Data Breach Suits Drive Consumer Protection Docket Growth

By Allison Grande

Federal consumer protection lawsuits are back on the rise after nearly a decade of steady decline, with disputes over increasingly prevalent data breaches fueling the uptick, according to a Wednesday report by Lex Machina.

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Thomas Warns Of 'Danger In Delay' In Snapchat Abuse Case

By Ali Sullivan

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to review whether Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act immunizes platforms from lawsuits based on their own misconduct, rejecting a petition from a man who alleges that his high school teacher used Snapchat to send him sexually explicit material when he was 15.

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Justices Will Hear Texas' Porn Site Age Check Law

By Spencer Brewer

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case challenging a Texas law that requires people accessing websites containing explicit material to provide age verification before they can see the content, the nation's high court said Tuesday.

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Flint Needs State Help After Years Of Pipe Delays, Judge Says

By Danielle Ferguson

A Michigan federal judge said the city of Flint's repeated failures to replace lead water service lines for residents shows it doesn't have the "wherewithal" or funds to finish the project and granted yet another extension to complete the work with offered help from the state of Michigan.

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YouTube Beats Kids Privacy Suit, But Plaintiffs Get 7th Shot

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal magistrate judge tossed with leave to amend Monday a revived proposed class action alleging Google and companies that host child-friendly YouTube channels illegally collected children's data from targeted ads, giving consumers a seventh shot to cure the deficiencies.

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'Angry' Connecticut AG Probing Music Festival Fiasco

By Brian Steele

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong on Tuesday announced that his office has launched an investigation into a three-day rock music festival organized by Capulet Entertainment LLC that drew big-name bands before the venue changed at the last minute, leading numerous acts to drop out and forcing attendees to abandon their outdoor camping plans.

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4th Circ. Nixes Black Lung Benefits For American Energy Miner

By Jonathan Capriel

The Fourth Circuit on Monday upended an award of black lung benefits to the widow of a miner who worked for American Energy LLC, saying it was the widow's responsibility to prove that coal dust exposure, more than smoking, is what caused his respiratory disease.

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Depo Gets Dad Ousted From Sesame Place Race Bias Case

By Matthew Santoni

The father of a child who was allegedly snubbed by costumed performers at a Pennsylvania theme park has been removed from consolidated race bias litigation after plaintiffs' counsel said the father had lied during a deposition, with a Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday granting a bid by other families to sever their case from his.

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6th Circ. Takes Up Fuel Pump Appeal GM Pledged To Drop

By Carolyn Muyskens

The Sixth Circuit has agreed to hear General Motors' bid to undo certification of seven state classes of drivers who say GM sold diesel-powered trucks with faulty fuel pumps, although the automaker recently agreed to a $50 million settlement that includes a promise to abandon the appeal.

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High Court Agrees To Review FDA's Flavored E-Cig Denial

By Mike Curley

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's petition to review a Fifth Circuit decision overturning its denial of a flavored e-cigarette marketing application.

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Sens. Urge Synapse Partners To Free Up Customer Funds

By Aislinn Keely

A group of Democratic senators led by banking committee chair Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, called on the owners and banking partners of bankrupt fintech intermediary Synapse Financial Technologies to restore customers' access to their deposits.

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Congress Urges DOJ To Probe TikTok Kids' Privacy Concerns

By Courtney Bublé

A bipartisan group of lawmakers urged the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday to quickly review the Federal Trade Commission's complaint referral against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance Ltd. for possibly violating a children's privacy law.

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CFPB's Founding Fair Lending Chief Heads For Exit

By Jon Hill

Patrice Ficklin, the longtime top fair lending official at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is leaving the agency later this month after more than a decade leading its efforts to oversee the financial industry's compliance with federal laws banning credit discrimination.

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Captioning Providers Worried About FCC Rate Cuts

By Jared Foretek

Companies that provide captioned telephone service for people with hearing and speech disabilities are criticizing a Federal Communications Commission proposal to reduce rates paid to providers, saying that successive rate cuts could jeopardize their credit lines and diminish their ability to raise capital if the agency doesn't change course.

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Analysis

​​​​​​​Top Groups Lobbying The FCC

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission heard from advocates nearly 150 times in June on issues including broadband map accuracy, next-generation 911, prison phone rates, a new missing-persons code and rules to restrict bulk billing in apartment buildings.

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Chamber, Pharma Slam Colorado Drug Price Controls

By Gianna Ferrarin

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a prominent pharmaceutical industry group have urged a Colorado federal court to bar a state review board from setting price controls on prescription drugs, arguing that the practice is "irreconcilable" with federal patent law.

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Gig Co. Inks $7M FTC Deal Over Misleading Pay Promises

By Lauren Berg

Arise Virtual Solutions Inc., a platform that connects gig workers with companies, on Tuesday agreed to pay $7 million to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations that it misled workers about the money they could earn working from home as customer service agents for major companies.

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Amazon Must Face Wiretapping Class Suit, Wash. Judge Says

By Greg Lamm

A Washington federal judge said Tuesday that Amazon can't dodge a proposed class action alleging it violated California's wiretapping law, in a ruling that determined the tech giant was capable of accessing customer call data through its call center technology used by Capital One.

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Vroom Settles With FTC Over Deceptive Ads, Late Deliveries

By Gina Kim

Texas-based used car company Vroom will pay $1 million to settle allegations it misleadingly advertised to customers that its used vehicles listed for sale were thoroughly inspected and failed to promptly refund customers when their cars weren't delivered within the represented 10-to-14 day time-frame, the Federal Trade Commission announced on Tuesday.

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Wash. Plastic Surgeon To Pay $5M To End AG's NDA Suit

By Rachel Riley

 A Washington state plastic surgery practice will pay $5 million to resolve the state attorney general's lawsuit that accuses it of boosting its online reputation with phony positive reviews and preventing patients from posting honest negative accounts by requiring illegal nondisclosure agreements, according to an agreed order filed in Washington federal court.

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Mike Huckabee Says Meta Hosted Fake CBD Gummy Ads

By Hailey Konnath

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says Meta Platforms Inc. has been allowing and hosting advertisements that falsely portray him promoting CBD gummies, leading to people falsely associating him with the CBD industry and marijuana use, according to a suit filed Monday in Delaware federal court.

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Judge Says Feds Exceeded Question Limit In Pollution Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

A Michigan federal judge has denied the federal government's bid to force a coke oven battery company to respond to questions about business decisions and parent company involvement, holding that it has exceeded an agreed-upon limit of so-called interrogatories in its Clean Air Act case.

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Ga. Parking Co. Stole Data To Send Fake Tickets, Fla Suit Says

By David Minsky

A Florida resident has brought a proposed federal class action against a Georgia parking company for alleged privacy violations, saying his data was illegally obtained and used to send fake citations in a scheme to collect money under the threat that vehicles could be confiscated or credit ruined.

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Amazon's PillPack Settles TCPA Class Suit

By Greg Lamm

Amazon.com affiliate PillPack LLC has settled a class action alleging it was responsible for illegal telemarketing calls made to consumers without their consent, the parties said Tuesday in a notice filed in Washington federal court.

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McKinsey Wants To Arbitrate Ex-Partner's Defamation Suit

By Dorothy Atkins

McKinsey & Co. has urged a New York state judge to send to arbitration or dismiss a former partner's defamation lawsuit alleging the consulting giant tried to make him a scapegoat for purported evidence destruction amid a U.S. Department of Justice probe into McKinsey's work with opioid makers.

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Samsung Doesn't Owe $4M In Arbitration Fees, 7th Circ. Says

By Bonnie Eslinger

The Seventh Circuit has ruled that Samsung need not pay $4 million in individual arbitration fees for 35,000 consumers claiming the electronics giant illegally collected their biometric data, saying Monday that under their purchase agreement terms the consumers could have advanced the fees if they wanted their claims arbitrated.

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Apple Says It's Too Early For Discovery In DOJ Antitrust Case

By Nadia Dreid

There's no need to get the ball rolling on discovery in the U.S. Department of Justice's case accusing Apple of monopolizing the smartphone market until the New Jersey federal court overseeing the case decides if it's going to dismiss it entirely, the tech giant argued.

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Kipling Apparel Can't Nix 'Phantom' Discount Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

A California federal judge on Monday refused to toss a proposed class action alleging that bag maker Kipling Apparel Corp. used "phantom" discounts to make outlet store customers believe they were getting price cuts, but she said the plaintiff had failed to show that damages would be insufficient compensation.

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Brief

Judge Expedites Briefing For Consensys SEC Challenge

By Aislinn Keely

Crypto firm Consensys' preemptive case against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is set to move forward on an expedited basis after a Texas federal judge allowed the parties to brief any potential bids from the regulator to toss the case at the same time as Consensys' motion for a judgment in its favor.

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Series

After Chevron: No Deference, No Difference For SEC Or CFTC

The Chevron doctrine did not fundamentally alter the interplay between the courts and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the development of the securities and commodities laws — and its demise will not do so either, says Dan Berkovitz at Millennium Management.

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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

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Opinion

Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

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Dechert To Close Offices In Beijing, Hong Kong, Chicago

By Tracey Read

Dechert LLP is the latest BigLaw firm to announce it is dissolving operations in Beijing and Hong Kong, and the Philadelphia-founded firm also plans to close its 12-year-old Chicago office, a Dechert spokesperson told Law360 Pulse on Wednesday.

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Texas Court Puts FTC's Noncompete Ban On Hold

By Matthew Perlman

A Texas federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Federal Trade Commission from enforcing its rule banning noncompete agreements against tax preparation company Ryan LLC and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and suggested the regulation should be shot down.

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'Who Does That?' 7th Circ. Pans Walmart's Price Audit Theory

By Katryna Perera

The Seventh Circuit on Wednesday revived a class action accusing Walmart of systematically posting lower prices on shelves than it actually charges, rejecting the retailer's argument that the onus is on customers to keep track of prices as they're juggling various distractions during checkout.

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Cooley DQ'd From IP Case Over Atty's Past Patent Work

By Emily Sawicki

Cooley LLP was disqualified on Wednesday from representing a pharmaceutical customer-support software company against patent infringement claims in Delaware, with the district court citing a Cooley partner's prior work representing the plaintiff and Cooley's refusal to screen its attorney.

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Biden's New Picks Include NC Solicitor General For 4th Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

President Joe Biden announced four new judicial nominees on Wednesday, including one for the Fourth Circuit.

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NC Solicitor General Faces GOP Roadblock To 4th Circ. Bench

By Courtney Bublé and Travis Bland

President Joe Biden's selection of North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Y. Park for a Fourth Circuit seat tops off a distinguished resume that includes a Harvard Law degree and a stint at Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP, but he still faces an uphill road to the bench amid pushback from Tar Heel State senators.

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High Court Rulings Thwart Judge Romance Suit, Firm Says

By Jack Karp

Jackson Walker LLP urged a Texas federal court Wednesday to consider its argument that two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings on standing prevent a former shareholder in an engineering company from pursuing a racketeering lawsuit over a bankruptcy judge's concealed romantic relationship with an ex-firm attorney.

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Bronx Defenders Union Braces To Strike In Less Than 3 Weeks

By Andrea Keckley

The Bronx Defenders Union's bargaining committee voted on Tuesday to authorize an unlimited unfair labor practice strike beginning the week of July 22, saying the organization's staff continue to face high attrition, unwieldy caseloads and some of the lowest pay rates of New York City's public defenders.

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