Consumer Protection

  • August 16, 2024

    5th Circ. Tosses Appeal In FTC's Anesthesia Antitrust Case

    The Fifth Circuit has agreed with the Federal Trade Commission and tossed an early appeal from U.S. Anesthesia Partners in the agency's case accusing the group of monopolizing the Texas anesthesiology market through a "roll-up" strategy.

  • August 16, 2024

    Pa. Energy Fund Ducks Class Claims Over Data Breach

    A federal judge trimmed most of the claims from a data breach lawsuit against Dollar Energy Fund Inc., including those of a plaintiff seeking to represent similarly situated customers whose personal information was stolen but not yet used.

  • August 16, 2024

    SEC Seeks Default Judgment In $8.4M Ponzi Scheme Case

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked for a default win in its suit against a pair of investment firms that allegedly took part in an $8.4 million Ponzi scheme, arguing the request is warranted after the firms' owners tried unsuccessfully to file pro se responses on the firms' behalf.

  • August 16, 2024

    Harris Economic Plan Targets Food Mergers, Price-Gouging

    Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled an economic plan Friday that said her administration would "crack down" on large corporate food mergers and introduce the first-ever ban on price-gouging, a promise that comes just days after the announcement of one of the largest ever food industry tie-ups.

  • August 16, 2024

    Connecticut Legislation Passed In 2024: A Midyear Report

    While Connecticut workers may rejoice over a major expansion of paid sick leave that will begin to roll out next year, businesses will need to spend some time and effort getting ready to implement the new law, attorneys told Law360.

  • August 16, 2024

    NC Litigation Highlights Of 2024: A Midyear Report

    Several-high profile cases in North Carolina came to a close in the first half of the year, from a second bribery conviction against an insurance magnate beset by legal woes, to the anticlimactic withdrawal of a state Supreme Court justice's much-watched free speech suit. Here, Law360 looks at those and other notable rulings so far in North Carolina.

  • August 15, 2024

    San Francisco Unveils Landmark Suit Over 'Deepfake' Porn

    The San Francisco city attorney on Thursday launched a suit against the operators of 16 websites that he claims create and distribute nonconsensual, artificial intelligence-generated pornography, also known as "deepfake pornography" or "deepnudes."

  • August 15, 2024

    Uber Gets Most Claims Tossed In Driver Assault MDL, For Now

    A California federal judge on Thursday threw out the majority of claims from California and Texas Uber riders in multidistrict litigation that aims to hold the ride-hailing company liable for their sexual assaults; however, the judge gave the plaintiffs the opportunity to amend those claims.

  • August 15, 2024

    Investing Website Isn't An Investment Adviser, Court Says

    A New York federal judge ruled Thursday that an exclusion to the Investment Advisers Act applies to the investing analysis website Seeking Alpha, dismissing a proposed class action from subscribers who accused the site of serving as an unregistered investment adviser and unlawfully collecting subscription fees.

  • August 15, 2024

    Medical Records Co. Appealing Blocked Anti-Bot CAPTCHAs

    Electronic medical records company PointClickCare will appeal last month's ruling from a Maryland federal judge enjoining it from using unsolvable CAPTCHA prompts to block a nursing home analytics firm's access to records, the company said Wednesday.

  • August 15, 2024

    Judge Rejects GE's Bid To Pull Plug On Contamination Suit

    A Louisiana federal judge on Wednesday refused to let General Electric escape a lawsuit alleging it is liable for widespread environmental contamination caused by a now-closed pressure valve manufacturing facility that GE used to own.

  • August 15, 2024

    Audacy Sale To Soros Won't Be Rubber-Stamped, Cruz Says

    The Federal Communications Commission will hold a full commission vote on whether to transfer the licenses tied to Soros Fund Management's acquisition of an ownership interest in radio station owner Audacy Inc. after it emerges from bankruptcy, according to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

  • August 15, 2024

    Yearbook Site Has 'Tortured View' Of Suit Waiver, Judge Says

    A Washington federal judge criticized the company behind Classmates.com on Thursday for arguing someone could've waived their right to sue the company for using their photo without ever visiting the website, calling it a "tortured view" of the Terms of Services language.

  • August 15, 2024

    Realtors Urge 9th Circ. Not To Revive Zillow Antitrust Case

    The National Association of Realtors has urged the Ninth Circuit to reject a defunct brokerage platform's appeal in a case over design changes Zillow made to comply with an association rule, saying the rule is optional and that Zillow acted on its own.

  • August 15, 2024

    Monsanto Gets 3rd Circ. Win In Roundup Failure-To-Warn Case

    The Third Circuit ruled Thursday that a Pennsylvania state law failure-to-warn claim in a suit alleging the weed killer Roundup caused a Keystone State man's cancer is preempted by federal law, creating a circuit split on central issues in multidistrict litigation over the Monsanto product.

  • August 15, 2024

    Pharmacy Can't Dodge Novo Nordisk's Diabetes Drug Suit

    A Tennessee federal judge on Thursday declined to throw out a suit by Novo Nordisk Inc. alleging that DCA Pharmacy is selling drugs with the same active ingredient as its Ozempic diabetes medicine without U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorization.

  • August 15, 2024

    FTC Renews Bid To Toss Meta's Constitutionality Case

    The Federal Trade Commission has told a D.C. federal court that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling does not support Meta's case raising constitutional challenges to a data privacy order, arguing the case should be tossed.

  • August 15, 2024

    Alaska, Hawaiian Airlines Extend DOJ Review Deadline, Again

    Alaska Air Group Inc. and Hawaiian Airlines disclosed a third extension in as many weeks Thursday for the U.S. Department of Justice to review their proposed $1.9 billion merger before it can close, moves that suggest at least that the DOJ has raised serious concerns about the transaction.

  • August 15, 2024

    Price-Fixing Claims Against Par Pharma Tossed After Ch. 11

    A Connecticut federal judge on Thursday tossed Par Pharmaceutical Cos. Inc. from two price-fixing lawsuits after the defendant and its parent, Endo International PLC, recently filed the Chapter 11 reorganization plans that they said shielded them from the cases.

  • August 15, 2024

    Fla.'s The Villages Exempted From FTC Noncompete Ban

    A Florida retirement community's real estate broker will be exempt when the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban goes into effect next month, under a limited injunction imposed by a federal judge who recognized the agency's rulemaking powers but said they go too far here.

  • August 15, 2024

    Court Tosses Challenge To Wyoming's New Hemp Law

    A Wyoming federal judge tossed a lawsuit Thursday brought by nearly a dozen hemp product retailers challenging the state's new hemp policy, saying most of the state defendants were entitled to immunity and that the retailers had not stated a claim for which relief could be granted.

  • August 15, 2024

    Connecticut Watchdog Calls For Action On Utility 'Rate Shock'

    A Connecticut consumer rights watchdog agency has asked the state's utility regulator to reverse rate hikes that it recently approved for major energy companies or to take other actions to prevent future "rate shock" for state residents.

  • August 15, 2024

    Gemini Suit Raises Novel Question On Crypto Law, Court Told

    A suit from a consumer advocacy organization claimed Gemini Trust Co.'s user agreement unfairly put the onus on consumers to protect themselves from scams, but the Winklevoss-led crypto exchange said the litigation raises a larger question of whether the federal statute at the heart of the claims applies to cryptocurrencies.

  • August 15, 2024

    Kerrygold, Customers Agree To End 'Pure' False Ad Suit

    A consumer who sued Irish butter brand Kerrygold has agreed to end her proposed class action over claims that it falsely advertised its product as "pure" even though it might contain "forever chemicals" by way of its packaging.

  • August 15, 2024

    Fake Prescription Caper Yields $10.2M Fine For Bankrupt Co.

    A Manhattan federal judge hit a defunct unit of bankrupt biotechnology concern DMK Pharmaceuticals Corp. with a $10.2 million fine Thursday, after the subsidiary admitted to criminally faking horse-drug prescriptions in a scheme that generated $4.2 million.

Expert Analysis

  • Lessons From Epic's Dutch Fine For Unfair Marketing To Kids

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    Dutch regulators' imposition of a €1.1 million fine on Epic Games for unfair commercial practices targeting children marks a significant moment in the ongoing scrutiny of digital market practices, and follows an increased focus on children's online safety in the U.S. and European Union, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Opinion

    California Has A Duty To Curtail Frivolous CIPA Suits

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    As plaintiffs increasingly file class actions against companies for their use of website tracking cookies and pixels, the Legislature should consider four options to amend the California Invasion of Privacy Act and restore the balance between consumer privacy and business operational interests, say Steven Stransky and Jennifer Adler at Thompson Hine and Glenn Lammi at the Washington Legal Foundation.

  • Risks And Promises Of AI In The Financial Services Industry

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    Generative artificial intelligence has immense potential to revolutionize the financial services industry, but firms considering its use should first prepare to show their customers and the increasingly divided international regulatory community that they can manage the risks inherent to the new technology, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.

  • Key FCC Enforcement Issues In AT&T Location Data Appeal

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    AT&T’s decision to challenge a $57 million fine from the Federal Communications Commission for its alleged treatment of customer location information highlights interesting and fundamental issues about the constitutionality of FCC enforcement, say Patrick O’Donnell and Jason Neal at HWG.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians

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    Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • What To Know As CFPB Late Fee Rule Hangs In Limbo

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    Though the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's final credit card late fee rule faces an uncertain future due to litigation involving injunctions, emergency petitions and now a venue dispute, card issuers must understand how to navigate the interim period and what to do if the rule takes effect, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • A Deep Dive Into The Evolving World Of ESG Ratings

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    Attorneys at Mintz discuss the salience of environmental, social and governance ratings in corporate circles in recent years, and consider certain methodologies underlying their calculation for professionals, as well as issues concerning the ESG ratings and products themselves.

  • What TikTok's Race Against The Clock Teaches Chinese Firms

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    The Biden administration's recent divestiture deadline on TikTok parent ByteDance provides useful information for other China-based companies looking to do business in the U.S., including the need to keep products for each market separate and implement firewalls at the design stage, says Richard Lomuscio at Stinson.

  • Updated Federal Rules Can Improve Product Liability MDLs

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    The recent amendment of a federal evidence rule regarding expert testimony and the proposal of a civil rule on managing early discovery in multidistrict legislation hold great promise for promoting the uniform and efficient processes that high-stakes product liability cases particularly need, say Alan Klein and William Heaston at Duane Morris.

  • Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent

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    As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.

  • Unlocking Blockchain Opportunities Amid Legal Uncertainty

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    Dozens of laws and legal precedents will come into the fore as Web3, metaverse and non-fungible tokens gain momentum, so organizations need to design their programs with a broader view of potential exposures — and opportunities, say Teresa Goody Guillén and Robert Musiala at BakerHostetler and Steve McNew at FTI Consulting.

  • 4 Ways Businesses Can Address Threat Of Mass Arbitration

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    Attorneys at DLA Piper examine the rise of mass arbitration in light of JAMS' new procedures and guidelines, and provide four steps e-commerce businesses can take when revising their dispute resolution provisions to maximize the chances those revisions will be held enforceable.

  • The Uncertain Scope Of The First Financial Fair Access Laws

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    With Florida and Tennessee soon to roll out laws banning financial institutions from making decisions based on customer traits like political affiliation, national financial services providers should consider how broadly worded “fair access” laws from these and other conservative-leaning states may place new obligations on their business operations, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Live Nation May Shake It Off In A Long Game With The DOJ

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    Don't expect a swift resolution in the U.S. Department of Justice's case against Live Nation, but a long litigation, with the company likely to represent itself as the creator of a competitive ecosystem, and the government faced with explaining how the ticketing giant formed under its watch, say Thomas Kliebhan and Taylor Hixon at GRSM50.

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