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Consumer Protection
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March 18, 2024
SEC Sanctioned Over 'Bad Faith Conduct' In Crypto Case
A Utah federal judge sanctioned the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday over misstatements its counsel made to obtain emergency measures against crypto project Debt Box, ordering the regulator to pay both the defense's and receiver's attorney fees as well as legal costs arising from the regulator's "bad faith conduct."
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March 18, 2024
Amazon Again Tries To Sink NBA 2K Facial Scan Claims
Amazon is insisting it did not run afoul of Illinois' biometric privacy law, saying an amended complaint in a proposed class action in Washington federal court has failed to show the e-commerce company's cloud service collected or disclosed facial scans of teens playing the hit game NBA 2K.
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March 18, 2024
Bayer Beats False-Ad Suit Over 'Honey Lemon Zest' Cold Med
A New York federal judge on Monday tossed without leave to amend a proposed class action accusing Bayer Healthcare LLC of falsely claiming that its Alka-Seltzer Plus brand over-the-counter severe cold medication contains honey and lemon, saying the product's packaging reflects flavoring and not actual ingredients.
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March 18, 2024
Food Industry Group Urges 9th Circ. To Keep GMO Labeling Rule
A trade group representing corporate giants including Coca-Cola and General Mills has urged the Ninth Circuit to keep a federal labeling rule allowing disclosure of genetic modifications to foods to be done digitally, claiming that upsetting the rule would present "significant disruption for industry and consumers alike."
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March 18, 2024
FINRA Fines Firm Over Social Media Influencers' Posts
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced Monday that it has settled its first formal enforcement disciplinary action stemming from a firm's supervision of social media influencers, fining financial services provider M1 Finance LLC $850,000 for its influencers' misleading posts.
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March 18, 2024
Sen. Vance Backs Suit To Declare Google Common Carrier
Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, and an anti-monopoly nonprofit have backed the Ohio state attorney general's lawsuit seeking to declare Google as a common carrier.
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March 18, 2024
Amazon, Bumkins Accused Of Not Flagging 'Superbibs' Chemical
Amazon and baby products manufacturer Bumkins Finer Baby Products face a lawsuit in California state court alleging they sell DC Comics-themed "Superbibs" meant for feeding infants without warning customers as the law requires that they contain perfluorooctanoic acid, a "forever chemical" that may cause certain cancers and reproductive problems.
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March 18, 2024
Tesla's California Trial To Test The Bounds Of AV Future
An upcoming California trial seeking to hold Tesla accountable for the death of a driver who had been playing games on his cellphone while his vehicle was in Autopilot may force the auto industry to recalibrate its approach to advanced driver-assistance systems, as developers pushing fully autonomous transportation stare down the threat of new legal landmines, experts say.
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March 18, 2024
Apple Beats Most Claims In AirTag Stalking Suit, For Now
A California federal judge has dismissed the majority of a proposed class action accusing Apple of not doing enough to safeguard its AirTag tracking device from being abused by stalkers, saying that apart from a few negligence and product liability claims under Golden State law, the rest need to be reworked.
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March 18, 2024
New York Mag Urges Judge To Toss Reader Privacy Lawsuit
New York Magazine says it has too few Michigan-based subscribers for them to maintain a class action under a Michigan consumer privacy law, urging a judge to toss claims that it wrongfully disclosed readers' data to third parties.
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March 18, 2024
Pabst Gets Calif. Judge To Can 'Olympia Beer' False Ad Suit
A California federal judge sided with Pabst Brewing Co. on Monday in a consumer's false advertising suit, finding that the label of its now-defunct Olympia Beer was unlikely to mislead a reasonable consumer into thinking the lager was brewed in Washington using Pacific Northwest water.
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March 18, 2024
FCC Raises Broadband Speeds, But Many ISPs Already There
Many households across the country can already get the Federal Communications Commission's new benchmark for broadband internet, but making sure that level of service reaches rural and tribal areas remains a tough challenge.
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March 18, 2024
Google Defeats BIPA Suit Over IBM Face Dataset, For Now
Google has defeated a proposed class action by Illinois residents who accused the company of violating the state's biometric privacy laws with facial data collected by IBM, after a California federal judge said their claims don't establish that Google's alleged violations took place in the Prairie State.
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March 18, 2024
2 Investment Firms To Pay SEC $400K For 'AI Washing'
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday said it had reached settlements totaling $400,000 with a pair of investment advisers over claims that they made false and misleading statements about their use of artificial intelligence.
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March 18, 2024
Home Solar Co.'s Ex-CEO Wants Out Of Faulty-Panel Suit
The CEO of a bankrupt solar company asked a Michigan federal judge on Monday to toss a lawsuit from a couple who purchased a solar system they claim was defective, saying having a "distinctive leadership style" does not make him an alter ego for the company.
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March 18, 2024
EPA Bans Most Common Asbestos In 'Cancer Moonshot' Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday finalized a ban on the most prevalent variety of asbestos, the first asbestos risk management rule issued since the Toxic Substances Control Act was amended in 2016.
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March 18, 2024
Marriott Must Face Suit For Booting Kidswear Wholesalers
Marriott International must face a suit by two clothing wholesalers who were kicked out of rooms at a Fairfield Inn just outside Boston for violating an undisclosed "non-solicitation" policy, a Massachusetts appellate court said Monday.
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March 15, 2024
Hagens Berman Defends Bid To Lead Yardi Price-Fixing Suit
A putative class on Friday continued to push for the appointment of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP as interim lead counsel for a rent price-fixing class action in Washington federal court after property management software company Yardi Systems Inc. and multiple landlords opposed the bid.
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March 15, 2024
Google Wants Facebook Pact Kept Out Of Ad Tech Discovery
Google urged a Texas federal judge on Friday to reject state-level enforcers' bid to lift a stay on discovery for documents related to a bidding agreement between Google and Facebook in the suit accusing the search giant of monopolizing key digital ad technology, saying the plaintiffs' antitrust claims based on the agreement have already been dismissed.
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March 15, 2024
NYC Taxi Drivers Convince Judge To Reconsider RICO Claims
A New York federal judge has agreed to rethink her decision throwing out New York City cab drivers' racketeering suit claiming the city artificially inflated the values of once highly coveted taxi licenses, admitting that she "committed clear error" in finding that certain claims were filed too late.
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March 15, 2024
Awning Maker Can't Shade Itself From CPSC Defect Lawsuit
Awning maker SunSetter can't evade claims it concealed an allegedly deadly defect by arguing that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is unconstitutional, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled, leaning on a Fifth Circuit ruling that may not be long for this world.
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March 15, 2024
9th Circ. Says No Arbitration For Rent-To-Own Class Claims
The Ninth Circuit on Thursday said a rent-to-own company can't get a putative class action over its furniture rental fees sent to arbitration, saying the contract provision is unenforceable under California law.
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March 15, 2024
FTC Inks $26M Deal With Two Cypriot Tech Scheme Cos.
The Federal Trade Commission said it has reached a $26 million settlement in D.C. federal court with two Cyprus-based companies that it accuses of defrauding elderly consumers out of tens of millions of dollars in a tech support scam.
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March 15, 2024
Meta Can't Block FTC Plans To Stop Kids' Data Monetization
Meta filed its second appeal Friday after suffering another D.C. federal court loss against proposed Federal Trade Commission tweaks to a $5 billion data privacy settlement meant to block its monetization of children's data.
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March 15, 2024
Bank Groups Defend Texas Home For CFPB's Late-Fee Rule Suit
A trade group coalition suing to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new credit card late-fee rule pressed Thursday in Texas federal court for an immediate injunction against the measure, pushing back on the agency's claims that the case should be bounced for ineffective "forum shopping."
Expert Analysis
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3 Litigation Strategies To Combat 'Safetyism'
Amid the rise of safetyism — the idea that every person should be free from the risk of harm or discomfort — among jurors and even judges, defense counsel can mount several tactics from the very start of litigation to counteract these views and blunt the potential for jackpot damages, says Ann Marie Duffy at Hollingsworth.
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How AI May Be Used In Fintech Fraud — And Fraud Detection
Recent enforcement actions in the fintech and finance industries show that the government is increasingly pursuing fraud enabled by artificial intelligence — at the same time it’s using AI innovations to enforce regulations and investigate fraud, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
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Takeaways From Groundbreaking Data Transfer Order
A recent first-of-its-kind executive order and related proposed rulemaking lay the groundwork for important outbound U.S. data protections, but they may have unintended consequences related to the types of data and the subjects within their scope, say attorneys at Kirkland.
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What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks
Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.
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Innodata Suit Highlights 'AI Washing' Liability Risk For Cos.
A class action against software company Innodata over so-called AI washing, one of the first of its kind, underscores the litigation and enforcement risks that can arise from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's novel theory about misleading artificial intelligence capabilities, say attorneys at Bracewell.
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The Epic Antitrust Cases And Challenges Of Injunctive Relief
The Epic cases against Apple and Google offer a window into the courts' considerable challenges in Big Tech litigation and establishing injunctive relief that enhances competition and benefits consumers, say Kelly Lear Nordby and Jon Tomlin at Ankura Consulting.
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Banks Should Continue To Prep For CFPB Data Rule Rollout
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau-supervised banks should not expect industry pressure to delay the rollout of proposed Section 1033 open banking rules, which regulate how consumer financial information flows between financial institutions, and prepare their required data access portals and compliance procedures now, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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How Calif. Video Recording Ruling May Affect Insured Exams
A recent California appellate decision, Myasnyankin v. Nationwide, allowing policyholders to video record all parties to an insurance examination under oath, has changed the rules of the road for EUOs and potentially opened Pandora's box for future disputes, say John Edson and Preston Bennett at Sheppard Mullin.
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5 Things Trial Attorneys Can Learn From Good Teachers
Jennifer Cuculich at IMS Legal Strategies recounts lessons she learned during her time as a math teacher that can help trial attorneys connect with jurors, from the importance of framing core issues to the incorporation of different learning styles.
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Fintech 'Prenups': Planning For A Card Program Breakup
After a year of economic downturns, some banks and their fintech partners are realizing they may have rushed to the altar without a good prenup, but planning ahead can curb both foreseeable and unexpected issues in the event of a termination of a bank-fintech card-issuing agreement, say Andrew Grant at Ketsal and Richard Malish at Community Federal Savings Bank.
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Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies
As circular economy goals — generating revenue at multiple points in a product's life cycle — become nearly ubiquitous in corporate sustainability practices, companies should reassess existing strategies by focusing on government incentives, regulations, and reporting and disclosure requirements, say Rachel Saltzman and Erin Grisby at Hunton.
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3 Notification Pitfalls To Avoid With Arbitration Provisions
In Lipsett v. Popular Bank, the Second Circuit found that a bank's arbitration provision was unenforceable due to insufficient notice to a customer that he was bound by the agreement, highlighting the importance of adequate communication of arbitration provisions, and customers' options for opting out, say attorneys at Covington.
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Tips For Orgs Facing AI Data Privacy Compliance Challenges
Regulators around the world are actively seeking to enforce data privacy and consumer protection laws against companies providing artificial intelligence-related services, raising complex compliance questions in areas like transparency, data minimization, lawfulness of processing, data subject rights and higher risk activities, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
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What's At Play In Rising Lanham Act Cases At The ITC
Amid an uptick in Lanham Act claims involving false advertising related to medical devices at the U.S. International Trade Commission, Brian Busey and Maryrose McLaughlin at MoFo discuss recent ITC complaints from Eli Lilly and R.J. Reynolds, Lanham Act claim limits under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the issues practitioners face in this realm.
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Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims
Food products like bottled water are increasingly likely to be targets of consumer fraud complaints due to alleged microplastics contamination — but depending on the labeling or advertising at issue, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act can provide a powerful preemption defense, say Tariq Naeem and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.