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Consumer Protection
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September 04, 2024
SEC Fines NJ Financial Cos. For Whistleblowing Violations
New Jersey-based brokerage Nationwide Planning Associates Inc. and two affiliated investment advisers have agreed to collectively pay $240,000 to settle allegations that they prevented their clients from acting as whistleblowers, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday.
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September 04, 2024
Universal Service Fund's End Called Crushing For Broadband
A rural telecom trade association is warning of skyrocketing rates and provider loan defaults if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds a Fifth Circuit decision to end the Universal Service Fund as it's currently constructed, citing internal survey findings that 68% of responding telecoms would cancel broadband deployment projects next year.
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September 04, 2024
FCC Plans To Tighten Vise On Scam Calls, Texts
The Federal Communications Commission plans to vote this month on additional rules intended to further its fight against unwanted and scam robocalls and texts.
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September 04, 2024
SEC Says $5M Fraud Scheme Targeted Venezuelan-Americans
A pair of Miami area residents and a company they control have agreed to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over $3.25 million to settle affinity fraud allegations involving a purported proprietary automated trading platform they were developing.
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September 04, 2024
FCC Sued In 5th Circ. Over Wi-Fi Plan For Schools, Libraries
A couple who run an anti-cyberbullying nonprofit are suing the Federal Communications Commission in the Fifth Circuit over its new rules to subsidize Wi-Fi service for school and library users off campus, saying the subsidy violates limits built into the law that created the E-Rate program.
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September 04, 2024
Amazon Disclosures Doom Prime Viewers' Deception Claims
A Washington federal judge on Tuesday threw out Amazon Prime subscribers' claims that the company illegally disclosed their personal viewing habits, axing some of their state law consumer protection allegations for good while providing an avenue for them to amend their federal claims.
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September 04, 2024
Market Realities On, Merger Reviews Off Table In Ad Tech Trial
A Virginia federal judge put slight limits Wednesday on the evidence the U.S. Justice Department and Google LLC can present in next week's advertising technology monopolization suit, allowing Google to push its own views of the market but limiting its ability to bring up past merger reviews.
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September 04, 2024
Whittaker Seeks $535M Deal In Talc Cases Tied To Berkshire
Bankrupt talc supplier Whittaker Clark & Daniels Inc. asked a New Jersey bankruptcy court to approve a $535 million settlement that will resolve claims against companies including Berkshire Hathaway Inc., chemical distributor Brenntag and DB US Holding Corp.
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September 04, 2024
9th Circ. Blocks Calif.'s Social Media Content Disclosure Law
The Ninth Circuit ruled Wednesday that a trial judge wrongly denied X Corp.'s bid to block parts of a new California law that requires social media giants to disclose their content-moderation policies, finding that provisions requiring the companies to disclose how and whether they define extreme content are likely unconstitutional.
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September 04, 2024
NC Biz Court Bulletin: Blackbeard IP Fight, Firm Data Breach
As summer winds down, the North Carolina Business Court tackled usage rights pertaining to footage and artifacts from Blackbeard's shipwreck while grappling with uncovering the details of a cyberattack that exposed the data of Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP. In case you missed those and others, here are the highlights.
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September 04, 2024
Ex-Lender Says FDIC Can't 'Trap' Him In Dispute Without Trial
A former small-business financier has doubled down on his push to immediately halt an enforcement proceeding against him filed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., arguing it would be unjust to block his claims after a "sea change" in relevant case law.
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September 04, 2024
Solana Labs Denied Arbitration In Token Crypto Fraud Suit
A California federal judge has denied a motion to compel arbitration in a suit alleging Solana Labs Inc. and its key investors promoted and sold Solana cryptocurrency tokens as unregistered securities, saying that Solana failed to prove that the lead plaintiff agreed to the terms of service that included an arbitration clause, among other things.
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September 04, 2024
PVC Pipe Makers Accused Of Price-Fixing
A Tennessee farmer has hit the country's biggest PVC pipe manufacturers with a proposed price-fixing class action, claiming that since at least 2021 they've been colluding through a reporting agency to raise prices for consumers.
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September 04, 2024
2nd Firearms Co. Settles Conn. AG's 'Ghost Gun' Suit
A North Carolina-based firearms company would have to refrain from selling "ghost gun" components in Connecticut and pay a civil penalty under a deal announced Wednesday that would resolve an unfair trade practices lawsuit brought by the Constitution State's attorney general.
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September 03, 2024
Dave's Killer Bread Judge Rips Attys For 'Flooding' Docket
A California federal judge admonished attorneys for both parties in a proposed class action alleging Dave's Killer "Good Seed" bread deceptively advertises the loafs as containing 5 grams of protein, slamming counsel for "flooding" the docket with "entirely unnecessary" motions and warning she'll sanction them if their conduct continues.
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September 03, 2024
8th Circ. Again Scraps Class Cert. For TD Ameritrade Clients
The Eighth Circuit reversed Tuesday a lower court's ruling certifying a class of TD Ameritrade clients for the second time in a lawsuit alleging the stockbroker routed orders to trading venues that didn't always provide the best execution, rejecting the named plaintiff's new class-wide damages theory based on commissions.
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September 03, 2024
Louisiana Frees Aurobindo, Sandoz From Price-Fixing Suits
The state of Louisiana has dropped its remaining claims in three Connecticut-based lawsuits by a collection of state attorneys general against more than three dozen pharmaceutical companies alleging a generic drug price-fixing scheme, truncating assertions that accuse myriad drugmakers of Sherman Act violations.
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September 03, 2024
7th Circ. Upholds Arbitration In Menards Hidden Fees Suit
The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld a decision to compel arbitration in a proposed class action claiming that home improvement retailer Menards used a hidden pickup service fee to manipulate its prices, saying the company provided "reasonably conspicuous" notice of its terms on the page where the lead plaintiff completed her online order.
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September 03, 2024
Logan Paul Blasts CryptoZoo Investors' 'Scattershot' Pleading
YouTube personality Logan Paul said Tuesday that renewed fraud accusations from buyers of his failed crypto project amount to a "shotgun pleading" that lumps him in with his former business partners.
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September 03, 2024
SEC Fines Adviser That Lost Clients' Crypto In FTX Collapse
An investment adviser that lost client funds in the collapse of FTX found itself on the receiving end of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement action on Tuesday, with Galois Capital Management LLC settling allegations that it failed to find a proper custodian for those crypto assets.
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September 03, 2024
FCC Moves Ahead On Indie Video Competition, Congress Told
The Federal Communications Commission could soon advance new rules that would make it easier for independent video programmers to gain a foothold in the market, the FCC's chief has told a key Democratic senator on communications policy.
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September 03, 2024
Utah Tribe Seeks Quick Win In Farm Water Diversion Fight
The Ute Indian Tribe is seeking a quick win in its challenge to a Utah farm that it claims diverted protected water to use for its cattle, arguing that in addition to a lack of jurisdiction, it's undisputed that the defendant willingly interfered with the tribe's property.
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September 03, 2024
Pedestrian Hit By Off-Duty Uber Driver Can't Sue Over Injuries
A California appellate panel held Uber can't be sued for the negligence of a driver who hit a pedestrian just minutes after he switched his status to "offline," saying it was speculative to assume the driver was still on duty due to his alleged manipulation of higher "surge" fares.
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September 03, 2024
Colo. Justices To Parse Public Interest Under Anti-SLAPP Law
Colorado's high court will consider whether the state's anti-SLAPP law requires a person to actually contribute to public discourse in order for their speech to be covered by the statute, and whether their motive matters, in a case concerning negative online posts about a veterinary clinic.
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September 03, 2024
No BIPA Exception For OTC Glasses, Ill. Judges Say
An Illinois appellate court has held that someone trying on nonprescription sunglasses with an online try-on tool isn't considered a patient in a healthcare setting, dooming a glasses retailer's attempt to end the biometric privacy lawsuit it faces.
Expert Analysis
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How Courts Split On Damages Analysis In Automotive Suits
As high-profile vehicle recalls and lawsuits alleging vehicle defects surge, many plaintiffs are turning to choice-based conjoint analysis to calculate damages, but a review of federal district court decisions reveals a range of views on the validity of this methodology, say Joshua Hochberg and Shireen Meer at Berkeley Research.
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Considerations As State AGs Step Up Privacy Enforcement
As new state privacy laws take effect, businesses are facing an increasingly complex patchwork of compliance obligations and risk of scrutiny by attorneys general, but companies can gain a competitive edge by building consumer trust and staying ahead of regulatory trends, say Ann-Marie Luciano and Meghan Stoppel at Cozen O’Connor.
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2 Vital Trial Principles Endure Amid Tech Advances
Progress in trial technologies in the last 10 years has been transformative for courtroom presentations, but two core communication axioms are still relevant in today's world of drone footage evidence and 3D animations, say Adam Bloomberg and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
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Lessons From Rising Fake Discount Consumer Class Actions
Ellen Robbins and Scott Allbright at Akerman discuss the rise of false reference price consumer class actions and outline key strategies to minimize legal risk and protect businesses.
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How Cos. With Chinese Suppliers Should Prep For Biotech Bill
A proposed bill to prohibit government-affiliated life sciences companies from contracting with Chinese biotech companies of concern may necessitate switching to other sources for research and supplies, meaning they should begin evaluating supply chains now due to the long lead times of drug development, say John O'Loughlin and Christina Carone at Weil Gotshal.
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Classwide Calculations May Get Price Premium Damages Wrong
In many consumer class actions, plaintiffs assert that they overpaid for a product because of a misrepresented or defective product feature, and that a single price premium estimate can be applied classwide — but failure to account for differences in price premiums across a putative class may lead to improper damage awards, say economists at Ankura Consulting.
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Opinion
Texas Judges Ignored ERISA's Core To Stall Fiduciary Rule
Two recent rulings from Texas federal courts, which rely on a plainly wrong reading of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to effectively strike a forthcoming rule that would impose functional fiduciary duties onto sellers of investment services, may expose financially unsophisticated 401(k) participants to peddlers of misleading advice, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Inside OCC's Retail Nondeposit Investment Products Refresh
In addition to clarifying safe and sound risk management practices generally, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's revised booklet on retail nondeposit investment products updates its guidance around certain sales practices in light of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's adoption of Regulation Best Interest, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Loper Fuels Debate Over Merchant Cash Advances As Credit
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent rejection of the Chevron doctrine in Loper Bright may escalate a Florida federal court dispute between the Revenue Based Finance Coalition and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over whether merchant cash advances should be considered credit under the Dodd-Frank Act, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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FTC's Drug Middlemen Probe Highlights Ongoing Scrutiny
The Federal Trade Commission's interim staff report on its inquiry into pharmacy benefit managers suggests that the industry will remain under an enforcement microscope for the foreseeable future due to concerns about how PBMs affect drug costs and accessibility, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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6 Factors That Can Make For A 'Nuclear' Juror
Drawing from recent research that examines the rise in nuclear verdicts, Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies identifies a few juror characteristics most likely to matter in assessing case risk and preparing for jury selection — some of which are long-known, and others that are emerging post-pandemic.
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Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
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A Look At The Regulatory Scrutiny Facing Liquid Restaking
Recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions highlight the regulatory challenges facing emerging financial instruments like liquid restaking tokens and services, say Daniel Davis and Alexander Kim at Katten.
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Considerations When Using Publicly Available Data To Train AI
To maximize the benefits and mitigate the risks of using publicly available data to train artificial intelligence models, companies should maintain a balance between openness and protection, and consider certain best practices, says Michael Cole at Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America.