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Consumer Protection
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July 30, 2024
Crypto Groups Say Loper Bright Defeats SEC Dealer Rule
The crypto industry groups fighting U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulations that could force some of their members to register with the agency as securities dealers are arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent abandonment of Chevron deference bolsters their argument that the SEC lacked the authority to expand its definition of dealer.
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July 30, 2024
SEC Asks To Amend Token Claims In Binance Complaint
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a D.C. federal court that it plans on amending its claims concerning third-party tokens that traded on crypto exchange Binance's platform, according to a Tuesday status update in the enforcement suit.
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July 30, 2024
Justices Urged To Certify Class Over Firm's Illegal Faxes
A Georgia-based recruiting agency is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to toss a Fourth Circuit ruling that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act's fax machine definition is limited to standalone fax machines and does not include online fax services, saying the January decision creates a circuit split that needs settling.
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July 30, 2024
DOD Contractors Must Face Suit Over 'Made In U.S.A.' Label
A pair of whistleblowers who claim that tourniquets and other medical equipment sold to the U.S. Department of Defense was mislabeled as "made in U.S.A." can continue with most of their False Claims Act suit against two contractors, a Pennsylvania federal judge said.
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July 30, 2024
Dominion Again Pushes DQ Bid For Ex-Overstock CEO Atty
Attorneys for Dominion Voting Systems are again urging a D.C. federal judge to disqualify a Michigan attorney from representing former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne in a defamation lawsuit, saying she and her client "lack any respect for the rule of law" and pose risks to Dominion employees.
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July 30, 2024
Pickleball Paddle Co. Says Error, Not Fraud, Led To 'False' Ads
Joola-brand pickleball paddle maker Sport Squad Inc. is blasting accusations that it falsely marketed its equipment as approved for tournament play, instead blaming an administrative error that has given rise to a sprawling proposed class action.
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July 30, 2024
FTC, Career Step Pitch $43.5M Deal For Alleged Bogus Claims
Career Step LLC, a for-profit online career training company, has struck a $43.5 million proposed settlement to resolve Federal Trade Commission claims it targeted servicemembers and their spouses with deceptive advertising about its programs and the successes of its students.
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July 30, 2024
Financial Co. To Pay $20M To Resolve DOL Embezzlement Suit
A financial planner agreed to pay $20 million to 17 retirement plans it manages to resolve a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Labor accusing it of improperly shuffling money between accounts and embezzling at least $5 million in plan assets, a filing in Pennsylvania federal court said.
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July 30, 2024
Texas, Meta Reach Historic $1.4B Deal In Biometric Data Suit
The state of Texas has reached a historic $1.4 billion settlement with Meta Platforms Inc. in a lawsuit accusing the social media giant of illegally collecting Facebook users' biometric data through its now-discontinued facial recognition feature, attorneys for the state announced Tuesday.
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July 29, 2024
5th Circ. Pauses DOT's New 'Junk Fees' Rule Amid Review
The Fifth Circuit on Monday agreed to temporarily block a U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring airlines to clearly disclose add-on fees upfront while the appellate court reviews the rule, which has been challenged by major airlines and airline associations.
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July 29, 2024
Live Nation Judge Tightens In-House Counsel's Access To Docs
A New York federal judge imposed new restrictions Monday on Live Nation in-house counsel's access to documents and testimony from witnesses from its rivals in the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit, tightening a days-old two-tiered system after hearing concerns from those competitors.
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July 29, 2024
9th Circ. Partly Revives BofA Customers' ATM Fee Suit
The Ninth Circuit on Monday partially reinstated a proposed class action alleging Bank of America charged out-of-network fees for balance inquiries customers said they didn't know they authorized on ATMs, finding customers can be charged under their contract only if it's clear they sought the information and initiated the transaction.
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July 29, 2024
Chemical Groups Say Chevron Sinks EPA Ethylene Oxide Rule
A chemical company and two chemical associations are telling the D.C. Circuit that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision undermines the federal government's risk value for ethylene oxide, which they are challenging as being too high.
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July 29, 2024
CFPB Cites Thomas In New Bid To Transfer Late Fee Rule Suit
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday took another whack at getting an industry-backed legal challenge to its $8 credit card late fee rule transferred from Texas federal court to Washington, D.C., this time drawing on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for a little rhetorical help.
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July 29, 2024
8th Circ. Urged To Ax FDIC's Multiple NSF Fee Guidance
Minnesota state bankers have urged the Eighth Circuit to uphold their challenge to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. guidance conscribing the use of non-sufficient funds fees, arguing a Minnesota federal judge was wrong to reject their case as premature.
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July 29, 2024
Making Broadcasters File Disaster Reports Not Wise, FCC Told
Broadcasters say it's a bad idea for the Federal Communications Commission to force them to start reporting disaster-related outages to the agency like other communications companies are required to because it would distract them from reporting about whatever disaster is happening.
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July 29, 2024
FTC, Challengers, Their Backers Vie For Noncompetes' Fate
The fate of the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban is on the line as the agency trades blows with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other challengers spread across three different federal courts, all now grappling with a decision last week providing important backing to the FTC's rulemaking authority.
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July 29, 2024
CFPB Says Lease-To-Own Co. Acima Misled Vulnerable Users
Lease-to-own fintech company Acima had customers paying more than twice the retail price of home goods by deceptively locking them into high-cost "virtual rent-to-own" financing plans, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleged in a new lawsuit filed Friday in Utah federal court.
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July 29, 2024
Pole Owners Must Pay Half Of Upgrades, Advocacy Org. Says
School and library advocates are calling for the Federal Communications Commission to follow Canada's lead in mandating that utility pole owners cover half the cost of upgrades for broadband equipment, saying that because both pole owners and broadband equipment attachers benefit from upgrades, they should share in the costs.
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July 29, 2024
Judge Blocks Medical Records Co.'s Anti-Bot Captchas
A Maryland federal judge on Monday enjoined electronic medical records company PointClickCare from blocking nursing home analytics company Real Time Medical Systems from accessing patient data with automated bots, saying PCC's firewall wasn't justified by concerns over security or system speed.
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July 29, 2024
Charter Pays $15M To End FCC's Network Outage Probe
Charter has agreed to shell out $15 million and create a novel cybersecurity program meant to resolve issues raised during a Federal Communications Commission probe of major network outages affecting 911 service, the FCC said Monday.
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July 29, 2024
MoneyGram Opposes CFPB, NY's 'Futile' Bid To Bolster Case
MoneyGram told a New York federal judge that the state and federal regulators' bid to update their complaint against the remittance service is a "bad faith attempt" to "salvage" a case that should either be transferred to MoneyGram's home district of Texas or tossed entirely.
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July 29, 2024
DirecTV Calls Bundled Service Exemption For Fee Regs Unfair
If the Federal Communication Commission decides to exclude bundled services from new rules it plans to put in place banning cable and satellite providers from charging early termination fees, satellite providers will be the only ones actually bound by the rules, DirecTV has told the agency.
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July 29, 2024
SEC Says Penny Stock CEO Lied About COVID-19 Deal
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday sued former penny stock company CEO Juan Campo for securities fraud, alleging he lied to investors about acquiring a Colombian cannabis company and about the company's development of a temperature screening device during the COVID-19 pandemic, among other things.
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July 29, 2024
Tenn. Republican Seeks To Block Net Neutrality In Senate
Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn is trying to gut the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules, mirroring an ongoing effort by House Republicans.
Expert Analysis
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This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener
As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
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New Proposal Signals Sharper Enforcement Focus At CFIUS
Last week's proposed rule aimed at broadening the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' enforcement authority over foreign investments and increasing penalties for violations signals that CFIUS intends to continue expanding its aggressive monitoring of national security issues, say attorneys at Kirkland.
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What FinCEN Proposed Customer ID Number Change Means
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent request for comment on changing a requirement for banks to collect full Social Security numbers at account sign-up represents an important opportunity for banks to express their preferability, as communicating sensitive information online may carry fraud or cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Circumstantial Evidence Requires A Pointillist Approach
Because complex cases with sophisticated defendants are unlikely to reveal much, if any, direct evidence, attorneys must aggregate many pieces of circumstantial evidence into a cohesive narrative — much like the painting technique of pointillism, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Questions Persist After Ruling Skirts $925M TCPA Award Issue
After an Oregon federal court's recent Wakefield v. ViSalus ruling that the doctrine of constitutional avoidance precluded it from deciding whether a $925 million Telephone Consumer Protection Act damages award was constitutionally sound, further guidance is needed on when statutory damages violate due process, says Michael Klotz at O'Melveny.
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Benzene Contamination Concerns: Drugmakers' Next Steps
After a citizen petition to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a flurry of class actions over benzene contamination in benzoyl peroxide acne products, affected manufacturers should consider a thoughtful approach that includes assembling internal data and possibly contacting the FDA for product-specific discussions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Blocked JetBlue-Spirit Deal Illustrates New Antitrust Approach
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent successful block of a merger between JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines demonstrates antitrust enforcers’ updated and disparate approach to out-of-market benefits versus out-of-market harms, say Lisa Rumin and Anthony Ferrara at McDermott.
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Back Labels In False Ad Cases Get Some Clarity In 9th Circ.
Courts in the Ninth Circuit have recently delivered a series of wins to advertisers, making clear that any ambiguity on the front of a product's package can be resolved by reference to the back label — which guarantees defendants a powerful tool to combat deceptive labeling claims, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.
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Series
Fla. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1
Early 2024 developments that could have a notable impact on Florida's finance community include progress on a bill that would substantially revise the state Securities and Investor Protection Act, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's final rule capping late fees for larger credit card issuers, say Benjamin Weinberg and Megan Riley at Leon Cosgrove.
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Series
NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1
The first quarter of 2024 saw a number of notable legal and regulatory developments that will significantly affect New York's financial services industry, including the New York Department of Financial Services' finalized novel guidance directing banks to continuously monitor the character and fitness of key personnel, say Brian Montgomery and Nathan Lewko at Pillsbury.
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Opinion
Federal MDL Rule Benefits From Public Comments
The new Federal Rule of Civil Procedure concerning multidistrict litigation that was approved this week by the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules incorporates ideas from public comments that will aid both plaintiffs and defense attorneys — and if ultimately adopted, the rule should promote efficient, merits-driven MDL case management, say Robert Johnston and Gary Feldon at Hollingsworth.
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Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.
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Opinion
Aviation Watch: Not All Airline Mergers Hurt The Public
The U.S. Department of Justice's actions to block recent attempted airline mergers have been touted as serving the interests of the consumers — but given the realities of the deregulated air travel market, a tie-up like the one proposed between JetBlue and Spirit might have been a win for the public, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.
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The Merger Cases That Will Matter At ABA Antitrust Meeting
While the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week will cover all types of competition law issues in the U.S. and abroad, expect the federal agencies' recent track record in merger enforcement to be a key area of focus on the official panels and in cocktail party chatter, say attorneys at Freshfields.
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How Banks Should Respond To Calif. AG's Overdraft Warning
Banks and credit unions should heed recent guidance from California’s attorney general, along with warnings by consumer regulators of all stripes, regarding unfair fee practices by properly disclosing their fees and practices, and ensuring the amounts charged mirror federal benchmarks, say Brett D. Watson and Madeline Suchard at Cozen O'Connor.