Consumer Protection

  • January 09, 2026

    Vending Co. Will Pay Nearly $7M To Hidden Fee Class

    A federal judge in North Carolina on Friday gave final approval to a $6.94 million settlement with food service company Compass Group USA Inc. in a class action alleging it charged customers 10 cents more than the displayed prices for items sold in its vending machines.

  • January 09, 2026

    30 Dems Back Bill Limiting Officials' Prediction Market Trades

    U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., introduced his plan to ban public officials from trading in certain prediction markets on Friday with the backing of 30 House Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

  • January 09, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives Suit Over Milliman's 'Fuzzy Matching' Tactic

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday reversed a decision tossing one of two classes in litigation accusing consulting firm Milliman of peddling inaccurate information by using a strategy known as "fuzzy" data matching to compile its reports, saying the lower court applied a too-high standard at the summary judgment stage for showing class members were harmed.

  • January 09, 2026

    SpaceX Can Build Up Its Next-Gen Constellation, FCC Says

    The Federal Communications Commission gave its stamp of approval Friday for SpaceX to ramp up its second-generation Starlink satellite system.

  • January 09, 2026

    USTelecom Wants 'More Green Lights' For Broadband In '26

    A key telecom industry group says that if 2025 was marked by continual delays in broadband deployment, 2026 needs to be the year when construction crews actually break ground on federally backed projects.

  • January 09, 2026

    Ky. AG Sues Character.AI Over Harm To Minors, Suicides

    The state of Kentucky is suing the company behind Character.AI, alleging it has failed to implement safeguards to protect children that use the platform to chat with bots from psychological manipulation, self-harm and suicide.

  • January 09, 2026

    Veterinary Group Says DOJ Accreditation Points Irrelevant

    The American Veterinary Medical Association has told a Tennessee federal court that the government's concerns about professional groups are irrelevant to a veterinary school's antitrust case challenging the association's accreditation requirements.

  • January 09, 2026

    CFPB's Vought Backs Down, Seeks Fresh Fed Funding

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Friday that its acting Director Russell Vought has moved to replenish its funding from the Federal Reserve, yielding after a weekslong standoff that left the consumer agency facing potential closure with dwindling cash.

  • January 09, 2026

    Justices Will Weigh FCC's Monetary Penalty Powers

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to take a look at the Federal Communications Commission's authority to issue fines by announcing it would review both a Fifth Circuit ruling in AT&T's favor curtailing the agency's ability to issue fines using its own in-house legal process and a case that Verizon lost in the Second Circuit.

  • January 09, 2026

    Judge Blocks Edwards' $945M Heart Valve Deal

    A D.C. federal judge issued an order on Friday preventing Edwards Lifesciences Corp. from moving ahead with its planned $945 million deal for JenaValve Technology Inc., torpedoing the merger challenged by the Federal Trade Commission.

  • January 09, 2026

    Couple Fights To Send Annuity Fraud Case To State Court

    A retired U.S. Navy veteran and his wife, who are accusing Ameritas Mutual Holding Co. and Ameritas Life Insurance Company Inc. of orchestrating a fraudulent investment scheme based on the sale of unsuitable equity-indexed annuities, urged a North Carolina federal court to send the case back to state court. 

  • January 09, 2026

    Rakoff Hints 'Baby Shark' Mail-Service Precedent Is Unpopular

    U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff on Friday critiqued a Second Circuit decision requiring mail service to alleged Chinese infringers of "Baby Shark" trademarks, which he said may slow Google's effort to shutter an alleged China-based global phishing scam.

  • January 09, 2026

    IDEXX Software Defect Blamed For At Least 40 Dog Deaths

    Two Los Angeles-based veterinary clinics say pet healthcare diagnostics company Idexx Distribution Inc. fraudulently concealed a software algorithm defect that allegedly led to at least 40 dogs dying and hundreds of animals getting sick or missing treatment due to false diagnostic testing, according to a new lawsuit in California state court.

  • January 09, 2026

    Virginia Takes Vape Law Fight To 4th Circ.

    Virginia is looking to the Fourth Circuit to overturn a court order partially blocking it from enforcing a ban on flavored vapes, according to a notice filed by the state's attorney general.

  • January 08, 2026

    9th Circ. Vacates Seagate Loss In Hard Drive Price-Fixing Case

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday resurrected a number of Seagate Technologies' antitrust claims against Japanese manufacturer NHK Spring in a fight over hard drive components, finding that U.S. antitrust laws could indeed apply to the alleged conspiracy in this case even though foreign entities executed transactions abroad.

  • January 08, 2026

    5th Circ. Wary Of Giving Investors Another Go At Lumen Suit

    A Fifth Circuit panel wanted to know why a group of investors should get another shot at a class action against Lumen Technologies Inc. for allegedly covering up its lead-covered copper cables, asking Thursday if the investors told the lower court how they would amend their pleading.

  • January 08, 2026

    Wash. Justices Take Up Pixel Privacy Suit Against Hospital

    The Washington Supreme Court has taken up a group of parents' bid to revive their proposed class action accusing Seattle Children's Hospital of sharing their private data with Facebook parent company Meta by installing its Pixel browser tracking tool on the hospital's public-facing website.

  • January 08, 2026

    FCC Updates 'Covered List' To Remove Some Drones

    The Federal Communications Commission announced that it will be pulling from its covered list certain drones and related components that the agency says no longer pose a risk to national security after consultation with the U.S. Department of Defense.

  • January 08, 2026

    NY Mortgage Cos. Face New 'Equitable Access' Lending Rules

    New York has finalized new rules that extend community-lending obligations to mortgage companies in the state, a move that officials said on Jan. 8 will promote regulatory parity and fairness as nonbank lenders outpace traditional banks in the mortgage market.

  • January 08, 2026

    NYAG Presses Instacart On Algorithmic Pricing Compliance

    The New York Attorney General's Office on Thursday sent a letter to Instacart requesting information about the online grocery shopping platform's compliance with a new state law on the use of algorithmic pricing following a report indicating users were being charged different prices for the same products.

  • January 08, 2026

    FCC Waives Call Consent Revocation Rule Until Early 2027

    The Federal Communications Commission has heeded the call of companies asking it to push a deadline for complying with a rule that makes it easier for people to opt out of robotexts, saying Thursday that businesses will have until 2027 to comply.

  • January 08, 2026

    9th Circ. Upholds Hyundai, Kia Theft Defect Settlement

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday upheld a $145 million class action settlement resolving claims that certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles were defectively designed and vulnerable to theft, rejecting the arguments of two objectors who said the deal shortchanged owners whose cars were never stolen or that it wasn't enough of a total payout.

  • January 08, 2026

    Rep. Floats Bill To Require Tesla Manual Door Releases

    Tesla Inc. vehicles will be required to have both inside and outside manual door handles if a recently proposed U.S. House bill is made law, with the bill's sponsor calling it a "basic safety standard" that would save lives.

  • January 08, 2026

    Conn. Credit Union Sued Over Data Breach Affecting 17,000

    Ellafi Federal Credit Union "inexcusably waited for months" to alert more than 17,000 customers that their personal information was compromised during a data breach in October, according to a putative class action filed Wednesday in Connecticut federal court. 

  • January 08, 2026

    FCC's 6 GHz Plan Relies On Geofenced 'Exclusion Zones'

    More details emerged Thursday about how the Federal Communications Commission plans to shield existing users from interference as it raises some device power levels in the 6 gigahertz spectrum band.

Expert Analysis

  • Del. Dispatch: Chancery Expands On Caremark Red Flags

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery’s recent Brewer v. Turner decision, allowing a shareholder derivative suit against the board of Regions Bank to proceed, takes a more expansive view as to what constitutes red flags, bad faith and corporate trauma in Caremark claims, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Compliance Tips Amid Rising FTC Scrutiny Of Minors' Privacy

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    The Federal Trade Commission has recently rolled out multiple enforcement actions related to children's privacy, highlighting a renewed focus on federal regulation of minors' personal information and the evolving challenges of establishing effective, privacy-protective age assurance solutions, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For The Judiciary To Fix Its Cybersecurity Problem

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    After recent reports that hackers have once again infiltrated federal courts’ electronic case management systems, the judiciary should strengthen its cybersecurity practices in line with executive branch standards, outlining clear roles and responsibilities for execution, says Ilona Cohen at HackerOne.

  • Tips For Cos. Crafting Enforceable Online Arbitration Clauses

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    Recent rulings from the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California indicate that courts are carefully examining the enforceability of online arbitration clauses, so businesses should review the design of their websites and consider specific language next to the "purchase" button, say attorneys at DTO Law.

  • Who Will Regulate Insider Trading In Prediction Markets?

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    The possibilities for insider trading have greatly expanded in the brave new world of prediction markets, and both the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and U.S. Department of Justice could bring enforcement actions in the space, so businesses should revisit their insider trading and confidential information policies, say attorneys at Fenwick.

  • Identifying The Sources And Impacts Of Juror Contamination

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    Jury contamination can be pervasive, so it is important that trial teams be able to spot its sources and take specific mitigation steps, says consultant Clint Townson.

  • 7 Lessons From The Tractor Supply CCPA Enforcement Action

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    The California Privacy Protection Agency's recent enforcement action targeting Tractor Supply for alleged violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act provides critical insights into the compliance areas that remain a priority for the California regulator, including businesses with significant consumer interactions, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Federal Debanking Scrutiny Prompts Compliance Questions

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    Recent U.S. Small Business Administration guidance sets forth requirements for preventing so-called politicized debanking and specific additional instructions for small lenders, but falls short on clarity for larger institutions, leaving lenders of all sizes with questions as they navigate this unique compliance challenge, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Writing my debut novel taught me to appreciate the value of critique and to never give up, no matter how long or tedious the journey, providing me with valuable skills that I now emphasize in my practice, says Daniel Buzzetta at BakerHostetler.

  • New Mass. 'Junk Fee' Regs Will Be Felt Across Industries

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    The reach of a newly effective regulation prohibiting so-called junk fees and deceptive pricing in Massachusetts will be widespread across industries, which should prompt businesses to take note of new advertising, pricing information and negative option requirements, say attorneys at Hinshaw.

  • SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI

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    The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

  • What 9th Circ.'s Rosenwald Ruling Means For Class Actions

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Rosenwald v. Kimberly-Clark has important implications around the Class Action Fairness Act and traditional diversity jurisdiction — both for plaintiff-side and defense-side class action litigators — and deepens the circuit split concerning the use of judicial notice to establish diversity, says Grace Schmidt at DTO Law.

  • What's At Stake In Justices' Merits Hearing Of FTC Firing

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    In December, the U.S. Supreme Court will review President Donald Trump's firing of Democratic Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, a decision that will implicate a 90-year-old precedent and, depending on its breadth, could have profound implications for presidential authority over independent agencies, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Dropped Case Shows SEC Focus On Independent Directors

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent liquidity rule case against Pinnacle Advisors, despite its dismissal by the commission, serves as a reminder that the SEC expects directors to embrace their role as active, probing fiduciaries, says Dianne Descoteaux at MFDF.

  • Addressing Legal Risks Of AI In The Homebuilding Industry

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    Artificial intelligence is transforming the homebuilding industry, but the legal challenges posed by its adoption spread across many areas, including contractual liability and intellectual property issues, so builders should adopt strategies to mitigate the risks and position themselves for success, says Philip Stein at Bilzin Sumberg.

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