp products, despite seemingly scoring a favorable outcome at the trial level.

  • November 14, 2024

    Crypto And Private Fund Groups Push SEC On Dealer Rule

    Crypto industry groups and private fund associations tag-teamed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday during a hearing over two cases relating to the agency's expanded definition of securities dealers, telling a Texas federal court that the new rule marked a dramatic overreach by the regulator.

  • November 14, 2024

    Scooter Victim Can't Show Lime Had Duty Of Care, Panel Says

    A Colorado Court of Appeals panel on Thursday affirmed the dismissal of a woman's negligence suit against an electric scooter company after she was hit by a scooter driver, finding the company's decision to rent out the scooters does not create a duty to protect the public from people's unsafe use of them.

  • November 14, 2024

    FCC Extends Freeze On Rate Of Return Carrier Cost Rules

    A long-running freeze on a wireline cost allocation regime has been extended by the Federal Communications Commission for another six years, with the agency saying that it's finally time to explore making the fix permanent after nearly a quarter century of temporary freezes.

  • November 14, 2024

    NYC Speeds Away From Taxi Drivers' RICO Claim

    New York City and its transportation officials have escaped a racketeering suit filed by New York cabdrivers that accused them of artificially pumping the value of taxi licenses, a federal judge ruled, saying that drivers failed to show that awarding them money would prevent others from becoming victims of the same allegedly "fraudulent scheme."

Expert Analysis

  • How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment

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    Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.

  • Where Can Privacy Plaintiffs Sue When Injury Is Online?

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    Website owners need to understand wiretapping laws to understand whether they may be sued for activity tracking in California or Pennsylvania courts, where the statutory damages for violations of half-century-old laws can be substantial — and a recent Third Circuit decision suggests establishing specific jurisdiction is not as easy as 1-2-3, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity

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    Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.

  • Crypto.com's Suit Against SEC Could Hold Major Implications

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    Crypto.com's recent lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could affect the operation and regulation of crypto markets in the U.S., potentially raising more questions about the SEC's authority to regulate the industry when it's unclear whether another agency is ready to assume it, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • How DOJ's Visa Debit Monopolization Suit May Unfold

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recently filed Section 2 monopolization suit against Visa offers several scenarios for a vigorous case and is likely to reveal some of the challenges faced by antitrust plaintiffs following the U.S. Supreme Court's split 2018 American Express decision, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules

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    The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

  • Fluoride Ruling Charts Path To Bypass EPA Risk Evaluations

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    A California federal court's recent ruling in Food and Water Watch v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ordering the agency to address the public health risks of fluoridated drinking water, establishes a road map for other citizen petitioners to bypass the EPA's formal risk evaluation process, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

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    The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.

  • Inside FTC's Decision To Exit Key Merger Review Labor Memo

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    Despite the Federal Trade Commission's recent withdrawal from a multiagency memorandum of understanding to step up enforcement of labor issues in merger investigations, the antitrust agencies aren't likely to give up their labor market focus, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • FDIC Guidance Puts Next-Gen ATMs In Regulatory Spotlight

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    The boring existence of ATMs is changing thanks to the emergence of new-age interactive teller machines, prompting the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to sound off in a potentially influential August letter to branches on which services might need regulatory approval, says Thomas Walker at Jones Walker.

  • 7 Tips To Help Your Witness Be A Cross-Exam Heavyweight

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    Because jurors tend to pay a little more attention to cross-examination, attorneys should train their witnesses to strike a balance — making it tough for opposing counsel to make their side’s case, without coming across as difficult to the jury, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Understanding New ACH Network Anti-Fraud Rules

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    Many of the National Automated Clearing House Association’s recent amendments to ACH network risk management rules went into effect this month, so financial institutions and corporations must review and update their internal policies as needed, says Aisha Hall at Taft.

  • 6 Tips For Cos. Facing Service Provider Cyber Incidents

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    When a third-party service provider experiences a cybersecurity incident, businesses may wonder if their information is compromised and if their systems are safe, but there are certain steps that can help businesses prepare for and respond to targeted attacks on vendors, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Unpacking State AG Approaches To Digital Asset Enforcement

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    Attorneys at Cozen O'Connor survey recent digital asset enforcement by attorneys general nationwide driven by concerns over regulatory gaps where technological developments and market changes have outpaced legislation.

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