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Consumer Protection
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April 30, 2025
TikTok Exec Calls Facebook, Instagram 'Complements'
A TikTok executive said Wednesday that his company views Facebook and Instagram as "complements" to the Chinese-owned short-form video platform rather than direct competitors playing in the same market, in testimony that largely supported the Federal Trade Commission's claim that Meta dominates personal social networking services.
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April 30, 2025
Schools Say Norfolk Southern Ducked Postderailment Pledge
The school district for East Palestine, Ohio, filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Norfolk Southern, claiming the railroad hasn't made good on its promises to help the district recover after a fiery derailment shook the town in 2023.
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April 30, 2025
Coinbase Urges Justices To Take User's IRS Data Seizure Suit
Crypto exchange Coinbase on Wednesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to firm up privacy rights around digital information stored with third parties, backing a petition by a Coinbase user who's challenging the Internal Revenue Service's seizure of his account records.
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April 30, 2025
9th Circ. Won't Revive Phone Number Privacy Suit Against X
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday declined to revive a Washington resident's putative class action that accused Twitter Inc., now called X, of deceptively obtaining his phone number, saying in an unpublished opinion that a state law he leaned on prohibited the fraudulent collection of telephone records, "not numbers."
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April 30, 2025
Akin Atty Returns To FCC To Lead Wireline Bureau
After three years in private practice, the Federal Communications Commission has welcomed an Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP attorney back to the agency as the newest head of the commission's Wireline Competition Bureau.
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April 30, 2025
Lego Says Toy Co.'s Tiny Figurines Are Big IP Infringement
Lego sued Veux Toys LLC in Connecticut federal court Tuesday, seeking to block the California-based toy retailer from selling figurines that are "substantially similar" to its copyrighted products, such as Spider-Man toy men.
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April 30, 2025
Fox, Smartmatic Trade Barbs In $2.7B Suit As Both Seek Win
Both sides asked a New York state judge Wednesday to grant them victory in Smartmatic's $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, with the voting tech company accusing Fox of a malicious "betrayal of the truth" while the network argued there was no evidence its election fraud claims caused Smartmatic's "business failure."
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April 30, 2025
Feds Barred From Reviving 'Unlawful' Tornado Cash Sanctions
A Texas federal judge has permanently barred the U.S. Department of the Treasury from enforcing its now-dissolved sanctions on crypto mixer Tornado Cash after the advocates who challenged the designation argued the government's removal of the sanctions wasn't enough.
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April 30, 2025
Local Gov'ts Say FCC Must Tread Lightly On Deleting Regs
The FCC is flying by the seat of its pants a little too much as it seeks to slash unnecessary regulations, a coalition of local governments have come together to tell the agency, saying that the docket "does not meet the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act."
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April 30, 2025
Mich. AG Says Express Scripts, Prime Fix Pharmacy Rates
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel took aim at pharmacy benefit managers Express Scripts and Prime Therapeutics this week in a lawsuit accusing them of a price-fixing deal the state said has crippled pharmacies.
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April 30, 2025
Senate Panel Clears Trump's Pick For 3rd FCC Republican
A key U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday advanced President Donald Trump's nominee for the third Republican seat on the Federal Communications Commission.
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April 30, 2025
Honeywell, Sourcing Co. End Scuffle Over Soured Supply Deal
Honeywell has dropped its lawsuit accusing a sourcing company of making up quality concerns to bail on a contract for medical-grade gloves, according to a notice filed in the North Carolina Business Court.
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April 30, 2025
Amazon Can't Claw Back 'Inadvertent' Discovery Docs
A Seattle federal judge has ruled that documents Amazon.com Inc. produced as part of three proposed antitrust class actions may not be clawed back, finding that despite the online retailer's claims that they were produced "inadvertently," there was no indication the document-sharing was a mistake.
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April 30, 2025
Judge Orders Mediation In Riley Pope Data Breach Suit
A South Carolina federal judge on Tuesday ordered parties in a proposed class action over a 2024 cyberattack impacting the employees of law firm Riley Pope & Laney LLC's clients to conduct mediation ahead of trial — one day after the firm asked the court to toss the case, claiming the plaintiff has not alleged any actual misuse of his personal information.
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April 30, 2025
DOJ Fights Firm's Bid To Halt Tax Collection During Suit
A boutique Connecticut consumer protection law firm cannot block the IRS from collecting 2022 and 2023 payroll taxes while the firm challenges the government's alleged failure to process CARES Act payroll credit requests in 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice has argued.
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April 30, 2025
Kratom Cos. Get False Ad, Addiction Suit Tossed
A California federal judge has dismissed a proposed class action alleging Thang Botanicals and FTLS Holdings LLC mislead consumers about addictive qualities of their kratom products after the plaintiffs failed to file an amended complaint on time.
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April 29, 2025
Duke Energy Rival Tells Justices Not To Review Monopoly Suit
Independent power producer NTE Energy is urging the U.S. Supreme Court not to review a decision that revived its monopoly suit against Duke Energy, saying the North Carolina-based company is asking the justices to issue an advisory opinion answering a hypothetical question.
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April 29, 2025
2nd Circ. Not Sure FCC Fine Denied Verizon's Trial Right
Second Circuit judges questioned Tuesday why the feds couldn't fine Verizon millions of dollars for location data misuse since the telecom carrier has the option of refusing to pay and demanding a jury trial if the U.S. Department of Justice comes to collect.
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April 29, 2025
Ex-CFPB Senior Attys Sign On With Democracy Forward
Democracy Forward, a legal advocacy group that's emerged as a top court brawler with the Trump administration, said Tuesday that it has hired several more of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently departed senior litigators, adding to its ranks of agency alums.
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April 29, 2025
FTC Defends John Deere Right-To-Repair Suit
Farm machinery-maker Deere & Co. is trying to get out of an FTC enforcement action using the same arguments that didn't help it escape multidistrict litigation accusing the company of breaking antitrust laws by restricting access to repair services, the government says.
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April 29, 2025
State Telecom Roundup: Funding Security Without The Feds
The Trump administration has made it clear that it expects states to take the reins regarding cybersecurity infrastructure and disaster preparedness and that the feds plan to step back, but not all states are equally prepared for that task.
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April 29, 2025
SEC Abandons Investigation Into PayPal's Dollar Stablecoin
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped its investigation into PayPal's dollar-pegged stablecoin "without enforcement action," PayPal said in a disclosure filed Tuesday, the latest cryptocurrency probe abandoned by the agency under President Donald Trump's administration.
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April 29, 2025
Justices Wary Of Issuing 'Advisory' Ruling In Class Cert. Row
The U.S. Supreme Court's latest attempt to address a pressing question about class certification standards may be doomed by a procedural hiccup, with a majority of justices expressing concern Tuesday that they didn't have the authority to wade into a dispute over approval of a class that contains uninjured members.
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April 29, 2025
Fla. AG Drops Claims FEMA Avoided Trump Supporters' Homes
Florida's attorney general said Monday that he has settled a lawsuit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency's administrator over an alleged directive instructing hurricane relief workers to avoid homes displaying signs in support of Donald Trump.
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April 29, 2025
CFPB Aims To Mediate Colony Ridge 'Reverse Redlining' Suit
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a Houston-based real estate developer asked a Texas federal judge Tuesday to pause the bureau's reverse redlining suit so they can engage in mediation to resolve the case.
Expert Analysis
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6 Tips For Cos. To Comply With Influencer Gifting Rules
A January decision in a National Advertising Division case concerning Revolve Group provides new insights on how the NAD expects companies to manage certain influencer campaigns, including preapproving posts before they go live and considering how they present the disclosure instructions to influencers, says Gonzalo Mon at Kelley Drye.
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4 Potential Effects Of 3rd Circ.'s Coinbase Ruling
The Third Circuit's recent landmark decision in Coinbase v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the SEC's refusal to engage in rulemaking to clarify its stance on crypto enforcement was "insufficiently reasoned" could have wide-ranging impacts, including on other cases, legislation and even the SEC's reputation itself, says Daniel Payne at Cole-Frieman.
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Improving Comms Between Trial Attys And Tech Witnesses
In major litigation involving complex technology, attorneys should employ certain strategies to collaborate with companies' technical personnel more effectively to enhance both the attorney's understanding of the subject matter and the expert's ability to provide effective testimony in court, say attorneys at Buchalter.
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CFPB's Message To States Takes On New Weight Under Trump
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's January guidance to state enforcers has fresh significance as the Trump administration moves to freeze the bureau's work, and industry should expect states to use this series of recommendations as an enforcement road map, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.
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National Bank Act Rulings Facilitate More Preemption Analysis
Two recent National Bank Act preemption decisions from an Illinois federal court and the Ninth Circuit provide the first applications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s May ruling in Cantero v. Bank of America, opening the potential for several circuit courts to address the issue this year, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.
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Series
Collecting Rare Books Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My collection of rare books includes several written or owned by prominent lawyers from early U.S. history, and immersing myself in their stories helps me feel a deeper connection to my legal practice and its purpose, says Douglas Brown at Manatt Health.
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What NHTSA's Autonomous Vehicle Proposal Means For Cos.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's recently proposed framework for review and oversight of vehicles equipped with automated driving systems offers companies a more flexible, streamlined approach to regulatory approvals for AVs, including new exemption pathways, assessments by independent experts and other innovations, say attorneys at Covington.
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Tips For Pharma-Biotech Overlap Reporting In New HSR Form
While there’s no secret recipe for reporting overlaps to the Federal Trade Commission in the new Hart-Scott-Rodino Act form, there are several layers of considerations for all pharma-biotech companies and counsel to reflect on internally before reporting on any deal, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.
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Complying With Calif. Price-Gouging Law After LA Fires
The recent tragic Los Angeles fires have brought attention to the state's sometimes controversial price-gouging protections, and every California business should keep the law's requirements in mind, despite the debate over whether these statutes help consumers, say attorneys at Cooley.
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Opinion
Judge Should Not Have Been Reprimanded For Alito Essay
Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor's New York Times essay critiquing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for potential ethical violations absolutely cannot be construed as conduct prejudicial to the administration of the business of the courts, says Ashley London at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.
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Aviation Watch: Litigation Liabilities After DC Air Tragedy
While it will likely take at least a year before the National Transportation Safety Board determines a probable cause for the Jan. 29 collision between a helicopter and a jet over Washington, D.C., the facts so far suggest the government could face litigation claims, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.
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How Cos. Can Use Data Clean Rooms To Address Privacy
Implementing comprehensive administrative controls, security processes and vendor management systems are vital steps for businesses leveraging data clean rooms for privacy compliance, especially given the Federal Trade Commission's warnings of complicated user privacy implications, say attorneys at Troutman.
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Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example
Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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SEC Motion Response Could Reveal New Crypto Approach
Cumberland DRW recently filed to dismiss the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement action against it for the unlawful purchase and sale of digital asset securities, and the agency's response should unveil whether, and to what extent, the Trump administration will relax the federal government’s stance on digital asset regulation, say attorneys at O'Melveny.
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A Compliance Update For Credit Card Reward Partnerships
While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's interest in credit card rewards programs could fade under the new administration, a recent circular focusing on both issuers and their merchant partners means that co-brand credit card partnerships with banks could be subject to increased scrutiny ahead, say attorneys at Goodwin.