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Consumer Protection
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August 21, 2024
FTC Fails 1st Test Of Rulemaking Push In Noncompetes Loss
The Federal Trade Commission suffered its first definitive loss Tuesday in the push to ban employment noncompete agreements, although the decision probably isn't the final word given a likely appeal and two other pending challenges also viewed as a test of the agency's efforts to expand its rulemaking footprint.
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August 21, 2024
8th Circ. Reboots Fed Swipe Fee Suit After High Court Ruling
An Eighth Circuit panel on Wednesday remanded a suit challenging Federal Reserve debit card swipe fee rules, ordering new proceedings in the case after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was not untimely after all.
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August 21, 2024
Student Loan Trusts Rip 'Aggressive' CFPB In High Court Bid
Fifteen Delaware student loan trusts have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to rescue them from a long-running Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement lawsuit, asking to appeal a Third Circuit decision that said the securitization vehicles were subject to the agency's authority.
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August 21, 2024
Alaska Air Seeks Clarification In Rogue Pilot Case
Alaska Airlines has urged a Washington state judge to clear up his decision to partially dismiss a lawsuit alleging an off-duty crew member tried to crash a flight in October, saying the ruling doesn't clearly state the passengers suing the company can no longer pursue claims rooted in federal aviation safety regulations.
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August 21, 2024
Telecom Will Pay $1M For Carrying Biden Deepfake Robocalls
Lingo Telecom will pay the FCC $1 million for not properly validating the caller ID information of a Democratic consultant who used a deepfake of President Joe Biden's voice to make robocalls urging voters not to participate in the New Hampshire primary, the commission announced Wednesday.
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August 21, 2024
Split 6th Circ. Partly Revives GM Drivers' Truck Emissions Suits
A divided Sixth Circuit panel on Wednesday revived drivers' state-law claims in consolidated litigation alleging General Motors deceptively marketed Chevrolet Silverado and Sierra vehicles as being more environmentally friendly than they actually were, rejecting a district court's finding that the claims conflicted with federal law.
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August 21, 2024
AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile Accused Of Blocking Wi-Fi Calling
A patent-holding company said Wednesday it has filed a lawsuit accusing AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom of blocking the emergence of a market for Wi-Fi calling by tying the service to voice and text offerings.
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August 21, 2024
Fla. Real Estate Co.'s Assets Frozen After $56M Ponzi Claims
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has secured an asset freeze in its suit against a Florida-based real estate investment company whose managers misused tens of millions of investor proceeds, including by paying investors "in a Ponzi-like fashion."
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August 21, 2024
Prometheum Plans To Support Two More Crypto 'Securities'
A cryptocurrency startup approved to safeguard crypto securities said Wednesday that it plans to support the tokens UNI and ARB when it launches in the fall, indicating it believes the digital assets implicate securities laws.
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August 21, 2024
Spine Implant Caused Patient's TB, Suit Says
A North Carolina couple on Tuesday hit biologic technology company Elutia Inc. with a complaint in federal court alleging that the husband contracted tuberculosis from a bone cell product that was implanted into his spine during surgery.
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August 21, 2024
Binance Users Settle With Miami Heat Star, Crypto Influencer
Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler and crypto influencer Ben Armstrong have agreed to pay a combined $340,000 to settle proposed class claims from Binance investors that their promotion of the crypto exchange aided and abetted unregistered securities sales.
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August 21, 2024
DraftKings Can't Dodge Bettors' Claims Over $1K Bonus Offer
DraftKings cannot walk away from a proposed class action accusing the online sports betting platform of luring new customers with a deceptive offer to pay them $1,000 for signing up, a Massachusetts state court judge ruled in a decision made public Wednesday.
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August 21, 2024
TransUnion Bid For CFPB Docs In Settlement Case Tossed
A magistrate judge has ruled that TransUnion will not be able to access documents relating to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement action against the credit bureau, reasoning that TransUnion was not able to prove that the documents should not be protected by privilege.
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August 21, 2024
Staffing Co. Can't Duck Class Claims In Biometric Privacy Row
An Illinois federal judge ruled Monday that a staffing company must face most claims brought by employees alleging it violated Illinois' biometric privacy law by collecting their fingerprints for timekeeping without first securing their written, informed consent, and said it would be premature to grant the company's bid to strike the class allegations.
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August 21, 2024
Contractor, Manager Settle Hartford HealthCare No-Poach Suit
A New Jersey company that manages a sleep clinic in a Connecticut hospital has settled a former clinic manager's lawsuit alleging the company improperly prevented him from getting a job with the hospital's new owner after it fired him.
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August 21, 2024
Car Buyers Say Claims Are Tolled Because GM Hid Defects
A proposed class of car buyers is urging a Michigan federal court not to dismiss their suit claiming General Motors sold vehicles with defective transmissions, saying the automaker hid the defect, so they couldn't have discovered it until recently.
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August 21, 2024
FTC Can't Stop $8.5B Merger, Handbag Cos. Say
The owners of Coach and Michael Kors urged a New York federal court not to pause their planned $8.5 billion merger, saying a challenge from the Federal Trade Commission ignores the hundreds of options consumers have when shopping for handbags.
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August 21, 2024
Paxton Issues Warrants To Texas Counties In Election Inquiry
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Wednesday that his office had executed multiple search warrants in Frio, Atascosa, and Bexar counties as part of an ongoing investigation into election integrity.
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August 21, 2024
Calif. AG Secures Rite Aid Deal Ensuring Pharmacy Access
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has announced a settlement with Rite Aid Corp. that will allow his office to oversee any changes in ownership of the company's retail pharmacy outlets across the state.
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August 21, 2024
BofA Gag Clause Suit Heads For 9th Circ. After 2nd Dismissal
A group of consumers who sued Bank of America for allegedly using improper nondisparagement clauses in its online service agreements moved Tuesday to take their case to the Ninth Circuit after a California federal judge threw it out for a second time last month.
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August 20, 2024
Mango Markets Crypto Platform Voting On SEC Settlement
The entity behind cryptocurrency exchange Mango Markets appears to be gearing up to propose a settlement to resolve an inquiry from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after a more than $100 million exploit on the trading platform drew regulators' attention.
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August 20, 2024
SEC Fines Equiniti Trust After Cyberattacks Stole $6.6M
New York-based Equiniti Trust Co. has agreed to pay a $850,000 fine over claims it did not safeguard clients' funds from two cyber intrusion incidents that resulted in over $6 million in total losses, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday.
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August 20, 2024
9th Circ. Revives Google Chrome Users' Data Privacy Suit
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday reversed the dismissal of a proposed class action accusing Google of surreptitiously collecting Chrome users' data, finding that the lower court had relied on the incorrect standard in determining whether a "reasonable" consumer would think they had consented to the disputed practice.
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August 20, 2024
FCC Urged To Boost Middle-Mile Support For Alaska Telecoms
Alaskan telecoms are telling the Federal Communications Commission that their state needs special rules for middle-mile support, saying that Alaska's short construction season, roadless areas and other unique challenges mean that more support will be needed to achieve widespread connectivity.
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August 20, 2024
Don't Nix 'Band Manager' Approach In 4.9 GHz, FCC Told
Public interest groups have urged the Federal Communications Commission to preserve its original plan to use a national band manager to oversee a 4.9 gigahertz spectrum revamp rather than turning it over to FirstNet through a nationwide license.
Expert Analysis
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How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act
In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.
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FTC Drives Crackdown On Connected Cars' Data Privacy Risk
After the Federal Trade Commission's warning to automakers about data privacy, which continues to emerge as a national concern, automakers must carefully examine their data collection, use and retention practices, say Catherine Castaldo and Michael Rubayo at Reed Smith.
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Jarkesy May Thwart Consumer Agencies' Civil Penalty Power
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy not only implicates future SEC administrative adjudications, but those of other agencies that operate similarly — and may stymie regulators' efforts to levy civil monetary penalties in a range of consumer protection enforcement actions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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How Courts Split On Damages Analysis In Automotive Suits
As high-profile vehicle recalls and lawsuits alleging vehicle defects surge, many plaintiffs are turning to choice-based conjoint analysis to calculate damages, but a review of federal district court decisions reveals a range of views on the validity of this methodology, say Joshua Hochberg and Shireen Meer at Berkeley Research.
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Considerations As State AGs Step Up Privacy Enforcement
As new state privacy laws take effect, businesses are facing an increasingly complex patchwork of compliance obligations and risk of scrutiny by attorneys general, but companies can gain a competitive edge by building consumer trust and staying ahead of regulatory trends, say Ann-Marie Luciano and Meghan Stoppel at Cozen O’Connor.
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2 Vital Trial Principles Endure Amid Tech Advances
Progress in trial technologies in the last 10 years has been transformative for courtroom presentations, but two core communication axioms are still relevant in today's world of drone footage evidence and 3D animations, say Adam Bloomberg and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
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Lessons From Rising Fake Discount Consumer Class Actions
Ellen Robbins and Scott Allbright at Akerman discuss the rise of false reference price consumer class actions and outline key strategies to minimize legal risk and protect businesses.
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How Cos. With Chinese Suppliers Should Prep For Biotech Bill
A proposed bill to prohibit government-affiliated life sciences companies from contracting with Chinese biotech companies of concern may necessitate switching to other sources for research and supplies, meaning they should begin evaluating supply chains now due to the long lead times of drug development, say John O'Loughlin and Christina Carone at Weil Gotshal.
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Classwide Calculations May Get Price Premium Damages Wrong
In many consumer class actions, plaintiffs assert that they overpaid for a product because of a misrepresented or defective product feature, and that a single price premium estimate can be applied classwide — but failure to account for differences in price premiums across a putative class may lead to improper damage awards, say economists at Ankura Consulting.
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Opinion
Texas Judges Ignored ERISA's Core To Stall Fiduciary Rule
Two recent rulings from Texas federal courts, which rely on a plainly wrong reading of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to effectively strike a forthcoming rule that would impose functional fiduciary duties onto sellers of investment services, may expose financially unsophisticated 401(k) participants to peddlers of misleading advice, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Inside OCC's Retail Nondeposit Investment Products Refresh
In addition to clarifying safe and sound risk management practices generally, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's revised booklet on retail nondeposit investment products updates its guidance around certain sales practices in light of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's adoption of Regulation Best Interest, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Loper Fuels Debate Over Merchant Cash Advances As Credit
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent rejection of the Chevron doctrine in Loper Bright may escalate a Florida federal court dispute between the Revenue Based Finance Coalition and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over whether merchant cash advances should be considered credit under the Dodd-Frank Act, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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FTC's Drug Middlemen Probe Highlights Ongoing Scrutiny
The Federal Trade Commission's interim staff report on its inquiry into pharmacy benefit managers suggests that the industry will remain under an enforcement microscope for the foreseeable future due to concerns about how PBMs affect drug costs and accessibility, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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6 Factors That Can Make For A 'Nuclear' Juror
Drawing from recent research that examines the rise in nuclear verdicts, Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies identifies a few juror characteristics most likely to matter in assessing case risk and preparing for jury selection — some of which are long-known, and others that are emerging post-pandemic.