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Consumer Protection
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August 28, 2024
'Smoking-Gun' Flaw Found In New Ark. Hemp Law, Say Cos.
In a legal fight over a recent Arkansas state law restricting hemp-derived intoxicants, the hemp companies who brought the challenge told a federal judge Wednesday they found "smoking-gun evidence" from regulators showing the 2023 law is unconstitutionally vague.
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August 28, 2024
ACLU Offers Harris 'Roadmap' To Rein In Gov't Surveillance
The American Civil Liberties Union is urging the Democratic presidential nominee to stop what the group calls exploitation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act by the federal government by ending unwarranted surveillance of Americans if she wins office in November.
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August 28, 2024
NFT Platform OpenSea Says SEC May Bring Registration Suit
The CEO of nonfungible token marketplace OpenSea said Wednesday that the firm was ready to "stand up and fight" after it received a notice that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was considering an enforcement action claiming that the "creative goods" on its platform are unregistered securities.
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August 28, 2024
Injured Driver Asks 6th Circ. To Revive Hyundai Car-Theft Suit
An Ohio motorist who was injured in a crash involving a stolen Hyundai vehicle driven by a teenager told the Sixth Circuit on Wednesday that the automaker must be held liable for knowingly selling defective theft-prone vehicles, and ineffectively combating a viral TikTok trend that launched a car-theft "epidemic."
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August 28, 2024
US, Canada Agree To Work Together On Privacy Enforcement
The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday it has inked an agreement with Canada's privacy regulator to share information and cooperate on enforcement actions to protect consumers' data.
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August 28, 2024
Rural Carriers Say Broadband Map Errors Undermine 5G Fund
Rural wireless carriers are urging the Federal Communications Commission to verify broadband map data on its own in order to resolve long-standing concerns that inaccurate industry maps of the country's broadband coverage threaten the effective distribution of the FCC's recently revived 5G Fund.
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August 28, 2024
Wash. AG Fears Kroger Will Move Goalposts For Merger Trial
The Washington Attorney General's Office told a state court Wednesday that Kroger refuses to commit to sticking with the current terms of its divestiture package in its merger with Albertsons, which the state fears would unfairly "move the goalposts" less than three weeks before a trial on the state's merger challenge kicks off.
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August 28, 2024
BofA Hit With Suit Alleging 'Exploitative' Trust Insurance Costs
A trust beneficiary accused Bank of America in Georgia federal court of charging a trust it manages "unnecessarily expensive" insurance coverage for a residential property, arguing the bank breached its duties both as a trustee and a fiduciary.
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August 28, 2024
NY Biz Group Rips FTC Suit Over $8.5B Luxury Handbags Deal
A New York City business group is urging Empire State Democratic lawmakers to oppose the Federal Trade Commission's "ideologically motivated litigation" to block an $8.5 billion deal that would bring together brands including Michael Kors, Kate Spade and Coach.
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August 28, 2024
Tech Co. Defends GoDaddy Antitrust Claims
The maker of a tool for connecting domains to third-party applications is defending its antitrust case against GoDaddy, telling a Virginia federal court the world's largest domain registrar is forcing customers to use its own configuration product.
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August 28, 2024
Yelp Sues Google Over Reviews Self-Preferencing
Yelp sued Google in California federal court Wednesday, targeting the self-preferencing of Google's own local search offerings as illegal monopolization after years of public lobbying against the search giant.
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August 28, 2024
TikTok Lawsuit, Kids' Privacy Bills Push Cos. 'Back To Basics'
The federal government's lawsuit challenging TikTok's policing of kids on its platform and mounting efforts to boost online protections for teens is ramping up pressure on a broad range of website operators, highlighting the importance for companies to think beyond existing legal frameworks to avoid growing legal scrutiny.
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August 28, 2024
Pa. Justices To Mull 'Click-Through' Arbitration Agreements
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will review a ruling that so-called "click-through" terms of service for apps and online forms don't give users adequate notice that they are often waiving their rights to a jury trial, according to an order issued Tuesday.
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August 28, 2024
Conn. Dental Practices Settle False Claims Case For $1.7M
Three dental practices in Connecticut and their owners have paid a $1.7 million settlement after federal and state authorities accused them of using an illegal patient recruiting tactic and paying kickbacks that ripped off Medicaid.
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August 28, 2024
Justices Won't Revive Student Debt Relief Plan Right Now
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to reinstate President Joe Biden's latest student loan debt relief program, leaving the $475 billion plan on ice until the Eighth Circuit decides whether the administration has the authority to continue its new push to reduce student loan bills for millions of people.
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August 27, 2024
No Section 230 Shield For TikTok's Algorithm, 3rd Circ. Says
The Third Circuit Tuesday revived a lawsuit alleging TikTok's algorithms recommended a "blackout challenge" to a 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl that led to her unintentional hanging death, saying the social media platform curates recommendations through its "For You Page" algorithm, which is not protected by a law shielding traditional publishers.
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August 27, 2024
Miss. Seafood Co. Pleads Guilty To 'Fish Substitution' Scheme
The largest seafood wholesaler in the Mississippi Gulf Coast and two of its managers pled guilty Tuesday to scheming with others to market and sell cheap frozen fish imports as premium and locally sourced, federal prosecutors in Mississippi announced.
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August 27, 2024
Wells Fargo Says 'Good Faith' Efforts Ax Investors' Bias Suit
Wells Fargo & Co. urged a California federal judge Tuesday to toss a derivative lawsuit filed by a putative class of shareholders claiming the bank's board of directors failed to address its discriminatory lending and hiring practices, saying there's evidence of "good-faith" efforts to monitor compliance in those areas.
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August 27, 2024
Tile, Stalking Victims Asked To Weigh In On Appellate Ruling
A San Francisco federal judge mulling tracking device manufacturer Tile Inc.'s bid to arbitrate some claims that its Bluetooth trackers are dangerous because they empower stalkers asked the parties at a hearing Tuesday to brief her on the effect of a recent California appellate court decision regarding arbitrability.
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August 27, 2024
CFPB Late Fee Rule Has Slim Ties To Fort Worth, Judge Says
A Texas federal judge had stern words for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce during a Tuesday hearing over a lawsuit challenging the CFPB's new credit card late fee rule in Fort Worth, saying that if judges' impartiality is in question "we need to just turn it in" as a country.
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August 27, 2024
Cherokee Nation's Opioid Suit Sent Back To State Court
An Oklahoma federal judge has adopted a magistrate judge's recommendation to send a Cherokee Nation opioid lawsuit against pharmaceuticals distributor Morris & Dickson back to state court, agreeing that the negligence case isn't predicated on a duty arising out of the federal Controlled Substances Act.
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August 27, 2024
Capital One Accused Of Selling Account Data To Meta, Google
A group of Golden State consumers have hit Capital One Financial Corp. with a proposed class action in California federal court, alleging that the financial giant surreptitiously disclosed the personal financial information of millions of consumers to Meta Platforms Inc., Google LLC, Microsoft Corp. and other third parties without consumers' consent.
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August 27, 2024
Leave Support For Alaska Connectivity Intact, FCC Told
An Alaskan utility company told the Federal Communications Commission that rules blocking federal funds for broadband build out when there is already an unsubsidized competitor in the area might work fine on the mainland, but would be very bad for Alaska.
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August 27, 2024
Baby Sound Machine Co. Sued Over Shock Hazard Recall
A parent has launched a proposed class action against Hatch, a California-based manufacturer of sound machines for sleeping, claiming its plugs can shock users.
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August 27, 2024
Bank Seeks To End Claims It Mismanaged Treasury Program
A bank is seeking to permanently dismiss a suit accusing it of misleading an investor about its oversight of a U.S. Department of Treasury contract, saying despite amending its case three times, the investor hasn't connected any sustained stock loss to contract issues.
Expert Analysis
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Big Business May Come To Rue The Post-Administrative State
Many have framed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning Chevron deference and extending the window to challenge regulations as big wins for big business, but sand in the gears of agency rulemaking may be a double-edged sword, creating prolonged uncertainty that impedes businesses’ ability to plan for the future, says Todd Baker at Columbia University.
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Series
After Chevron: Impact On CFPB May Be Limited
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo is likely to have a limited impact on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's regulatory activities, and for those who value due process, consistency and predictability in consumer financial services regulation, this may be a good thing, says John Coleman at Orrick.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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Synapse Bankruptcy Has Ripple Effects For Fintech Industry
Synapse Financial Technologies’ recent bankruptcy filing marks a significant moment in the fintech industry's evolution, highlighting that stringent compliance and risk management in fintech partnerships are essential to mitigate risk and protect consumers, say Joann Needleman and Ryan Blumberg at Clark Hill.
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Opinion
Discount Window Reform Needed To Curb Modern Bank Runs
We learned during the spring 2023 failures that bank runs can happen extraordinarily fast in light of modern technology, especially when banks have a greater concentration of large deposits, demonstrating that the antiquated but effective discount window needs to be overhauled before the next crisis, says Cris Cicala at Stinson.
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Mitigating Risks Amid 10-Year Sanctions Enforcement Window
In response to recent legislation, which doubles the statute of limitations for actions related to certain U.S. sanctions and provides regulators greater opportunity to investigate possible violations, companies should take specific steps to account for the increased civil and criminal enforcement risk, say attorneys at Freshfields.
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Series
In The CFPB Playbook: Making Good On Bold Promises
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure in the second quarter cleared the way for the bureau to resume a number of high-priority initiatives, and it appears poised to charge ahead in working toward its aggressive preelection agenda, say Andrew Arculin and Paula Vigo Marqués at Blank Rome.
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Series
After Chevron: Creating New Hurdles For ESG Rulemaking
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, limiting court deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, could have significant impacts on the future of ESG regulation, creating new hurdles for agency rulemaking around these emerging issues, and calling into question current administrative actions, says Leah Malone at Simpson Thacher.
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California Adds A Novel Twist To State Suits Against Big Oil
California’s suit against Exxon Mobil Corp., one of several state suits that seek to hold oil and gas companies accountable for climate-related harms, is unique both in the magnitude of the alleged claims and its use of a consumer protection statute to seek disgorgement of industry profits, says Julia Stein at UCLA School of Law.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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How Attorneys Can Reduce Bad Behavior At Deposition
To minimize unprofessional behavior by opposing counsel and witnesses, and take charge of the room at deposition, attorneys should lay out some key ground rules at the outset — and be sure to model good behavior themselves, says John Farrell at Fish & Richardson.
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Best Text Practices In Light Of Terraform's $4.5B Fraud Deal
Text messages were extremely important in a recent civil trial against Terraform Labs, leading to a $4.5 billion settlement, so litigants in securities fraud cases need to have robust mobile data policies that address the content and retention of messages, and the obligations of employees to allow for collection, say Josh Sohn and Alicia Clausen at Crowell & Moring.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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CFPB's New Registration Rule Will Intensify Nonbank Scrutiny
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently finalized nonbank registration rule aimed at cracking down on repeat offenders poses significant compliance challenges and enforcement risks for nonbank financial firms, and may be particularly onerous for smaller firms, say Ketan Bhirud and Emily Yu at Cozen O'Connor.
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Series
After Chevron: FCC And Industry Must Prepare For Change
The Chevron doctrine was especially significant in the communications sector because of the indeterminacy of federal communications statutes, so the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the doctrine could have big implications for those regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, bringing both opportunities and risks for companies, say Thomas Johnson and Michael Showalter at Wiley.