Consumer Protection

  • February 18, 2025

    Google Can't Stop Mass Arbitration Opt-Outs In Privacy Row

    A California federal judge has refused to block more than 69,000 consumers from opting out of a certified class action over the audio recording practices of Google's home devices in order to pursue their claims in individual arbitration, finding that the claimants had properly excluded themselves from the dispute.

  • February 18, 2025

    Delta Crash In Toronto, FAA Firings Upend Aviation Industry

    The harrowing crash of a Delta Air Lines passenger jet in Toronto on Monday, during which the plane caught fire, skidded across the runway with its wings broken off and flipped upside down, has upended an industry already rocked by a string of U.S. aviation accidents in the past month.

  • February 18, 2025

    CFPB Should Beat Suit Over Small Biz Loan Rule, Judge Says

    A Florida federal magistrate judge has recommended rejecting a trade group's challenge to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's small business lending data rule, finding that merchant cash advances are lawfully included within the scope of the rule, as the agency faces uncertainty under the Trump administration.

  • February 18, 2025

    Amazon Says Stalking Happened Before It Linked With Tile

    Amazon has asked a California federal court to throw out a proposed class action alleging that Bluetooth tracking devices sold via a partnership with Tile Inc. are dangerous because they empower stalkers, saying Amazon "played no role whatsoever" in the alleged conduct, which happened before Tile started working with it.

  • February 18, 2025

    Wash. AG Targets Alleged 'Probates For Profit' Plot

    The Washington State Attorney General's Office has launched a lawsuit in state court over a yearslong "probates for profit" scheme involving a group of people who allegedly commandeered the estates of strangers, sold their homes and walked away with millions of dollars that should have gone to heirs.

  • February 18, 2025

    Trump Exec Order Expands Control Over Independent Agencies

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to limit the autonomy of independent agencies such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Communications Commission by requiring them to submit draft regulations for presidential review.

  • February 18, 2025

    Coinbase Brass Face Investor Suit Over Firm's Legal Liabilities

    A Coinbase shareholder has sued the crypto exchange's executive officers and board members in New Jersey federal court on allegations they breached their fiduciary duties with disclosure failures and securities law violations that left the firm open to lawsuits and other events that jeopardized its financial condition to the detriment of shareholders.

  • February 18, 2025

    Net Neutrality Supporters Want 6th Circ. Redo On FCC Rule

    Public interest groups urged the full Sixth Circuit on Tuesday to reconsider toppling net neutrality rules, arguing that the court's holding conflicts with sister circuits' take on whether broadband providers can be regulated under the Telecommunications Act.

  • February 18, 2025

    Home Insurer Off The Hook In $750K Policy Lapse Dispute

    A Washington federal judge has tossed a suit seeking $750,000 in coverage from two Progressive units after a fire severely damaged a home, saying the homeowners had let the coverage expire by not paying premiums, even though the insurer's renewal notice was "not a paragon of clarity."

  • February 18, 2025

    OCC's Hood Eyes Mergers, Fintech In Agenda Preview

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's acting chief Rodney Hood on Tuesday pledged efforts to ease regulations for so-called community banks, previewing an agenda that includes making it easier for them to merge and explore financial technology.

  • February 18, 2025

    Studies Don't Show Zantac Cancer Risks, Jury Hears

    Taking Zantac does not cause prostate cancer, a Children's Hospital Colorado toxicologist testified Tuesday in two men's Illinois retrial of claims that taking the heartburn medication contributed to their diagnoses.

  • February 18, 2025

    IPhone Buyers Can't Get Apple DOJ Docs Before Discovery

    Apple doesn't have to turn over the millions of documents it gave the U.S. Department of Justice as part of a private monopolization suit brought by iPhone and Apple Watch buyers, at least not until discovery, a judge overseeing the recently created multidistrict litigation has said.

  • February 18, 2025

    Policyholders Win Bid To Preserve Records For Antitrust Suit

    Insurance policyholders who accused Hartford HealthCare Corp. of violating antitrust and unfair trade practices in a Connecticut state court can intervene in a federal court lawsuit with similar claims against the hospital network to preserve records for their class action, a federal district judge has ruled a month after the federal suit settled.

  • February 18, 2025

    Engine Co. Says Plane Crash Appeal Is Matter For NC Panel

    Aviation companies Avco Corp. and its subsidiary Lycoming Engines are urging a North Carolina appeals court to take up their bid seeking immunity from a civil lawsuit filed by families of victims killed in a 2015 plane crash, arguing that allowing a trial to go forward would cause "irreparable harm."

  • February 18, 2025

    Car Dealer Can't Depose Government In 'Deceptive' Price Suit

    A Nissan dealer cannot depose the Federal Trade Commission or the state of Connecticut in a dual enforcement action alleging that it charged consumers "deceptive" price add-ons, a federal magistrate judge has ruled, agreeing that the government had already provided all relevant discovery or was planning to do so.

  • February 18, 2025

    Meta Repeats Push To Halt Social Media Coverage Row In Del.

    Meta urged a Delaware federal court again to stay coverage proceedings over underlying claims it deliberately designed its platforms to be addictive to adolescents, noting the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation may soon transfer the case to California federal court, where the underlying litigation is taking place.

  • February 18, 2025

    Human Rights Atty Sees 'Serious Risks' Of Neural Data Abuse

    International human rights attorney Jared Genser spoke with Law360 Healthcare Authority about the "serious risks of misuse and abuse of neurotechnologies" that have led California and Colorado to expand their state consumer privacy laws in the last year to include neural data, with similar bills pending in Montana, Massachusetts and Illinois.

  • February 18, 2025

    DC Midair Collision Family Brings $250M Claims Against Gov't

    The family of a passenger killed in last month's midair collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a military helicopter put the federal government on notice that they're pursuing $250 million in personal injury and wrongful death claims over the accident, attorneys for the family said Tuesday.

  • February 18, 2025

    Stablecoin Firm Gets Securities Claim Cut From Class Action

    A New York federal judge has trimmed the securities claim from a putative class action brought by buyers of GMO-Z.com Trust's GYEN stablecoin who argued they suffered losses when the value of the digital asset temporarily fluctuated, but allowed the bulk of the consumer protection claims to move forward.

  • February 18, 2025

    Ferguson, DOJ Keep Biden-Era Merger Guides For 'Stability'

    Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson announced Tuesday that the agency would continue, for now, to use Biden-era merger review guidelines despite them being derided by business interests because he said they are largely "a restatement" of older policies.

  • February 18, 2025

    State AGs Can't Yet Block Musk From Accessing Agency Data

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Tuesday denied a motion from 14 state attorneys general for an emergency order to stop Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency from accessing data systems at seven federal agencies or enacting mass firings of those agencies' employees.

  • February 18, 2025

    Calif. Bill Takes Aim At Online Hemp, Cannabis Sales

    California state Senator Scott Wiener has introduced a bill to restrict the online sale of unlicensed hemp and cannabis products in the state, saying the illicit market is hampering the state's licensed, legal market for products.

  • February 18, 2025

    Calif. Insurance Chief Asks State Farm To Justify Rate Hikes

    California's insurance commissioner asked State Farm General Insurance Co. to appear for an in-person "informal conference" later this month over its request for emergency rate hikes in the wake of the deadly Los Angeles wildfires in January, saying the insurer has not yet justified the move.

  • February 18, 2025

    Sidley Expands In Calif. With Latham Emerging Cos. Atty

    Sidley Austin LLP is expanding its West Coast team, bringing in a Latham & Watkins LLP emerging companies specialist as a partner in its San Francisco Bay Area offices.

  • February 14, 2025

    Judge Slams The Brakes On Peloton Bike Recall Claims

    A New York federal judge threw out, for now, a proposed investor action alleging Peloton overstated the safety of its bikes before 2.2 million products were recalled over a bike seat defect, ruling that the shareholders haven't adequately alleged the exercise company made any misleading statements.

Expert Analysis

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Opinion

    In Visa Case, DOJ Continues To Misapply The Sherman Act

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    The recent U.S. Department of Justice debit market monopolization case against Visa fuels concerns that a misguided Biden administration DOJ is inappropriately expanding its interpretation of the Sherman Antitrust Act beyond the demonstrable economic effects that business conduct has on consumers, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • Call For Input Shows How Banks, Fintechs Can Address Risks

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    A recent request for information by federal banking regulators suggests that watchdogs are zeroing in on the bank-fintech partnerships they have long perceived as risky to consumers, but analyzing the publication can help companies anticipate regulators’ chief concerns and take steps to avoid becoming enforcement targets, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Curious Case Of FTC's Amicus Brief In Teva Fed. Circ. Appeal

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    Attorneys at BCLP explore the Federal Trade Commission's backing of Amneal's Orange Book-delisting efforts on Teva ahead of a key Federal Circuit hearing in a case between the two pharmaceutical companies, and wonder if the FTC amicus brief indicates a future trend, especially in the next administration.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

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    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How New OCC Priorities Will Affect Bank Compliance

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    With the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently releasing a new bank supervision plan for fiscal year 2025, all banks, not only those primarily supervised by the OCC, should consider how compliance with its guidelines creates opportunities and challenges, says Andrew Karp at Cadwalader.

  • Comparing Antitrust Outlooks Amid Google Remedy Review

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    As the U.S. Justice Department mulls potential structural remedies after winning its recent case against Google, increased global scrutiny of Big Tech leaves ex post and ex ante antitrust approaches ripe for evaluation, say Nishant Chadha at the Indian School of Business and Manisha Goel at Pomona College.

  • Website Accessibility Ruling Leaves Circuit Split Unresolved

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    A New York federal court's recent decision in Mejia v. High Brew Coffee, holding that stand-alone websites are not "public accommodations" subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, further complicates a long-running circuit split on this question — even as courts are burdened with thousands of similar lawsuits, say attorneys at Mandelbaum Barrett.

  • What FTC's 'Bitcoin ATM' Report Tells Us About Crypto Scams

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent insights into bitcoin ATM scams highlight the technical evolution of fraudsters, the application of old scams to new technology, and the persistent financial impact on victims, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • A Look At Grewal's Record-Breaking Legacy After SEC Exit

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    Gurbir Grewal resigned as director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement last month after more than three years on the job, leaving behind a legacy marked by record numbers of penalties and enforcement actions, as well as mixed results in aggressive lawsuits against major crypto players, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being

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    As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.

  • Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes

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    Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.

  • A Look At The Increased Scrutiny Of Cash Sweep Programs

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    Financial industry regulators have increasingly probed the adequacy of so-called cash sweep disclosures and policies, underscoring the heightened risk faced by investment advisers and broker-dealers, as well as the importance of adequately disclosing material conflicts of interest, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Series

    Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

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