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Consumer Protection
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January 07, 2025
DOJ Ropes Landlords Into RealPage Antitrust Case
The U.S. Department of Justice dramatically expanded its antitrust case against RealPage on Tuesday, accusing half a dozen residential landlords of using the software company's tools to coordinate rental rates while reaching a settlement with one of the property owners.
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January 07, 2025
Robot Toy Co. Slams Pa. AG's Unpaid Refund Claims
A company that makes robotic toys argued that most of the Pennsylvania attorney general's claims that it didn't deliver on preordered robots or refunds were outdated or false, and asked a state court to dismiss the suit against it and its former CEO.
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January 07, 2025
CFPB Accuses Experian Of 'Sham' Dispute Investigations
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday sued credit reporting giant Experian in California federal court, alleging it conducts shoddy investigations into consumer-flagged reporting errors and allows previously deleted errors to reappear.
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January 07, 2025
FTC Imposes Record $5.6M 'Gun Jumping' Penalty On Oil Deal
The Federal Trade Commission brought a rare merger "gun jumping" action Tuesday under which Verdun Oil Co. will pay $5.6 million for exerting control over EP Energy LLC before the mandatory waiting period under U.S. antitrust law expired and its purchase of the company closed.
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January 07, 2025
CFPB Adopts Rule To Take Medical Debt Off Credit Reports
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moved ahead Tuesday with plans to restrict the use of medical debt information in credit scoring and lending, finalizing a rule that it said will take an estimated $49 billion in unpaid medical bills off consumers' credit reports.
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January 06, 2025
Exxon Says Calif. AG, Green Groups Defamed Recycling Effort
Exxon Mobil Corp. claims California's attorney general and a coalition of conservation groups have disparaged its reputation by declaring that the petrochemical company misled people about the effectiveness of plastic recycling and that its "advanced recycling" doesn't mitigate the problem, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Texas federal court.
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January 06, 2025
Trump Selects Long Island Judge For EDNY's Top Prosecutor
President-elect Donald Trump, who was born in Queens, has picked a Long Island state court judge to serve as the next U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, according to an announcement made Monday on Truth Social.
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January 06, 2025
9th Circ. Urged To Extend Freeze On Calif. Social Media Law
Tech trade group NetChoice is pressing the Ninth Circuit to stop California from beginning enforcement of a new social media addiction law on Feb. 1, arguing that the lower court "flouted" precedent when it refused to find that restricting minors' access to personalized feeds violates the First Amendment.
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January 06, 2025
FTC Urges Individuals And Cos. To Exercise Caution With AI
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Friday encouraged individuals and companies to exercise caution when it comes to interacting with and deploying so-called artificial intelligence systems and tools, citing the potential for various "real-world instances of harm," including privacy and security risks.
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January 06, 2025
LinkedIn Beats Federal Privacy Claims In Suit Over DMV Info
A California federal judge has again freed LinkedIn from proposed class allegations it violated federal protections on licensed drivers' personal information, saying a LinkedIn user didn't sufficiently allege that her personal information was transmitted to the professional social media company from a Department of Motor Vehicle record.
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January 06, 2025
Medical Debt Suit Against Credit Bureaus Tossed, For Now
A California federal judge tossed a proposed class action accusing Equifax, Experian and TransUnion of violating antitrust law by agreeing to exclude medical debt under $500 from consumer credit reports, but the judge gave the medical providers that filed the suit a chance to amend their complaint.
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January 06, 2025
Victoria's Secret Hit With $5M Suit Over Fitting Room Denial
A nonbinary Victoria's Secret customer hit the clothing company and a store manager with a $5 million civil rights lawsuit in New York state court Monday, alleging the manager discriminated against them by refusing to let them use a fitting room and telling them they were "in fact, male."
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January 06, 2025
EPA Adds 9 PFAS To Its Toxics Release Inventory List
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency added nine so-called forever chemicals to the list of chemicals covered by its Toxics Release Inventory, or TRI, thereby requiring facilities that manufacture such chemicals above set quantities to report the amount they release into the environment.
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January 06, 2025
Live Nation Can't Get Intermission In Calif. Antitrust Case
A California federal judge overseeing a private antitrust case against Live Nation denied the company's bid Monday to pause the case for a government enforcement action, saying that the suit was filed first and that exceptions to the "first to file" rule do not apply.
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January 06, 2025
Another Building Contractor Agrees To End No-Hire Pacts
The Federal Trade Commission said Monday that Planned Building Services has agreed not to enforce terms in its contracts that prevent building owners from hiring the service contractor's workers, in a second recent case targeting the building services industry.
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January 06, 2025
Booksellers Say End Of Arkansas Law Means Win In Texas
A group of booksellers pointed to an Arkansas judge's ruling striking down a law creating a penalty for the distribution of certain books to minors Monday as it urged a Texas federal judge to reject a bid for a pretrial win in a dispute over a similar law in that state.
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January 06, 2025
Boeing, DOJ Given More Time To Rework 737 Max Plea Deal
The U.S. Department of Justice and The Boeing Co. have until mid-February to rework a plea agreement in the American aerospace giant's 737 Max criminal conspiracy case, a Texas federal judge ruled Saturday, ensuring that the incoming Trump administration will oversee final negotiations on any potential new deal.
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January 06, 2025
Google Looks To Toss Big Tech Litigant's Antitrust Claims
Google asked a Florida federal court on Monday to dismiss antitrust claims from web development company Greenflight over the search giant's reverse phone number lookup, saying the newly amended suit does not rectify the pleading problems already pointed out by the court.
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January 06, 2025
Nasdaq Gets SPAC Investor's Racial Bias Claims Tossed
A federal judge decided Monday to toss a suit from an investor in a minority-led special purpose acquisition company claiming the Nasdaq Stock Market participated in race-based discrimination against investors, saying the plaintiff fails to allege that its injuries were a direct result of Nasdaq's actions.
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January 06, 2025
FCC Requires Reports Following TV Program 'Blackouts'
The Federal Communications Commission has voted to require multichannel video program distributors to report when programming "blackouts" occur due to impasses in carriage talks with broadcasters.
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January 06, 2025
Mich. Residents Say Solar Investors Can't Arbitrate Fraud Suit
Michigan residents who allege Florida investment firms funded a company that duped them into buying defective solar panels have urged a federal judge to deny the firms' bid to arbitrate or dismiss the claims, saying the court has already rejected the investors' arguments.
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January 06, 2025
FCC Chief Floats Spectrum Sale To Fund Network Security
The outgoing head of the Federal Communications Commission on Monday proposed to quickly get a spectrum auction off the ground with proceeds going toward a key U.S. network security program.
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January 06, 2025
Amazon, Black & Decker Win $13M Default In Fake Battery Suit
A Seattle federal judge has awarded The Black & Decker Corp. $8 million and Amazon $5.2 million in a default judgment against two individuals using 17 different accounts to peddle counterfeit DeWalt-branded batteries through Amazon's online marketplace.
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January 06, 2025
No Fox Philly License Hearing Means 'Dereliction,' FCC Told
With just two weeks left before President-elect Donald Trump takes office and Republicans gain control of the Federal Communications Commission, a group of anti-Fox News advocates are calling out the commission for failing to hold any hearings on Fox's Philadelphia affiliate's license renewal.
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January 06, 2025
Judge Rejects Rape Kit Seller's 2nd Bid To Pause Wash. Ban
A Washington federal judge has denied a request for an injunction pending appeal by a company challenging the state's ban on the sale of "DIY" DNA collection kits for sexual assault survivors, reiterating his prior ruling that the law passes constitutional muster because it regulates conduct and not speech.
Expert Analysis
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8 Tech Tips For Stress-Free Remote Depositions
Court reporter Kelly D’Amico shares practical strategies for attorneys to conduct remote depositions with ease and troubleshoot any issues that arise, as it seems deposition-by-Zoom is here to stay after the pandemic.
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How To Safely Leverage AI In The Digital Assets Industry
Digital asset businesses that use or plan to implement artificial intelligence should assess their risk management frameworks to ensure that AI-related business areas, including customer support and fraud detection, are in compliance with applicable laws and regulatory guidance from the last year, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.
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What Cos. Can Learn from Water Microplastics Class Actions
Class actions against companies whose bottled spring water allegedly contains microplastics, challenging claims such as "natural" and "100% spring water," seem to be drying up — but these cases serve as a good reminder to other businesses to review regulatory standards, and carefully vet plaintiff allegations at the outset, say attorneys at Keller and Heckman.
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$3B TD Bank AML Settlement Is A Wake-Up Call For All Banks
TD Bank’s historic settlement over anti-money laundering violations, resulting in over $3 billion in penalties, reminds banks of all shapes and sizes why they need to take financial crime compliance seriously, and highlights three areas that may be especially vulnerable to enforcement, says Jack Harrington at Bradley Arant.
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Opinion
The Right Kind Of Deregulation In Commercial Airline Industry
Similar to the economic deregulation that occurred more than four decades ago during the Carter administration, the incoming Trump administration should restore the very limited federal regulatory role in the economics of the airline industry, says former U.S. transportation secretary James Burnley at Venable.
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Unpacking The CFPB's Personal Financial Data Final Rule
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's personal financial data rights rule includes several important changes from the proposed rule, and hundreds of pages of supplementary information that provide important insights into the manner in which the bureau will enforce the final rule, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Opinion
Feds May Have Overstepped In Suit Against Mortgage Lender
The U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit against Rocket Mortgage goes too far in attempting to combat racial bias and appears to fail on the fatal flaw that mortgage lenders should be at arm's length from appraisers, says Drew Ketterer at Ketterer & Ketterer.
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4 Ways Attorneys Can Emotionally Prepare For Trial
In the course of litigation, trial lawyers face a number of scenarios that can incite an emotional response, but formulating a mental game plan in advance of trial can help attorneys stay cool, calm and collected in the moment, says Rachel Lary at Lightfoot Franklin.
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The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule
Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.
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The AI Consumer Class Action Threat Is Not A Hallucination
As regulators scrutinize whether businesses can deliver on claims about their artificial intelligence products and services, the industry faces a wave of consumer fraud class actions — but AI companies can protect themselves by prioritizing fundamental best practices that are often overlooked, say Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein and Richard Torrenzano at the Torrenzano Group.
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Presidential Campaign Errors Provide Lessons For Trial Attys
Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign employed numerous strategies that evidently didn’t land, and trial attorneys should take note, because voters and jurors are both decision-makers who are listening for how one’s case presentation would affect them personally, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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The Do's And Don'ts Of Commercial Debt Under Calif. FDCPA
Lenders, servicers and attorneys collecting on their behalf should pay careful attention to the consumer protections under the newly expanded California Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that may apply going forward to some commercial debts, say attorneys at Womble Bond.
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Series
Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.
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Video Privacy Law Claims After 2nd Circ. NBA Ruling
The Second Circuit's recent ruling in Salazar v. National Basketball Association expanded the definition of what constitutes a consumer under the Video Privacy Protection Act, breathing new life into the law by making any newsletter subscriber to a platform that hosts video content a potential plaintiff, say attorneys at Clark Hill.
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Next Steps In The $2.8B Blue Cross Payout To Providers
Healthcare providers deciding whether to participate in Blue Cross Blue Shield network's recent $2.8 billion antitrust class action settlement must weigh key recovery factors, including provider type and litigation cost, say attorneys at Hall Render.