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Consumer Protection
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October 18, 2024
Timeshare Co. Preyed On Fla. Servicemember, High Court Told
A Florida U.S. Army soldier and his wife petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to review their case against Bluegreen Vacations Unlimited Inc., disputing that his contract isn't legal under the Military Lending Act because the company used predatory tactics to sell him a timeshare.
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October 18, 2024
False Ad Suit Trimmed Over 'Non-Drowsy' Albertsons Meds
An Illinois federal judge on Thursday refused to strike class claims that Albertsons markets and sells cough medicine labeled as "non-drowsy" that does in fact cause drowsiness, but threw out breach of warranty claims because the lead plaintiff failed to give the company adequate notice before filing suit.
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October 18, 2024
Cos. Say Brokerage Startup's NAR Listing Rules Suit Is Stale
HomeServices of America Inc. and HSF Affiliates LLC told a Utah federal court on Friday to toss a residential brokerage startup's antitrust suit that accused them, multiple brokerages and the National Association of Realtors of conspiring to block the startup from NAR's multiple listing services.
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October 18, 2024
FTC Won't Disqualify ALJ in H&R Block False Ad Fight
The Federal Trade Commission denied a request by H&R Block to stop an administrative law judge from overseeing a proceeding that accuses the tax preparation company of deceptive advertising, saying Friday that ALJs don't have unconstitutional job protections as the company claimed.
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October 18, 2024
Credit Suisse, PwC Fight Bondholders' Separate Merger Suits
Credit Suisse and PwC have urged a New York federal judge to toss a proposed class action alleging that they concealed the impact of quarterly losses and the bank's inability to retain client funds leading up to its takeover by UBS AG, saying the plaintiff launched the suit to circumvent its rejected bid to be lead plaintiff in a similar suit.
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October 18, 2024
Vorys Slams 'Copycat' Firms Trying To Lead Antitrust Suit
Vorys Sater Seymour and Pease LLP is opposing a bid from Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Bucher Law PLLC to take the lead in a proposed consumer class action against gaming giant Valve Corp., saying the firms just "piggybacked" off Vorys' work in an identical suit.
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October 18, 2024
Grocery Co. Sued Over 'Naturally Flavored' Cereal Bars Label
North Carolina-based supermarket chain Harris Teeter was hit with a proposed class action alleging its fruit-flavored cereal bars aren't "naturally flavored" like the packaging claims, but instead contain a flavoring that is derived from a petroleum substrate.
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October 18, 2024
Ohio High Court Restores Developer's FHA Penalty Suit
The Ohio Supreme Court has revived a developer's attempt to recoup some of a Fair Housing Act penalty from franchisees who built inaccessible multifamily housing, finding Friday the lower courts jumped the gun when they found the developer's claims were preempted by the FHA.
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October 18, 2024
Enforcers Fight RealPage Transfer Bid In Rent-Fixing Case
Enforcers urged a North Carolina federal court not to transfer the government's antitrust case against RealPage to the Tennessee court overseeing similar private cases, saying Congress has made it clear that public antitrust actions should not be roped into multidistrict litigation.
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October 18, 2024
Fake 'Hollywood Reporter' Scams Job Seekers, Mass. AG Says
Scammers posing as the publishers of entertainment industry trade publication The Hollywood Reporter created an impostor website to lure job seekers into a cryptocurrency fraud scheme, the Massachusetts attorney general alleged in a complaint Friday.
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October 18, 2024
Crypto Coder Asks 2nd Circ. To Delay Expert Witness Reveal
The founder of cryptocurrency service provider Tornado Cash urged the Second Circuit on Friday to pause a district court judge's order for him to disclose who he might call as an expert witness at an upcoming money laundering and sanctions trial.
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October 18, 2024
AGs Slam 4th Circ. Bid To Restore NC Abortion Drug Limits
In a joint amicus brief to the Fourth Circuit, a coalition of 17 states and the District of Columbia has said the abortion drug mifepristone is a part of women's reproductive healthcare, assailing the "needless" limits that states including North Carolina have sought to impose on the drug's access.
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October 18, 2024
Chemical Cos. Say Firefighter Didn't Fix Standing In PFAS Suit
3M Co. and two other chemical firms urged an Ohio federal judge to dismiss a firefighter's revised lawsuit over so-called forever chemicals, arguing that the allegations are plagued by the same shortcomings the Sixth Circuit flagged when it vacated class certification last year.
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October 18, 2024
Google Play Store Injunction Paused To Let 9th Circ. Weigh In
A California federal judge on Friday briefly paused his injunction requiring Google to open up its Play Store to competition while the tech giant seeks an emergency stay of the injunction at the Ninth Circuit, where it's appealing a jury verdict that it illegally monopolized the Android app distribution and payment market.
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October 18, 2024
FTC Probing John Deere Over Right-To-Repair Policies
The Federal Trade Commission is investigating concerns that John Deere unlawfully restricts the repair of its farm equipment, as the company continues to face private litigation over its right-to-repair policies.
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October 18, 2024
Off The Bench: Wemby Suit, Antitrust Fights In NASCAR, MMA
In this week's Off The Bench, NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama sues over illicit merchandise bearing his likeness, while antitrust litigation rocks NASCAR and mixed martial arts promotion Bellator.
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October 18, 2024
Class Sues Fisher-Price Over Swing Linked To 5 Deaths
A proposed class of parents is suing Fisher-Price Inc. and its parent company Mattel Inc. over an infant swing recalled last week after five infants died while using it to sleep, alleging that the recall is inadequate and that the company failed to disclose the risks.
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October 18, 2024
Podcast Co. Hit With Class Action Over Unwanted Texts
Financial advice podcast network Earn Your Leisure was hit with a proposed class action Thursday by a Georgia woman who says the company harassed her and other members of the National Do Not Call Registry with soliciting text messages.
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October 18, 2024
Fantasy Sports Sites Crossed Line Into Betting, Suit Says
Yahoo Fantasy Sports, PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy have been hit with a lawsuit seeking to recover potentially millions of dollars in "pick 'em" bets and other wagers placed by Massachusetts players directly with the platforms, which are not licensed to offer sports betting in the state.
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October 18, 2024
Hemp Industry Group Sues Louisiana Officials Over New Law
Louisiana hemp interests on Friday filed a federal lawsuit against the governor and attorney general challenging a new state law meant to rein in intoxicating hemp products, alleging the new policy runs afoul of the federal law that legalized hemp nationally.
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October 18, 2024
FTC Faces More Pressure To Block $16.5B Novo-Catalent Deal
A dozen advocacy groups are pushing the Federal Trade Commission to block Novo Holdings' planned $16.5 billion purchase of Catalent, arguing that the deal would stifle competition for certain obesity and gene therapy drugs — and that no remedy can fix that.
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October 18, 2024
JPMorgan Says Trial 'Needless' After Couple Loses $20M Suit
JPMorgan Chase Bank NA told a Massachusetts federal judge Thursday there is no need for a two-week trial on the bank's counterclaims after it scored a pretrial win in a suit brought by an elderly couple who said bad investments cost them $20 million.
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October 18, 2024
Tesla Car's Pedestrian Crash Opens NHTSA Death Probe
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday said that it is investigating Tesla's self-driving systems after several accidents, including one that struck and killed a pedestrian.
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October 17, 2024
Apple's $20M Watch Defect Deal Lacks Info, Judge Says
A California federal judge has declined to preliminarily approve Apple's $20 million deal to resolve a proposed class action alleging certain Apple Watches have a battery defect that can cause serious injuries, ordering counsel to submit additional information, including details on the lawsuit's maximum value if consumers win at trial.
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October 17, 2024
Monsanto Again Seeks Pause As Seattle PCB Trial Begins
Monsanto is continuing its appellate bid to put off a chemical poisoning trial already underway in Washington state court as the plaintiffs told a Seattle jury on Thursday the company owes them more than $450 million, in the 10th such trial tied to an Evergreen State school.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
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A Look At The Regulatory Scrutiny Facing Liquid Restaking
Recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions highlight the regulatory challenges facing emerging financial instruments like liquid restaking tokens and services, say Daniel Davis and Alexander Kim at Katten.
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Considerations When Using Publicly Available Data To Train AI
To maximize the benefits and mitigate the risks of using publicly available data to train artificial intelligence models, companies should maintain a balance between openness and protection, and consider certain best practices, says Michael Cole at Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America.
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Del. Dispatch: Director Caremark Claims Need Extreme Facts
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently dismissed Caremark claims against the directors of Centene in Bricklayers Pension Fund of Western Pennsylvania v. Brinkley, indicating a high bar for a finding of the required element of bad faith for Caremark liability, and stressing the need to resist hindsight bias, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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Illinois BIPA Reform Offers Welcome Relief To Businesses
Illinois' recent amendment to its Biometric Information Privacy Act limits the number of violations and damages a plaintiff can claim — a crucial step in shielding businesses from unintended legal consequences, including litigation risk and compliance costs, say attorneys at Taft.
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Gilead Drug Ruling Creates Corporate Governance Dilemma
If upheld, a California state appellate court's decision — finding that Gilead is liable for delaying commercialization of a safer HIV drug to maximize profits on another drug — threatens to undermine long-standing rules of corporate law and exposes companies to liability for decisions based on sound business judgment, says Shireen Barday at Pallas.
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Class Action Law Makes An LLC A 'Jurisdictional Platypus'
The applicability of Section 1332(d)(10) of the Class Action Fairness Act is still widely misunderstood — and given the ambiguous nature of limited liability companies, the law will likely continue to confound courts and litigants — so parties should be prepared for a range of outcomes, says Andrew Gunem at Strauss Borrelli.
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Unpacking The Latest FTC Guidance On Multilevel Marketing
Branko Jovanovic and Monica Zhong at Edgeworth Economics discuss the Federal Trade Commission's recent advice for multilevel marketers on how MLMs should approach their income and earnings reports, including participants costs, typical proceeds and distributor gains.
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3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.
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Attorneys Can Benefit From Reverse-Engineering Their Cases
Trial advocacy programs often teach lawyers to loosely track the progression of a lawsuit during preparation — case analysis, then direct examination, then cross-examination, openings and closings — but reverse-engineering cases by working backward from opening and closing statements can streamline the process and also improve case strategy, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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How Justices' E-Rate Decision May Affect Scope Of FCA
The U.S. Supreme Court’s eventual decision in Wisconsin Bell v. U.S., determining whether reimbursements paid by the E-rate program are "claims" under the False Claims Act, may affect other federal programs that do not require payments to be made by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, says David Colapinto at Kohn Kohn.
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How Courts' Differing Views On Standing Affect PFAS Claims
Two recent opinions from New York federal courts — in Lurenz v. Coca-Cola, and Winans v. Ornua Foods North America — illustrate how pivotal the differing views on standing held by different courts will be for product liability litigation involving per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, particularly consumer claims, say attorneys at Hollingsworth.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents
Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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How To Deploy AI In A Dangerous Threat Landscape
Businesses are feeling immense pressure to deploy generative artificial intelligence tools to accelerate profits and demonstrate their technological superiority to investors and consumers, and there are a few steps they can take when using AI tools to mitigate liability risks, say B. Stephanie Siegmann and Julianna Malogolowkin at Hinckley Allen.