Consumer Protection

  • November 22, 2024

    Crypto Lobby Asks Trump, Congress To Prioritize Rulemaking

    Crypto industry group Blockchain Association sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump and members of Congress on Friday detailing what the industry feels should be immediate priorities for the next administration, including implementing a regulatory framework for digital assets and installing more crypto-amenable agency heads.

  • November 22, 2024

    Social Media MDL Judge Threatens States With Contempt

    A California federal judge presiding over multidistrict litigation concerning social media platforms' allegedly addictive designs told counsel Friday that she's considering holding California and South Carolina state agencies in contempt for refusing to comply with discovery orders, telling counsel, "I can guarantee I will not let this stand."

  • November 22, 2024

    Insurer Owes $4.5M For Water Damage, Wash. HOA Says

    A Washington state homeowners association told a federal court that its insurer owes over $4.5 million in coverage to repair hidden water damage at its condominium community, arguing that no exclusions, conditions or limitations bar coverage under its policy.

  • November 22, 2024

    PFAS Foam MDL Attys Score $95.8M For Tyco, BASF Deals

    A South Carolina federal judge awarded nearly $96 million in combined fees and costs Friday to lead counsel representing public water systems for reaching a $316.5 million deal with BASF Corp. and $750 million with Tyco Fire Products LP over forever chemicals, lauding them as "some of the most qualified mass tort litigators in America."

  • November 22, 2024

    Debt Collector Awakened Illegal 'Zombie Loans,' Suit Says

    Real Time Resolutions Inc., a debt collection company, is facing a new proposed class action from two North Carolina homeowners, who have accused it of assessing an illegal interest on their mortgage that was charged off more than a decade ago.

  • November 22, 2024

    Bondi Vowed Trump Payback. Ex-Colleagues Aren't Worried.

    U.S. attorney general nominee Pam Bondi is an outspoken ally of President-elect Donald Trump and vowed during the campaign that his "prosecutors will be prosecuted," but people who've worked with her say she's well qualified to serve as the nation's top cop and downplayed concerns that she would politicize the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • November 22, 2024

    1st Circ. Affirms Volvo Win In Dealers' Maintenance Pay Suit

    The First Circuit affirmed a pretrial win granted to Volvo in a suit brought by two dealerships claiming the carmaker was underpaying them for maintenance they perform under prepaid service plans.

  • November 22, 2024

    FCC Passes New Rules For Smart Car Tech

    The Federal Communications Commission has adopted new rules governing cellular-vehicle-to-everthing technology in the 5.9 GHz band, officially carving out 30 megahertz of spectrum previously reserved for dedicated short-range radio communications for in-vehicle and roadside C-V2X units.

  • November 22, 2024

    High Court To Review Legality Of FCC's Subsidy Fees

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to review whether fees collected to support the Federal Communications Commission's array of telecom subsidy programs for low-income consumers, schools and rural healthcare run afoul of constitutional limits on taxing authority.

  • November 22, 2024

    Glenn Agre Gains Longtime Foley & Lardner Litigator in NY

    Three-year-old boutique Glenn Agre Bergman & Fuentes LLP announced Friday that it has hired a longtime Foley & Lardner LLP litigator with a track record of victories in disputes ranging up to 10 figures.

  • November 22, 2024

    Pa. Rate Deal Halves FirstEnergy's $502M Customer Hike Bid

    FirstEnergy will be able to increase its base electrical rates in Pennsylvania to bring in an additional $225 million in annual revenue starting in 2025 — less than half of the rate hike the company initially proposed, according to a settlement approved by the state's Public Utility Commission.

  • November 22, 2024

    Off The Bench: NBA Ices Media Flap, Paul-Tyson Netflix Suit

    In this week's Off The Bench, the NBA settles a high-profile suit regarding its new media rights deal, and Netflix's buggy presentation of the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight draws a proposed class action.

  • November 21, 2024

    Snap Moves To Toss New Mexico's Child 'Sextortion' Suit

    Snap Inc. has moved to toss New Mexico's lawsuit accusing it of enabling child sexual exploitation on its instant messaging app, Snapchat, telling a New Mexico state court that the state's attorney general lodged a "sensationalist" lawsuit rife with patently false allegations.

  • November 21, 2024

    FDIC's 'Hot Money' Revamp Gets Bank, Fintech Cold Shoulder

    Banking and fintech lobbyists are calling on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to scrap its proposal to overhaul rules on brokered deposits, also known as "hot money," arguing the effort represents a step backward for the industry that would raise costs for everyone.

  • November 21, 2024

    Sports Site Gets Video Privacy Suit Moved To Arbitration

    A California federal judge has sent to arbitration a putative class action accusing a high school sports streaming service of unlawfully sharing users' video-viewing information with third parties such as Meta Platforms Inc., finding that the plaintiff had agreed to these terms when he first signed up for an account on the site. 

  • November 21, 2024

    Social Media MDL Judge Rips State Attys Defying Orders

    A California federal magistrate judge overseeing discovery in multidistrict litigation over social media platforms' allegedly addictive designs on Thursday ordered states to provide the names and state bar numbers of agency counsel who have refused to comply with discovery orders, threatening sanctions and asking, "What happened to the rule of law?"

  • November 21, 2024

    Boehringer Trial Over Zantac's Cancer Link Ends In Mistrial

    A California state judge declared a mistrial Thursday, ending a monthslong trial over product liability claims by a bladder cancer survivor who alleges Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. failed to disclose cancer risks associated with the company's Zantac heartburn medication, according to the plaintiff's counsel.

  • November 21, 2024

    FCC To Hit Video Doorbell Maker For Skirting Security Rules

    The Federal Communications Commission wants to slap Chinese smart home device maker Eken with a more than $700,000 fine for breaking agency rules that require foreign companies to have an agent located in the U.S.

  • November 21, 2024

    No New Trial In Suit Over Fatal Nissan Truck Fire In Texas

    A Texas appeals court on Thursday vacated an order for a new trial in a suit against Nissan North America Inc. over a fatal truck fire, saying the trial court abused its discretion when it found that juror misconduct and other cumulative errors prejudiced the plaintiff.

  • November 21, 2024

    Tempur Gave UK Co. 'Total Autonomy' Post-Merger, CEO Says

    The CEO of a United Kingdom-based mattress company acquired by Tempur Sealy in 2021 told a Houston federal judge Thursday that his new parent company has provided him "total autonomy" since the acquisition.

  • November 21, 2024

    Tenant Class Attys Get $1.1M Fee In Race Bias Suit Deal

    A federal judge awarded a nearly $1.1 million fee to class counsel for housing applicants who accused a tenant screening company of disproportionately excluding Black and Hispanic renters, saying the requested fee was reasonable for the $2.2 million settlement the attorneys struck.

  • November 21, 2024

    FCC Targets Spoofing Scams With Third-Party Caller ID Regs

    In hopes of better combating spoofed robocalls, the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday required telecoms to meet certain legal obligations when hiring third parties to verify caller ID data using a widely accepted technical standard.

  • November 21, 2024

    EPA Beats Calif. Suit Over Pesticide-Coated Seed Exemption

    A California federal judge threw out public safety groups' lawsuit alleging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided pesticide-coated crop seeds an illegal loophole from regulation, finding the agency made a fair and considered judgment when it said the seeds are exempted from registration. 

  • November 21, 2024

    FCC Aims To Better Protect Undersea Telecom Cables

    From shortening license terms to working with federal law enforcement to protect underwater telecom infrastructure, the Federal Communications Commission launched an effort to shield submarine cables from ever-increasing national security risks on Thursday.

  • November 21, 2024

    DOJ Search Fixes Would Remake Google, Break Off Chrome

    To give rival search engines a fighting chance against Google's illegal monopoly and its massive data and structural advantages, the Justice Department asked a D.C. federal judge Wednesday for sweeping changes that would divest the Chrome browser, open up Android devices and guarantee access to underlying search data.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Feds May Have Overstepped In Suit Against Mortgage Lender

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit against Rocket Mortgage goes too far in attempting to combat racial bias and appears to fail on the fatal flaw that mortgage lenders should be at arm's length from appraisers, says Drew Ketterer at Ketterer & Ketterer.

  • 4 Ways Attorneys Can Emotionally Prepare For Trial

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    In the course of litigation, trial lawyers face a number of scenarios that can incite an emotional response, but formulating a mental game plan in advance of trial can help attorneys stay cool, calm and collected in the moment, says Rachel Lary at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule

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    Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.

  • The AI Consumer Class Action Threat Is Not A Hallucination

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    As regulators scrutinize whether businesses can deliver on claims about their artificial intelligence products and services, the industry faces a wave of consumer fraud class actions — but AI companies can protect themselves by prioritizing fundamental best practices that are often overlooked, say Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein and Richard Torrenzano at the Torrenzano Group.

  • Presidential Campaign Errors Provide Lessons For Trial Attys

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    Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign employed numerous strategies that evidently didn’t land, and trial attorneys should take note, because voters and jurors are both decision-makers who are listening for how one’s case presentation would affect them personally, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • The Do's And Don'ts Of Commercial Debt Under Calif. FDCPA

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    Lenders, servicers and attorneys collecting on their behalf should pay careful attention to the consumer protections under the newly expanded California Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that may apply going forward to some commercial debts, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

  • Video Privacy Law Claims After 2nd Circ. NBA Ruling

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    The Second Circuit's recent ruling in Salazar v. National Basketball Association expanded the definition of what constitutes a consumer under the Video Privacy Protection Act, breathing new life into the law by making any newsletter subscriber to a platform that hosts video content a potential plaintiff, say attorneys at Clark Hill.

  • Next Steps In The $2.8B Blue Cross Payout To Providers

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    Healthcare providers deciding whether to participate in Blue Cross Blue Shield network's recent $2.8 billion antitrust class action settlement must weigh key recovery factors, including provider type and litigation cost, say attorneys at Hall Render.

  • OCC Recovery Guidance Can Help Banks Bounce Back Better

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recently finalized recovery guidelines add to the constellation of exercises that larger banks must undertake, while also aiding information-gathering and preparedness efforts that can help prevent — or better manage — bank failures, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • EPA's New Lead Pipe Rule Leaves Key Questions Unanswered

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently released update to its Lead and Copper Rule is a major step forward in the elimination of lead from drinking water systems, but it lacks meaningful guidance on alternative materials, jurisdictional concerns, cost allocation and other topics, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • What To Expect From State AGs As Federal Control Changes

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    Under the next Trump administration, Democratic attorneys general are poised to strengthen enforcement in certain areas as Republican attorneys general continue their efforts with stronger federal support — resulting in a confusing patchwork of policies that create unintended liabilities for businesses operating in multiple jurisdictions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • 3 Policyholder Lessons From NY Bad Faith Ruling

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    A New York appellate court's recent decision finding that Rockefeller University alleged viable bad faith claims against its insurers reinforces the principle that insurers may not elevate their own economic interests over those of their insureds, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: November Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses six federal court decisions that touch on Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and when individual inquiries are needed to prove economic loss.

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