Consumer Protection

  • July 02, 2024

    Apple Says It's Too Early For Discovery In DOJ Antitrust Case

    There's no need to get the ball rolling on discovery in the U.S. Department of Justice's case accusing Apple of monopolizing the smartphone market until the New Jersey federal court overseeing the case decides if it's going to dismiss it entirely, the tech giant argued.

  • July 02, 2024

    Amazon Must Face Wiretapping Class Suit, Wash. Judge Says

    A Washington federal judge said Tuesday that Amazon can't dodge a proposed class action alleging it violated California's wiretapping law, in a ruling that determined the tech giant was capable of accessing customer call data through its call center technology used by Capital One.

  • July 02, 2024

    Chamber, Pharma Slam Colorado Drug Price Controls

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a prominent pharmaceutical industry group have urged a Colorado federal court to bar a state review board from setting price controls on prescription drugs, arguing that the practice is "irreconcilable" with federal patent law.

  • July 02, 2024

    Sens. Urge Synapse Partners To Free Up Customer Funds

    A group of Democratic senators led by banking committee chair Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, called on the owners and banking partners of bankrupt fintech intermediary Synapse Financial Technologies to restore customers' access to their deposits.

  • July 02, 2024

    Depo Gets Dad Ousted From Sesame Place Race Bias Case

    The father of a child who was allegedly snubbed by costumed performers at a Pennsylvania theme park has been removed from consolidated race bias litigation after plaintiffs' counsel said the father had lied during a deposition, with a Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday granting a bid by other families to sever their case from his.

  • July 02, 2024

    6th Circ. Takes Up Fuel Pump Appeal GM Pledged To Drop

    The Sixth Circuit has agreed to hear General Motors' bid to undo certification of seven state classes of drivers who say GM sold diesel-powered trucks with faulty fuel pumps, although the automaker recently agreed to a $50 million settlement that includes a promise to abandon the appeal.

  • July 02, 2024

    Captioning Providers Worried About FCC Rate Cuts

    Companies that provide captioned telephone service for people with hearing and speech disabilities are criticizing a Federal Communications Commission proposal to reduce rates paid to providers, saying that successive rate cuts could jeopardize their credit lines and diminish their ability to raise capital if the agency doesn't change course.

  • July 02, 2024

    Ga. Parking Co. Stole Data To Send Fake Tickets, Fla Suit Says

    A Florida resident has brought a proposed federal class action against a Georgia parking company for alleged privacy violations, saying his data was illegally obtained and used to send fake citations in a scheme to collect money under the threat that vehicles could be confiscated or credit ruined.

  • July 02, 2024

    Wash. Plastic Surgeon To Pay $5M To End AG's NDA Suit

     A Washington state plastic surgery practice will pay $5 million to resolve the state attorney general's lawsuit that accuses it of boosting its online reputation with phony positive reviews and preventing patients from posting honest negative accounts by requiring illegal nondisclosure agreements, according to an agreed order filed in Washington federal court.

  • July 02, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Top Groups Lobbying The FCC

    The Federal Communications Commission heard from advocates nearly 150 times in June on issues including broadband map accuracy, next-generation 911, prison phone rates, a new missing-persons code and rules to restrict bulk billing in apartment buildings.

  • July 02, 2024

    Samsung Doesn't Owe $4M In Arbitration Fees, 7th Circ. Says

    The Seventh Circuit has ruled that Samsung need not pay $4 million in individual arbitration fees for 35,000 consumers claiming the electronics giant illegally collected their biometric data, saying Monday that under their purchase agreement terms the consumers could have advanced the fees if they wanted their claims arbitrated.

  • July 02, 2024

    Kipling Apparel Can't Nix 'Phantom' Discount Suit

    A California federal judge on Monday refused to toss a proposed class action alleging that bag maker Kipling Apparel Corp. used "phantom" discounts to make outlet store customers believe they were getting price cuts, but she said the plaintiff had failed to show that damages would be insufficient compensation.

  • July 02, 2024

    Judge Says Feds Exceeded Question Limit In Pollution Suit

    A Michigan federal judge has denied the federal government's bid to force a coke oven battery company to respond to questions about business decisions and parent company involvement, holding that it has exceeded an agreed-upon limit of so-called interrogatories in its Clean Air Act case.

  • July 02, 2024

    Amazon's PillPack Settles TCPA Class Suit

    Amazon.com affiliate PillPack LLC has settled a class action alleging it was responsible for illegal telemarketing calls made to consumers without their consent, the parties said Tuesday in a notice filed in Washington federal court.

  • July 02, 2024

    CFPB's Founding Fair Lending Chief Heads For Exit

    Patrice Ficklin, the longtime top fair lending official at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is leaving the agency later this month after more than a decade leading its efforts to oversee the financial industry's compliance with federal laws banning credit discrimination.

  • July 02, 2024

    McKinsey Wants To Arbitrate Ex-Partner's Defamation Suit

    McKinsey & Co. has urged a New York state judge to send to arbitration or dismiss a former partner's defamation lawsuit alleging the consulting giant tried to make him a scapegoat for purported evidence destruction amid a U.S. Department of Justice probe into McKinsey's work with opioid makers.

  • July 02, 2024

    'Angry' Connecticut AG Probing Music Festival Fiasco

    Connecticut Attorney General William Tong on Tuesday announced that his office has launched an investigation into a three-day rock music festival organized by Capulet Entertainment LLC that drew big-name bands before the venue changed at the last minute, leading numerous acts to drop out and forcing attendees to abandon their outdoor camping plans.

  • July 02, 2024

    Flint Needs State Help After Years Of Pipe Delays, Judge Says

    A Michigan federal judge said the city of Flint's repeated failures to replace lead water service lines for residents shows it doesn't have the "wherewithal" or funds to finish the project and granted yet another extension to complete the work with offered help from the state of Michigan.

  • July 02, 2024

    Congress Urges DOJ To Probe TikTok Kids' Privacy Concerns

    A bipartisan group of lawmakers urged the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday to quickly review the Federal Trade Commission's complaint referral against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance Ltd. for possibly violating a children's privacy law.

  • July 02, 2024

    Thomas Warns Of 'Danger In Delay' In Snapchat Abuse Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to review whether Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act immunizes platforms from lawsuits based on their own misconduct, rejecting a petition from a man who alleges that his high school teacher used Snapchat to send him sexually explicit material when he was 15.

  • July 02, 2024

    High Court Agrees To Review FDA's Flavored E-Cig Denial

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's petition to review a Fifth Circuit decision overturning its denial of a flavored e-cigarette marketing application.

  • July 02, 2024

    Justices Will Hear Texas' Porn Site Age Check Law

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case challenging a Texas law that requires people accessing websites containing explicit material to provide age verification before they can see the content, the nation's high court said Tuesday.

  • July 01, 2024

    High Court's 1-2 Punch Sets Up Long-Standing Regs For KO

    By ending its term with a stinging combination against federal agencies, the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative bloc left behind a bruised bureaucracy and a regulatory system that's now vulnerable to a barrage of incoming attacks.

  • July 01, 2024

    Crumbl Aims To Burn Privacy Suit Over Info-Tracking Cookies

    Crumbl LLC has urged a California federal judge to dismiss a proposed class action alleging the cookie maker helped payments processor Stripe Inc. illegally track customer activity and collect sensitive information via website cookies, saying the plaintiff's "poorly drafted" complaint fails to allege an underlying privacy violation.

  • July 01, 2024

    SEC's High Court Loss May Sting For Banking Enforcement

    The U.S. Supreme Court's latest rebuke to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is poised to complicate enforcement for the federal banking agencies, providing new ammunition for challenges to the validity of their administrative proceedings, attorneys say.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.

  • Key Priorities In FDIC Report On Resolving Big Bank Failures

    Author Photo

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s report last month on the resolvability of large financial institutions contains little new information, but it does reiterate key policy priorities, including the agency's desire to enhance loss-absorbing capacity through long-term debt requirements and preference for single-point-of-entry resolution strategies, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Microplastics At The Crossroads Of Regulation And Litigation

    Author Photo

    Though there are currently not many federal regulations specifically addressing microplastics as pollutants, regulatory scrutiny and lawsuits asserting consumer protection claims are both on the rise, and manufacturers should take proactive steps to implement preventive measures accordingly, say Aliza Karetnick and Franco Corrado at Morgan Lewis.

  • New Federal Bill Would Drastically Alter Privacy Landscape

    Author Photo

    While the recently introduced American Privacy Rights Act would eliminate the burdensome patchwork of state regulations, the proposed federal privacy law would also significantly expand compliance obligations and liability exposure for companies, especially those that rely on artificial intelligence or biometric technologies, says David Oberly at Baker Donelson.

  • Opinion

    CFPB Could, And Should, Revise Open Banking Rulemaking

    Author Photo

    In light of continued global developments in open banking, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should evaluate whether it actually should use its proposed rule on Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act to amplify personal financial data rights in the U.S., says Brian Fritzsche at the Consumer Bankers Association.

  • FDIC Bank Disclosure Rules Raise Important Questions

    Author Photo

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new rules mandating disclosures for nonbanks offering deposit products leave traditional financial institutions in a no-man's land between fintech-oriented requirements and the reality of personal service demanded by customers, say Paul Clark and Casey Jennings at Seward & Kissel.

  • Setting Goals For Kicking Corruption Off FIFA World Cup Field

    Author Photo

    The unprecedented tri-country nature of the 2026 men's World Cup will add to the complexity of an already complicated event, but best practices can help businesses stay on the right side of anti-corruption rules during this historic competition, say Sandra Moser and ​​​​​​​Emily Ahdieh at Morgan Lewis.

  • Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert

    Author Photo

    As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

  • Takeaways From FDIC's Spring Supervisory Highlights

    Author Photo

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s spring 2024 consumer compliance supervisory report found that relatively few institutions had significant consumer compliance issues last year, but the common thread among those that did were inadequacies or failures in disclosures to consumers, says Matthew Hanaghan at Nutter.

  • Online Portal Helps Fortify Feds' Unfair Health Practices Fight

    Author Photo

    The Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently launched an online portal where the public can report potentially unfair healthcare practices, effectively maximizing enforcers' abilities to police anti-competitive actions that can drive up healthcare costs and chill innovation, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Series

    Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

  • Key Issues Raised By Colorado's Brain Data Privacy Bill

    Author Photo

    Colorado recently became the first state to provide consumer privacy protections for data generated from a person's brain waves, and despite the bill’s ambiguity and open questions introduced, the new law has helped turn the spotlight on neurodata, says Sara Pullen Guercio at Alston & Bird.

  • Birkin Bag Case Carries Competition Lessons For Retailers

    Author Photo

    A recently proposed antitrust class action alleging that Hermès violated federal and California law when selling its iconic Birkin and Kelly handbags highlights some issues that other brands and retailers should consider, particularly given a prevailing landscape that seems to prioritize antitrust scrutiny, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Expect Tougher Bank Exams 1 Year After Spring 2023 Failures

    Author Photo

    With federal banking agencies still implementing harsher examinations with swifter escalations a year after the spring 2023 bank failures, banks can gain insight into changing expectations by monitoring how the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are coordinating and updating their exam policies, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic

    Author Photo

    Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Consumer Protection archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!