Consumer Protection

  • November 13, 2024

    Live Nation Ruling Chills Modern Arbitration, 9th Circ. Told

    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision invalidating Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Ticketmaster's choice of a digital arbitration startup for consumer antitrust claims has created "massive uncertainty" and undermines innovative approaches for dealing with abusive mass arbitrations, the live event companies argued in a rehearing petition Tuesday.

  • November 13, 2024

    Conn. PFAS Judge Vexed By 'Messy' Pollution Source Query

    A Connecticut federal judge weighing the state's motion to remand a pollution lawsuit against 3M and other companies warned Wednesday that the government was advancing "messy" arguments about the sources of contamination, although he did find the case "interesting."

  • November 13, 2024

    Feds Seek FTX Assets Used For Alleged China Bribes

    U.S. prosecutors have asked a New York federal judge to help secure millions of dollars worth of digital assets held at cryptocurrency exchange Binance, alleging the tokens are tied to what they described as bribes that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried paid to Chinese law enforcement officials.

  • November 13, 2024

    Store Chain Must Face Customer's Cookie Label Injury Suit

    A Japanese convenience store chain can't escape a proposed class action by a shopper who claims she suffered a violent allergic reaction due to its mislabeled cookies made with nuts, a federal judge has ruled, allowing the woman's claims that its other products may be similarly mislabeled.

  • November 13, 2024

    DOJ Doc Pushes For Strong Antitrust Compliance Programs

    Companies hoping antitrust compliance programs will mitigate or even eliminate U.S. Department of Justice criminal prosecution for bid-rigging, price-fixing and market allocation schemes need strong monitoring, remediation, oversight and responsibility, according to new guidance released Tuesday.

  • November 13, 2024

    3 Men Sentenced For Fake 'Alaska Stone Arts' Scheme

    Three men have been sentenced for scheming to sell hundreds of phony products by passing them off to unsuspecting customers as authentic artwork made by Alaska Natives, the U.S. government said.

  • November 13, 2024

    Md. Electricity 'Greenwashing' Law Is A Muzzle, Judge Told

    A Maryland law attempting to crack down on electricity suppliers' "greenwashing" claims unconstitutionally mandates companies speak about their product in a way that conforms to what the state considers "sustainable energy," a renewable energy company and an advocacy organization argued in Maryland federal court.

  • November 13, 2024

    Judge Suggests Casino App Transfer Blunts Gamer's Attack

    A Washington federal judge raised doubts Wednesday about whether a lead plaintiff accusing a casino app developer of offering illegal gambling can rope in the company's subsidiary, which took over the online games in what the plaintiff calls a bid to avoid legal responsibility. 

  • November 13, 2024

    Cox Eyes Federal Suit After RI Court Tosses BEAD Case

    Cox Communications has signaled that it may sue in federal court after a Rhode Island state judge tossed on jurisdictional grounds its complaint accusing state officials of botching the rollout of federal broadband deployment dollars.

  • November 13, 2024

    TikTok Asks To Keep NC AG's Addiction Complaint Redacted

    TikTok Inc. is asking a North Carolina state court to keep redacted portions of a complaint by the state alleging that it targets youth to make them compulsive and addicted users, saying parts of the complaint include information from confidential documents and trade secrets.

  • November 13, 2024

    Space Activities Need Licensing Latitude, Chamber Says

    The Federal Communications Commission could stifle in-space manufacturing growth if it decides to license new space stations only for individual services instead of broader, category-wide uses, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said.

  • November 13, 2024

    FTX Prosecutors Tout Tech Chief's 'Outstanding Cooperation'

    Manhattan federal prosecutors urged a lenient sentence for former FTX technology chief Zixiao "Gary" Wang, telling the court on Wednesday that his "outstanding cooperation" was instrumental in securing the lightning-fast indictment and ultimate conviction of founder Sam Bankman-Fried for an $11 billion fraud that sank the crypto exchange.

  • November 13, 2024

    Outgoing DOJ Antitrust Head Wants To Unstack Healthcare

    The U.S. Department of Justice's top antitrust official looked to the future Tuesday, of both healthcare and his own exit with the change in presidential administration, as he defended the Biden era's more aggressive, nuanced approach to merger enforcement that wouldn't allow massive insurers and others to stack up the industry like Tetris.

  • November 13, 2024

    Short-Term Rental Owners 'Unreasonable,' Dallas Tells Court

    A Dallas short-term rental advocacy organization loves to focus on property rights, but it never considered the rights of neighbors who want safe neighborhoods and don't want to live next to an active business, a city attorney told a Fifth Court of Appeals panel during oral arguments Wednesday.

  • November 13, 2024

    Incoming Wash. AG Keeps State's Veteran Solicitor General

    Washington state Attorney General-elect Nick Brown said Wednesday he will keep in place the same solicitor general who's held the role since 2013, attorney Noah Purcell.

  • November 13, 2024

    Insurers Say Hyundai, Kia Should Pay For Combusting Cars

    A slew of insurers for owners of certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles are suing the companies in a case removed to California federal court Wednesday, seeking to recoup costs associated with almost a decade of claims for cars that allegedly spontaneously combust and have not been fixed by the manufacturers.

  • November 13, 2024

    Allow Robotexts And Calls To Customers, Verizon Urges FCC

    Verizon is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to exempt wireless providers from new rules making it easier for consumers to back out of telemarketing robocall and text consent, saying that including the providers would lead to consumers opting out of communications they actually need.

  • November 13, 2024

    Firms Seek To Ax 'Retaliatory' Suit Over Arbitration Demands

    Two plaintiffs law firms urged a D.C. federal court to toss a suit from two casino-style gaming websites that accuse the firms of filing meritless arbitrations against them, telling a judge during a hearing Wednesday that the litigation is retaliatory and has no ties to Washington, D.C.

  • November 13, 2024

    Connecticut Banking Dept. Can Fine Legal Funder, Judge Says

    The Connecticut Department of Banking has jurisdiction over a legal funding company under the state's Small Loan Act, a state judge ruled in dismissing an administrative appeal linked to a $25,000 fine that the regulator imposed.

  • November 13, 2024

    Bradley Arant Aims To Toss Malpractice Arbitration Claims

    Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP and a firm attorney urged a California federal judge to toss a San Diego-based business consulting firm's lawsuit contending the law firm botched an arbitration proceeding with tribal entities, saying the court lacks personal jurisdiction and is an improper venue as the arbitration and legal work largely took place outside the state.

  • November 13, 2024

    Mass. AG Ready To Reprise Office's Role As Trump Foil

    Taking a page from her predecessor's book, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell told Law360 she is hoping to work with the incoming Trump administration, but the Democrat said she is nevertheless prepared to use her office's "significant tools and power" to challenge actions she feels are at odds with her constituents' interests.

  • November 13, 2024

    Trump Taps DOJ Critic Matt Gaetz For Attorney General

    President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated Rep. Matt Gaetz to be the next U.S. attorney general, seeking to elevate a close political ally to lead a Justice Department that the Florida lawmaker has sharply criticized and that last year declined to charge him in a sex-trafficking investigation.

  • November 13, 2024

    FTC Antitrust Case Against Meta Is Heading To Trial

    A D.C. federal court ruled Wednesday that Meta will have to face trial on the Federal Trade Commission's claims that the Facebook parent company monopolized personal social networking through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.

  • November 12, 2024

    Trump Taps Elon Musk To Head New 'Gov't Efficiency' Dept.

    President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a newly created "Department in Government Efficiency" for his administration come January.

  • November 12, 2024

    Tech Group Seeks Block Of Calif. Social Media Addiction Law

    A tech trade group that has contested a rash of new social media laws around the country launched its latest constitutional challenge Tuesday, targeting a recently enacted California law designed to block online platforms from using algorithms to deliver addictive feeds to children without parental consent.

Expert Analysis

  • To Report Or Not To Report Others' Export Control Violations

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    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.

  • Earned Wage Access Laws Form A Prickly Policy Patchwork

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    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.

  • What FDIC Expansion Of Change In Bank Control Could Mean

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    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.

  • HSR Amendments Intensify Merger Filing Burdens, Data Risk

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    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.

  • Deadline Extension Highlights PFAS Reporting Complexities

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    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.

  • 6th Circ. Preemption Ruling Adds Uncertainty For Car Cos.

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    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.

  • State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

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    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.

  • How Biden Admin Has Used Antitrust Tools, And What's Next

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    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.

  • Cos. Face Increasing Risk From Environmental Citizen Suits

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    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.

  • How BIS' Rule Seeks To Encourage More Voluntary Disclosure

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    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.

  • 8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney

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    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.

  • Navigating Complex Regulatory Terrain Amid State AG Races

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    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.

  • Challenge To Ill. Card Fee Law Explores Compliance Hurdles

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    A recent federal lawsuit challenging an Illinois law that will soon forbid electronic payment networks from charging fees for processing the tax and tip portions of card transactions, fleshes out the glaring compliance challenges and exposure risks financial institutions must be ready to face next summer, says Martin Kiernan at Amundsen Davis.

  • Recent Securities Cases Highlight Risks In AI Disclosures

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    Increasing public disclosure about the use and risks of artificial intelligence, and related litigation asserting that such disclosures are false or misleading, suggest that issuers need to exercise great care with respect to how they describe the benefits of AI, say Richard Zelichov and Danny Tobey at DLA Piper.

  • Harris Unlikely To Shelve Biden Admin's Food Antitrust Stance

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    A look at Vice President Kamala Harris' past record, including her actions as California attorney general, shows why practitioners should prepare for continued aggressive antitrust enforcement, particularly in the food and grocery industries, if Harris wins the presidential election, says Steve Vieux at Bartko.

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