Consumer Protection

  • September 29, 2026

    FCC Can Step Into Idaho Pole Dispute With Utility, ISP Says

    An internet service provider insisted the Federal Communications Commission has jurisdiction in its fight with a utility over pole upgrades for broadband gear in Idaho, saying state regulators lacked authority over the issue when the dispute first occurred.

  • September 29, 2026

    Feds Seek To Throw Out States' Challenge To DEI Contract EO

    The Trump administration told a Maryland federal court that it should toss a lawsuit from states challenging its implementation of an executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the government contracting space, arguing the order falls within well-settled law.

  • September 29, 2026

    Lululemon Says Shoppers Can't Claim Its Tariff Refunds

    A proposed class action brought by Lululemon shoppers seeking refunds for higher prices paid due to unlawful tariffs should be rejected because the retailer hasn't yet recovered all its paid duties, the company told a Washington federal judge.

  • September 29, 2026

    Md. Judge Tosses Vivid Seats 'Drip Pricing' Suit

    A Maryland federal judge has tossed a proposed class action brought by a customer accusing Vivid Seats of "drip pricing" — in which the total cost is revealed only at the end of the buying process — saying that even if added fees included at checkout made the total price more expensive than what was originally displayed, the ticket was still purchased.

  • September 29, 2026

    EU Prosecutors Arrest 7 In Alleged €300M Phone Scam

    Seven people have been arrested as part of an investigation into a network accused of tricking consumers into buying over a million used mobile phones sold as new to pocket €300 million ($340 million), including €30 million in stolen value-added tax, EU prosecutors said Tuesday.

  • September 29, 2026

    Chinese, Indian Electrodes Dumped, Commerce Finds

    Imports of electrodes used for smelting from India and China are facing possible antidumping duties, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Tuesday, finding they are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.

  • September 28, 2026

    Grok-Maker Can't Get Deepfake Suit Paused Or Transferred

    Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company must continue battling a proposed class action brought by women suing over Grok-generated deepfakes of them in sexual situations, a California federal judge ruled Monday, declining to pause or transfer the suit to Texas.

  • September 28, 2026

    Home Depot, Keurig Spam Suits Paused For 9th Circ. Ruling

    Proposed class actions over allegedly misleading spam emails from Home Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond are on hold until the Ninth Circuit decides a related appeal involving Aeropostale's operators, a Washington federal judge said last week, as another Seattle federal judge returned similar suits against Macy's and Audible to state court.

  • September 28, 2026

    ChatGPT Users' Antitrust Suit Against Microsoft Gets Trimmed

    Microsoft isn't going to be able to force into arbitration claims that it undermined OpenAI by forcing the artificial intelligence giant into using only its cloud computing, but it did convince the California federal judge overseeing the case to toss the proposed class's federal antitrust claim.

  • September 28, 2026

    Calif. Governor Vetoes Broad Ban On Sensitive Data Sales

    California's governor has refused to sign off on legislation that would have made the state the latest to restrict the sale and sharing of consumers' geolocation, biometric and other sensitive information, saying the proposed "categorical ban" on these online data practices was "a step too far."

  • September 28, 2026

    6th Circ. Narrows Scope Of Injunction On Ohio Hemp Law

    Ohio officials can enforce much of a state law that reclassified hemp products as marijuana, the Sixth Circuit has ruled, only prohibiting state officials from enforcing on certain companies the parts that put geographical limitations on where cannabis products can be sourced.

  • September 28, 2026

    CFPB Rips Bid To Ax $43M Debt-Relief Win As 'Frivolous'

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has urged the Seventh Circuit to uphold a more than $43 million enforcement judgment against the former operator of a defunct debt relief provider, defending the agency's lower-court win in a case that has stretched across three presidential terms.

  • September 28, 2026

    FCC Seeks FirstNet Band Manager After Court Challenges End

    With a court challenge out of the way, the Federal Communications Commission took strides Monday toward choosing a band manager to coordinate use of the 4.9 gigahertz spectrum band by the First Responder Network Authority.

  • September 28, 2026

    Newsom Signs Calif. Pesticide PFAS Tracking Bill Into Law

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law new regulations requiring state officials to track and publicly disclose when pesticides that are used on state produce contain "forever chemicals."

  • September 28, 2026

    Paramount, States Urge Court To Approve Merger Deal

    State enforcers and Paramount Skydance responded Monday to several questions raised by a lawmaker over a settlement ending the states' challenge of Paramount's deal for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., telling a California federal court there's no need for a full-blown review.

  • September 28, 2026

    Jet Broker Accused Of Stealing $815K Through Ponzi Scheme

    A Florida couple has told a Colorado federal court a private jet charter company kept over $800,000 of the couple's money in "what amounted to a Ponzi scheme" after the company abruptly ceased operations and refused to provide refunds, leaving an estimated $150 million in customer funds in flux.

  • September 28, 2026

    Don't Overstep On Submarine Cable License Regs, FCC Told

    The Federal Communications Commission should shy away from implementing regulations for submarine cable landing licenses that would apply a uniform standard to all cable systems regardless of risk, says one of the country's biggest telecom trade groups.

  • September 28, 2026

    FCC Needs More Time To Weigh Verizon Copper Retirement

    The Federal Communications Commission says it needs more time to think about Verizon's request for the agency's permission to end copper line telephone service in certain parts of nine different states.

  • September 28, 2026

    Administration Says It Has Committed $289M In CDFI Funds

    An attorney for the Trump administration told a D.C. federal judge that nearly $300 million appropriated for community development financial institutions had been fully obligated, countering a lawsuit from an advocacy group seeking a court order requiring that the money go out.

  • September 28, 2026

    Fla. AG Seeks To Put Guardrails On OpenAI's Models

    Florida's attorney general on Monday asked a court to block OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman from developing artificial intelligence models without third-party guardrails and from offering ChatGPT to minors, in a suit accusing the AI company of spurring young people to commit crimes and acts of violence.

  • September 28, 2026

    Policyholders Say RICO Plot 'Pillaged' Insurer's Assets

    A private equity firm and a financial services business have been hit with civil racketeering claims by the holders of a combined $5 million in PHL Variable Insurance Co. policies, but whose benefits were capped at just $300,000 during a Connecticut state-managed rehabilitation effort.

  • September 28, 2026

    Atlanta Consulting Firm Sued Over May Data Breach

    Aprio Advisory Group LLC was hit with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court by a former employee who said its lax data security measures led to a data breach in May that exposed the personal information of hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

  • September 28, 2026

    Badia Shakes Lead Claims For Cinnamon But Not For Ginger

    A New York federal judge on Monday partially dismissed a suit alleging Badia Spices Inc. sold products contaminated with lead, finding the plaintiff has standing to pursue claims over ground ginger but not for ground cinnamon.

  • September 28, 2026

    Wellness Biz Sued Over 'Immunity,' 'Doctor Crafted' Claims

    A proposed class says Vive Organic Inc. deceptively labeled its wellness shots as "immunity boosting" and "doctor crafted" despite lacking evidence of clinical or medical trials showing that they can protect against infection or illness.

  • September 28, 2026

    Ex-CFTC Commissioner Exits Crypto Lobby After Clarity Stalls

    Former U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner Summer Mersinger is stepping down from leading crypto lobby the Blockchain Association, a resignation that comes weeks after crypto legislation stumbled in the Senate.

Expert Analysis

  • How 'Swap' Fight Underpins Prediction Market Enforcement

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    As courts around the country grapple with whether, and under what circumstances, event contracts qualify as swaps, federal enforcement authority hangs in the balance, with implications for companies that need to manage compliance risks during this period of legal uncertainty, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • FDA Closeout Letter Suggests Relaxing Stance On Wearables

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent decision not to pursue enforcement action against Whoop's wearable blood pressure tracker, read together with guidance released earlier this year, suggests a softer shift in the FDA's approach to regulating wearables, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • How Rogue AI May Shape Corporate Liability, Responsibility

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    Recent artificial intelligence cyber incidents offer a window into how companies deploying autonomous systems should document risk controls even when systems exceed their intended boundaries, as jurors may treat unexpected AI conduct as foreseeable evidence of inadequate safeguards, says Jorge Monroy at Verdict Insight Partners.

  • The State Of Prediction Market Litigation After 9th Circ. Ruling

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Kalshi v. Assad gives state regulators significant appellate backing to enforce state gaming laws over prediction markets, creating a direct split with the Third Circuit that will likely lead to Supreme Court review of the question, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Teva MDL Loss Shows DPAs Can Return To Haunt Civil Suits

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    Teva’s recent partial summary judgment loss in antitrust multidistrict litigation reinforces the importance of carefully scrutinizing any statement of facts a company admits to in a deferred prosecution agreement, and illustrates the potential costs of resolving a criminal investigation this way, say attorneys at Sheppard.

  • Home Equity Products Face Expanding Regulatory Patchwork

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    Home equity investment providers, which have recently come under scrutiny from regulators and industry groups, face meaningful burdens as the U.S. Senate and a growing number of states take divergent regulatory approaches, with no uniform standard likely anytime soon, say attorneys at Bradley.

  • Series

    Ballet Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of learning and performing ballet taught me that success — whether in dance or practicing law — comes only through hours of thorough preparation, boundless energy and relentless effort, says Sharon Katz-Pearlman at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Illinois BNPL Law Casts Wide Net Over Loan Providers

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    A new Illinois law's broad definition of buy now, pay later providers under its new dedicated licensing and supervisory regime notably imposes conduct standards similar to other consumer credit regimes and aggressively looks through a wide range of business activities and arrangements, say attorneys at Ashurst Perkins.

  • DOJ Fraud Declination Highlights Self-Disclosure Tradeoffs

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    As exemplified by the U.S. Department of Justice's declination of charges against Campus Eye Management under its new corporate enforcement policy, self-disclosure can be an attractive option for healthcare companies navigating criminal exposure, but should be weighed against potential costs, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Nonbank Lenders Should Watch In 'Open Banking' Redo

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    Nonbank mortgage lenders should prepare for several key changes in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's anticipated open banking rule rewrite that could reshape verification costs, vendor relationships and loan workflows, says Kara Ward at Baker Donelson.

  • SEC's Long-Awaited Crypto Rule Is 1st Piece Of Larger Puzzle

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently proposed crypto rule provides issuers with a workable exempt offering framework but leaves holder-side questions for forthcoming rules, meaning compliance officers and counsel will have to work from an incomplete picture for now, says Josh Burton at Silver Regulatory Associates.

  • How Economic Analysis Informs Consumer Lending Disputes

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    A new wave of consumer lending class actions makes clear that economic analysis of control, pricing, repayment risk and borrower behavior will be central to litigation involving fintech platforms, earned wage access products and online lending models as regulatory enforcement recedes, say economists at The Brattle Group.

  • Q3 Numbers Refine Picture Of SEC Enforcement Trajectory

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    A snapshot of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s third-quarter enforcement actions suggest the program may be smaller than in prior years, but that it is increasingly concentrated around market abuse and individual misconduct, especially related to insider trading, say Adrienna Huffman, Jan Jindra and Erik Johannesson at The Brattle Group.

  • Banks Face Lighter CRA Burdens Under Regulators' Proposal

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    Banking regulators' recently proposed rule to redo the framework under the Community Reinvestment Act would materially change which banks are subject to its most demanding requirements and how regulators evaluate lending, services, community development activities and strategic plans, says James Williams at Venable.

  • 10 Ways To Avoid Privacy Risks Revealed In AI Notetaker Suits

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    Litigation claiming Otter.ai trained its AI-powered transcription tool on user conversations and a recent complaint alleging Granola’s notetaking bot joined video calls unbeknownst to participants show companies should assess these technologies as communications-capture tools with privacy and wiretap risks, says Jennifer Ruehr at Hintze Law.

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