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Consumer Protection
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August 13, 2024
Miss. Stations Could Lose FCC Licenses For Unpaid Fees
The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday warned the licensee of two radio stations in Mississippi that they could lose their licenses if thousands of dollars in regulatory fees stretching back more than a decade remain unpaid.
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August 13, 2024
New Realtor Complaint Challenges NAR's Membership Rule
The National Association of Realtors is facing a new proposed class action, this time from Michigan real estate brokers and agents challenging state and local requirements that they be members of local and national Realtor organizations to use the association's multiple listing services.
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August 13, 2024
Kroger Blasts FTC's 'Head-To-Head' Competition Claims
Kroger and Albertsons have assailed the Federal Trade Commission's challenge to their merger, telling an Oregon federal judge that there's no need to preliminarily block the deal because the agency is pushing a "never before applied" theory that reducing head-to-head competition is illegal, which the grocery stores said is undone by the law and the companies' planned divestiture of 579 stores.
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August 13, 2024
DOJ Gets Crash Course In AI As Attys Brace For Crackdown
The U.S. Department of Justice is working to keep pace with the swift rise of the tools known as artificial intelligence, investigating potential fraud as its Criminal Division learns the nuances of the technology — an unsettling dynamic for some defense lawyers.
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August 13, 2024
3rd Circ. Nixes Debt Collection Suit, Leaves Award In Question
The Third Circuit ruled Tuesday that a plaintiff fighting an arbitration loss in a proposed debt-collection class action never had standing to sue, but the appellate panel left it for an arbiter or state court to decide whether to erase the actual award in favor of the debt collector.
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August 13, 2024
Capital One Blames Customers For 'Refer A Friend' Texts
Capital One urged a Washington federal judge on Monday to throw out a proposed class action accusing it of violating a state law banning ads in unsolicited texts, contending its customers are ultimately responsible for hitting send on "refer a friend" messages providing others credit card sign-up links.
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August 13, 2024
HP Inks Deal To End Claims Printer Update Locked Out Rivals
HP Inc. and a certified class of consumers told a California magistrate judge Monday that they have reached a settlement in principle to resolve a class action alleging the printer maker illegally forced customers to purchase overpriced HP-branded ink and toner supply cartridges by making alternative products incompatible with their printers.
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August 13, 2024
Congress Didn't Want Utility-Style Internet Regs, 6th Circ. Told
Internet service providers urged the Sixth Circuit to deep-six the Federal Communications Commission's recent decision to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service and impose net neutrality rules, saying Congress never intended that change even under the broadest reading of federal law.
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August 13, 2024
Telecoms Fret Over FCC's Pole Attachment Deadlines
Negotiating big pole attachment orders can take longer than the Federal Communications Commission might sometimes like, a telecom industry trade group says, warning the agency that a regulation requiring the first of 3,000 such attachments to be ready in 45 days isn't realistic.
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August 13, 2024
Flyers Denied Standing To Stop Alaska-Hawaiian Airlines Deal
A Hawaii federal judge has tossed an antitrust lawsuit seeking to block Alaska Airlines' proposed merger with Hawaiian Airlines, saying a group of airline passengers and travel agents spearheading the lawsuit haven't alleged any concrete harm from the would-be merger.
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August 13, 2024
NC Lawmakers Ask 4th Circ. To Restore Abortion Drug Limits
North Carolina Republican lawmakers want the Fourth Circuit to reinstate restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone, telling the court the new rules concerning the medication are not preempted by U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations.
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August 13, 2024
NY, NJ And Conn. Score $4.5M Penalty Over Enzo Data Breach
Molecular diagnostics company Enzo Biochem Inc. has agreed to pay a $4.5 million penalty after an investigation found that the company failed to implement recommended security protocols ahead of a data breach that affected millions of patients, New York's attorney general announced Tuesday.
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August 13, 2024
United Customer's Greenwashing Suit Preempted, Judge Says
A Maryland federal judge ruled Tuesday that federal law preempts a proposed class action alleging United Airlines misled customers by deceptively marketing its use of sustainable aviation fuels and its efforts to be green and carbon-neutral.
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August 13, 2024
DC Circ. Backs EPA's Ethylene Oxide Cancer Risk Value
The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday upheld federal environmental regulators' assessment of the cancer risk from exposure to certain chemical manufacturers' ethylene oxide emissions, rejecting a challenge from a chemical company and two chemical associations that argued the risk assessment was arbitrary and capricious.
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August 13, 2024
FTC Says Fix In Epic's Google Case Should Spur Competition
The Federal Trade Commission has told a California federal court that it has the power to impose a wide range of remedies after a jury found that Google violated antitrust law through its app store policies and urged the court to reject Google's concerns about the proposed changes.
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August 13, 2024
'Clever' Scheme Is Concealing Talc Litigation Funding, J&J Says
The Beasley Allen Law Firm needs to disclose alleged litigation funding fueling its litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder even if that funding was not given directly to the firm since the disclosure rules apply to "parties" and not "law firms," J&J has told a New Jersey federal court.
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August 12, 2024
Texas Wants Debt Relief Review In Wake Of 8th Circ. Ruling
Texas' solicitor general on Saturday pressed the U.S. Supreme Court to shut down the Biden administration's student debt relief plan, arguing that a recent Eighth Circuit decision granting an injunction against the plan in a similar case "underscores" why the high court should grant its petition for certiorari.
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August 12, 2024
Nasdaq Isn't Immune From Racial Bias Claims, Investor Says
The Nasdaq Stock Market isn't immune from racial discrimination claims because such claims are "simply too different" from the claims it actually is protected from as a self-regulatory organization, an investor in a minority-led special purpose acquisition company has argued.
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August 12, 2024
Adviser To Pay SEC $6M Over Undisclosed Conflicts
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday that investment advisory firm Cadaret Grant & Co. Inc. will pay more than $6 million to settle claims that it failed to make sufficient disclosures to clients regarding its revenue-sharing agreements and conflicts of interests associated with its financial recommendations.
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August 12, 2024
FTC Seeks To Undo Trimming Of Walmart Money Transfer Suit
The Federal Trade Commission has urged an Illinois federal judge to walk back a previous decision that threw out much of its suit accusing Walmart of facilitating fraud through its money transfer services, arguing its now-dismissed claims about the retail giant were held to an overly exacting standard.
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August 12, 2024
Groups Call On IHS To End Amalgam Use On Tribal Lands
A consortium of groups, including Consumers for Dental Choice and the International Indian Treaty Council, are calling on the U.S. Indian Health Service and other governments to immediately stop using mercury-containing dental fillings on Native Americans.
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August 12, 2024
FCC Looks To Require Better Cable, Phone Customer Service
The Federal Communications Commission may soon seek to impose new customer services rules on phone, cable and broadband providers, including making it easier for subscribers to cancel their accounts.
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August 12, 2024
Navy Federal, Recording Software Co. Want Privacy Suit Nixed
Navy Federal Credit Union customers can't bring an invasion of privacy class action over the credit union's use of artificial intelligence software to analyze and record customer calls, in part because its recording practices were appropriately disclosed, the nation's largest credit union has argued.
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August 12, 2024
DOJ Says Live Nation NY Suit 'Far Beyond' DC Merger Deal
The U.S. Department of Justice has urged a New York federal judge not to transfer its antitrust suit against Live Nation, arguing its allegations go well beyond the 2010 deal clearing the purchase of Ticketmaster, a deal Live Nation says warrants sending the case to Washington, D.C.
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August 12, 2024
TelexFree Victims To Depose Alleged Scammer's Estranged Wife
A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday denied a request from the estranged wife of alleged TelexFree Ponzi schemer Carlos Wanzeler to escape a civil lawsuit filed by victims of the alleged $3 billion ploy and ordered her to sit for a Sept. 17 deposition and hand over documents requested by victims of the scheme.
Expert Analysis
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Dissecting Treasury's Call For Input On AI In Financial Sector
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's request for comments on the potential benefits and challenges AI may pose to the financial services sector, which asks how stakeholders are addressing and mitigating increased fraud risks, reflects the federal government's continued interest in AI's effects across the economy, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
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Opinion
The FTC Needs To Challenge The Novo-Catalent Deal
Novo's acquisition of Catalent threatens to substantially lessen competition in the manufacturing and marketing of GLP-1 diabetes and obesity drugs, and the Federal Trade Commission should challenge it under a vertical theory of harm, as it aligns with last year's merger guidelines and the Fifth Circuit decision in Illumina, says attorney David Balto.
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Md. Deal Highlights Consumer Finance Program Regulations
Maryland regulators’ recent settlement with the Bank of Missouri and its consumer lending partners, Atlanticus and Fortiva, offers a reminder that it is important to properly structure such partnerships and conduct sufficient due diligence on state licensing requirements, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.
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Series
Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer
When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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3 Areas Of Enforcement Risk Facing The EV Industry
Companies in the EV manufacturing ecosystem are experiencing a boom in business, but with this boom comes increased regulatory and enforcement risks, from the corruption issues that have historically pervaded the extractive sector to newer risks posed by artificial intelligence, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Nat'l Security Considerations For Telecom Products Counsel
An increase in federal national security measures in the telecommunications space, particularly from the Federal Communications Commission, means that products counsel need to broaden their considerations as they advise on new products and services, says Laura Stefani at Venable.
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Chevron's End Puts Target On CFPB's Aggressive BNPL Rule
A recent interpretative rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, subjecting buy-now, pay-later loans to the same regulations as credit cards, is unlikely to survive post-Chevron challenges of the rule's partisan and shaky logic, say Scott Pearson and Bryan Schneider at Manatt.
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Boeing Plea Deal Is A Mixed Bag, Providing Lessons For Cos.
The plea deal for conspiracy to defraud regulators that Boeing has tentatively agreed to will, on the one hand, probably help the company avoid further reputational damage, but also demonstrates to companies that deferred prosecution agreements have real teeth, and that noncompliance with DPA terms can be costly, says Edmund Vickers at Red Lion Chambers.
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Unpacking The Increasingly Popular Fair Credit Billing Act
The Fair Credit Billing Act is receiving increased attention from regulators and consumers disputing credit card charges, so creditors should understand its procedural requirements — including the law's focus on the mechanics of a dispute and its potential to create civil liability, say David Gettings and Courtney Hitchcock at Troutman Pepper.
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Takeaways From EU's Initial Findings On Apple's App Store
A deep dive into the European Commission's recent preliminary findings that Apple's App Store rules are in breach of the Digital Markets Act reveal that enforcement of the EU's Big Tech law might go beyond the literal text of the regulation and more toward the spirit of compliance, say William Dolan and Pratik Agarwal at Rule Garza.
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2 Rulings Serve As Conversion Fee Warnings For Banks
A comparison of the different outcomes in Wright v. Capital One in a Virginia federal court, and in Guerrero v. Bank of America in a North Carolina federal court, highlights how banks must be careful in describing how currency exchange fees and charges are determined in their customer agreements, say attorneys at Weiner Brodsky.
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Expect CFPB To Enforce Warning Against 'Coercive' Fine Print
The recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warning against unenforceable terms "deceptively" slipped into the fine print of contracts will likely be challenged in court, but until then, companies should expect the agency to treat its guidance as law and must carefully scrutinize their consumer contracts, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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Loss Causation Ruling Departs From Usual Securities Cases
A California federal court recently dismissed Ramos v. Comerica, finding that the allegations failed to establish loss causation, but the reasoning is in tension with the pleading-stage approaches generally followed by both courts and economists in securities fraud litigation, say Jesse Jensen and Aasiya Glover at Bernstein Litowitz.
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Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.