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Consumer Protection
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November 19, 2024
Trump DOT Pick Puts Highway, Road Rebuilds Back In Focus
President-elect Donald Trump's selection of former Wisconsin congressman Sean Duffy to serve as his secretary of transportation would send a savvy communicator to liaise with Capitol Hill and refocus the federal government's infrastructure investment priorities more on highways, roads and bridges and less on renewables and clean-energy initiatives, experts say.
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November 19, 2024
Alaska Airlines Fights Emergency 9th Circ. Bid To Halt Merger
Alaska Airlines has urged the Ninth Circuit not to grant an emergency motion blocking its $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, saying the request was filed by flyers and travel agents "without an emergency" after they waited for four months to try to enjoin the airlines from merging.
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November 19, 2024
Court Won't Toss Consumer Antitrust Case Against Amazon
A Washington federal court issued a sealed order Tuesday denying Amazon's bid to toss updated claims from consumers seeking billions of dollars over allegations that they pay higher prices thanks to the e-commerce giant's treatment of sellers on its platform.
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November 19, 2024
Shaq Reaches $11M Deal With Astrals NFT Buyers
Hall of Fame basketball player Shaquille O'Neal and the creators of the Astrals nonfungible token project have agreed to pay $11 million to settle a proposed securities class action with buyers of the tokens that O'Neal allegedly promoted.
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November 19, 2024
32 State AGs Urge Congress To Back Kids' Online Safety Bill
More than 30 state attorneys general urged federal lawmakers to back bipartisan legislation aimed at bolstering youth safety online, writing a letter Monday encouraging Congress to "act to aid our state-level efforts" which included opening investigations and commencing with litigation against social media companies like TikTok and Meta.
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November 19, 2024
NHTSA Letter Unmoots Fire Risk Claims, Ford Drivers Say
Drivers seeking another shot at their tossed case claiming they overpaid for Ford vehicles that spontaneously catch fire say new evidence shows the recall that mooted their claims didn't fix the alleged fuel injector defect, telling a Michigan federal judge Tuesday regulators' concern over the recall's adequacy supports renewing their allegations.
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November 19, 2024
10th Circ. Iffy On Colo.'s Remedy To Generic EpiPen Takings
A Tenth Circuit panel on Tuesday pressed Colorado regulators on whether requiring epinephrine auto-injector makers to repeatedly sue over the cost of complying with a state program provides an adequate legal remedy, with one judge saying that that route offers no finality for manufacturers.
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November 19, 2024
Fox TV Renewal Calls For Strict License Test, Advocates Say
A media advocacy group said Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission needs to act quickly to "establish a bright-line test" for broadcasters' fitness for a station license by setting up a hearing on the controversial renewal bid for Fox TV's Philadelphia station.
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November 19, 2024
Undefined Terms Cinch Cloudera's Win In 'Cloudy' Fraud Suit
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday upheld the dismissal of a proposed class action against Cloudera Inc. alleging the data management and analytics company duped investors into buying stock at artificially inflated prices, saying the suit didn't substantiate its falsity claims with clear definitions for terms like "cloud native."
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November 19, 2024
DOJ Effort To Force Google Chrome Sale Draws Criticism
Google's regulatory chief and at least one trade group are blasting a reported push from the U.S. Department of Justice to seek expansive remedies and potentially force a sale of Google Chrome in an ongoing court battle with the tech giant.
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November 19, 2024
FCC To Vote On More Credit Options To Back Broadband Aid
The Federal Communications Commission is poised to allow more financial institutions to issue letters of credit that broadband providers can rely on to secure federal funding for high-speed infrastructure projects.
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November 19, 2024
Senators Blast Visa And Mastercard, Promise Action On Fees
A bipartisan group of Senate Judiciary Committee members blasted executives from Visa and Mastercard on Tuesday over swipe fees charged to merchants, promising to rein in what the lawmakers called the companies' monopoly on credit card payments if they do not change their practices.
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November 19, 2024
Calif. Man Wants 9th Circ. To Rehear LG Battery Decision
A California man who alleges that a faulty LG Chem Ltd. 18650 lithium-ion battery melted the skin off his hand is asking the Ninth Circuit for an en banc rehearing of a decision dismissing his defect claims against the company, saying the panel broke with other circuits and binding precedent by finding that California courts did not have jurisdiction over the Seoul-based company.
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November 19, 2024
Ballard Spahr Brings On Former Federal Prosecutor In LA
Ballard Spahr LLP is expanding its consumer finance services team, announcing Tuesday that a former assistant U.S. attorney is joining its Los Angeles office as of counsel.
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November 19, 2024
1st Circ. Won't Pause Prison Phone Rate Caps
The First Circuit said it won't stop the Federal Communications Commission from enforcing new caps on rates charged for prison phone calls while service providers challenge the rules in court.
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November 19, 2024
Unjust PJM Power Auction Rules Must Be Redone, FERC Told
State consumer advocates want the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to rewrite the electricity capacity auction rules for the nation's largest regional grid operator, saying PJM Interconnection's existing rules unjustly saddle consumers with billions of dollars of extra costs.
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November 19, 2024
FDIC's Gruenberg To Exit On Eve Of Trump's Inauguration
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s embattled chairman, Martin Gruenberg, said Tuesday that he will step down and retire from the agency before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, clearing the way for a new, likely Republican leader at the deposit insurer.
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November 18, 2024
Meta, Netflix Shook Hands On Illicit Streaming Deal, Suit Says
Meta Platforms and Netflix made an unlawful agreement where the social media giant would cede the video-streaming market to Netflix by hobbling its competing service and the streaming giant would funnel its customers' data to boost Facebook's advertising algorithms, according to a proposed class action filed Monday in Illinois federal court.
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November 18, 2024
Monsanto PCB Jury Hears About Ex-Schoolchildren's Illness
Four teenagers and a mother suing Monsanto over PCB damage at their former school took the stand Monday to testify, some tearfully, about physical and mental maladies they believe stem from exposure to decades-old light fixture fluid.
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November 18, 2024
Plaintiffs Dispute Ruling Applying BIPA Change To Past Cases
Workers suing over the allegedly unlawful collection of their fingerprints are urging an Illinois federal court to reject a recent ruling that a legislative amendment limiting damages under the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act applies to previously filed disputes, arguing that several state courts have reached the opposite conclusion.
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November 18, 2024
'You Stepped Over The Line': Judge Rips Quinn Emanuel Atty
A California federal judge told a Quinn Emanuel partner defending Natera Inc. at trial Monday in Guardant Health Inc.'s false advertising case that she'd be sanctioned over her questioning of a Natera expert about Guardant's alleged damages, saying, "You stepped over the line, and you did it several times."
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November 18, 2024
Apple Gets Some AirTag Stalking Claims Tossed, For Now
The California federal judge overseeing a proposed class action accusing Apple of failing to safeguard its AirTag tracking device from being abused by stalkers on Monday tossed product liability claims brought by consumers outside of California, saying Golden State law calls for the "place of the wrong" to take precedence.
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November 18, 2024
5th Circ. Indicates DOT Airline Fees Rule May Need Reworking
A pair of Fifth Circuit judges signaled Monday that the U.S. Department of Transportation may have to rework its rule requiring airlines to more clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, suggesting that it might be too costly for airlines to comply with the mandate and consumers would be overloaded with information.
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November 18, 2024
Judge Won't Release Kraken To Appeal Order In SEC Suit
A California federal judge on Monday refused to let the operator of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken make an immediate appeal of his order denying its motion to dismiss a suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, saying it would only delay resolution of the case.
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November 18, 2024
Justices Urged To Pass On 3rd Circ. CFPB Loan Trust Case
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to deny an appeal by a group of student loan trusts fighting an enforcement action by the agency, arguing that industry concerns about the Third Circuit case are overblown and unavailing.
Expert Analysis
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California's AI Safety Bill Veto: The Path Forward
California Gov. Gavin Newsom's veto of a bill that sought to impose stringent regulations on advanced artificial intelligence model development has sparked a renewed debate on how best to balance innovation with safety in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, say Bobby Malhotra and Carson Swope at Winston & Strawn.
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Staying Off The CFPB's Financial Services Offender Registry
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's soon-to-launch registry of financial services companies that have faced public enforcement orders is designed to ratchet up long-term scrutiny of entities that could become repeat offenders, so companies should take their new compliance and filing requirements seriously, say Andrea Mitchell and Chris Napier at Mitchell Sandler.
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New TCPA Rule Faces Uncertain Future Post-Loper Bright
The Federal Communications Commission's new rule aiming to eliminate lead generators' use of unlawful robocalls is now in doubt with the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, and the Eleventh Circuit's Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC is poised to be a test case of the agency's ability to enforce the Telephone Consumer Protection Act post-Chevron, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.
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To Report Or Not To Report Others' Export Control Violations
A recent Bureau of Industry and Security enforcement policy change grants cooperation credit to those that report violations of the Export Administration Regulations committed by others, but the benefits of doing so must be weighed against significant drawbacks, including the costs of preparing and submitting a report, says Megan Lew at Cravath.
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Earned Wage Access Laws Form A Prickly Policy Patchwork
Conflicting earned wage access laws across the country, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently issued rule, mean providers must adopt a proactive compliance approach and adjust business models where needed, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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What FDIC Expansion Of Change In Bank Control Could Mean
A recent Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposal pertaining to the Change in Bank Control Act has the potential to create uncertainty around investments by mutual fund complexes in banking organizations, which represent a stable source of capital for the banking industry, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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HSR Amendments Intensify Merger Filing Burdens, Data Risk
The antitrust agencies' long-awaited changes to premerger notification rules under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act stand to significantly increase the time and cost involved in preparing an initial HSR notification, and will require more proactive attention to data issues, says Andrew Szwez at FTI Technology.
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Deadline Extension Highlights PFAS Reporting Complexities
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent extension of reporting and recordkeeping timelines for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act offers relief to the regulated community, but the unprecedented volume of data required means that businesses must remain diligent in their data collection efforts, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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6th Circ. Preemption Ruling Adds Uncertainty For Car Cos.
Automakers and their suppliers need uniformity under the law to create sufficient scale and viable markets — but the Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Fenner v. General Motors creates more uncertainty around the question of when state law consumer claims related to violations of federal vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards are preempted, say attorneys at Sidley.
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State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape
Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.
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How Biden Admin Has Used Antitrust Tools, And What's Next
The last four years have been marked by an aggressive whole-of-government approach to antitrust enforcement using a broad range of tools, and may result in lasting change regardless of the upcoming presidential election result, say attorneys at Norton Rose.
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Cos. Face Increasing Risk From Environmental Citizen Suits
Environmental citizen suits stepping in to fill the regulatory vacuum concerning consumer goods waste may soon become more common, and the evolving procedural landscape and changes to environmental law may contribute to companies' increased exposure, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.
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How BIS' Rule Seeks To Encourage More Voluntary Disclosure
Updated incentives, penalties and enforcement resources in the Bureau of Industry and Security's recently published final rule revising the Export Administration Regulations should help companies decide how to implement export control compliance programs and whether to disclose possible violations, say attorneys at Freshfields.
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8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney
A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.
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Navigating Complex Regulatory Terrain Amid State AG Races
This year's 10 attorney general elections could usher in a wave of new enforcement priorities and regulatory uncertainty, but companies can stay ahead of the shifts by building strong relationships with AG offices, participating in industry coalitions and more, say Ketan Bhirud and Dustin McDaniel at Cozen O’Connor.