Consumer Protection

  • June 24, 2024

    Bill Pay Co. Tricks Consumers With 'Dark Patterns,' Suit Says

    Third-party bill payment company Doxo Inc. and two of its co-founders have been hit with a proposed class action alleging the company uses so-called dark patterns to trick consumers into using its website to pay other companies' bills online.

  • June 24, 2024

    Localities Redouble Effort To Block House Broadband Bill

    The U.S. Conference of Mayors is leaning on Congress to abandon the American Broadband Deployment Act of 2023, saying the bill is trying to cut red tape for broadband permitting at the expense of local governments' control over their own territories.

  • June 24, 2024

    CFTC Says Gemini Can't 'Heighten Burden' Over Omissions

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has urged a New York federal judge to grant it a pretrial win on claims cryptocurrency exchange Gemini provided incomplete information that misled the regulator on a proposed bitcoin futures contract, arguing Gemini's defense is nothing but a "convoluted exercise in avoidance."

  • June 24, 2024

    Apple, Amazon Assail Hagens Berman's Class Rep 'Charade'

    Apple and Amazon.com blasted Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP for trying to "have it both ways" in an antitrust suit over a pact between the companies restricting Amazon iPhone and iPad sales to approved vendors, arguing the firm cannot withdraw its original named plaintiff without forcing him to testify.

  • June 24, 2024

    Sierra Club Says Mich. Power Co. Liable For Illegal Pollution

    The Sierra Club and a small town in Michigan are looking to hold a power plant partially liable for air pollution produced by a steel factory, claiming in amended complaints filed Monday that many of the factory's regulatory compliance failures can be traced back to energy company employees.

  • June 24, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Reconsider Or Sanction In Kari Lake Vote Suit

    The Ninth Circuit has rejected Arizona Republican Kari Lake's attempt to revive her 2022 suit over the state's voting machines, issuing a two-sentence order that also rejects a sanctions bid Maricopa County officials filed in response to the former gubernatorial candidate's attempt to restart her failed suit.

  • June 24, 2024

    Illinois, Other States Back FTC Bid To Affirm Intuit Ad Ruling

    Illinois, along with 20 other states and the District of Columbia, defended the Federal Trade Commission in tax software giant Intuit's Fifth Circuit constitutional challenge to the agency's findings that the company engaged in deceptive advertising, saying in an amicus brief that the FTC's conclusion was correct.

  • June 24, 2024

    Boeing Says Turbulent Securities Suit Should Be Dismissed

    Boeing has moved to dismiss a proposed securities fraud suit in Virginia federal court accusing it of misleading investors about the overall safety of its 737 Max jets, saying that the plaintiffs' "kitchen-sink" approach falls short of pleading requirements.

  • June 24, 2024

    Mars Beats Dove Chocolate False Ad Suit At 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal Monday of a proposed class action claiming that a Mars subsidiary falsely advertised its Dove dark chocolate products as being made without using child slave labor or contributing to rainforest deforestation, finding that the candy packages' "Rainforest Alliance Certified farms" labeling isn't misleading.

  • June 24, 2024

    Sirius XM Made Millions Off Hidden Royalty Fee, Suit Alleges

    Sirius XM Radio Inc. has been tricking customers into paying an extra 21% every month by tacking a hidden "royalty fee" onto bills, according to a new proposed class action alleging that the fee is responsible for every bit of the company's profits for the last several years.

  • June 24, 2024

    Missed Forecasts 'Not Fraud,' Advance Auto Tells Investors

    Advance Auto Parts Inc. and its top brass are looking to exit a proposed class action alleging they misled investors about the failure of a new pricing strategy and purposefully inflated the impact of price reductions, saying that missed forecasts and accounting errors "are not fraud."

  • June 24, 2024

    Broadband Advocates Urge FCC To Revisit Subsidy Fees

    Advocates for broadband expansion are asking the Federal Communications Commission to revisit an April decision that exempted internet service providers, at least for now, from contributions to the FCC's telecom subsidy program.

  • June 24, 2024

    Gucci Goods Sourced From Mistreated Reptiles, Suit Says

    Gucci and parent company Kering Americas are facing a proposed class action in Illinois state court by a former sales associate who accuses the luxury retailers of falsely claiming that their exotic-skin goods are humanely sourced, even though an investigation purportedly revealed that at least two Kering-owned tanneries were subjecting crocodiles and pythons to abusive slaughtering practices. 

  • June 24, 2024

    Mortgage Co. Fights To End Borrowers' RICO 'Smear' Suit

    United Wholesale Mortgage has urged a Michigan federal judge to toss a putative class action claiming it violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by forcing brokers to originate loans through UWM, arguing the suit is an illegitimate "smear" attempt to tarnish UWM's reputation to benefit hedge fund short-sellers.

  • June 24, 2024

    Auto Software Co. Facing Suit Over Ransomware Hack

    CDK Global has been hit with a proposed privacy class action in Illinois federal court by a Florida resident who says the auto software company unlawfully failed to protect his and other individuals' personal information from being exposed in a ransomware attack the company detected last week.

  • June 24, 2024

    AT&T Must Keep Basic Services Intact, Calif. Regulators Say

    California regulators have required AT&T to maintain its commitment to basic phone service by denying its bid to withdraw as a "carrier of last resort," a decision that has prompted the company to pursue legislation that would maintain the designation only for rural communities that have limited options for telecom service.

  • June 24, 2024

    Fragrance Co. Fined €15.9M For Deleting WhatsApp Messages

    The European Commission fined International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. €15.9 million ($17 million) on Monday, after enforcers said a senior employee deleted WhatsApp messages during an investigation of potential anti-competitive activity in the fragrance industry.

  • June 24, 2024

    Pa. Court OKs $3.65M Deal On Student Loan 'Pay-To-Pay' Fees

    A Pennsylvania federal judge said Monday that she would give her final approval to a $3.65 million settlement of claims that loan servicer Educational Computer Systems Inc. had improperly charged payment fees on hundreds of thousands of federally-backed student loans.

  • June 24, 2024

    Google's Brin, Pichai Must Face Texas Ad Tech Depos

    Google CEO Sundar Pichai is bound for the deposition chair for four hours of testimony while company co-founder Sergey Brin is facing two and a half hours after a Texas federal judge refused Friday to spare the executives from a state enforcer antitrust lawsuit targeting the search giant's digital advertising placement technology.

  • June 24, 2024

    $2.9M Health Co. Data Breach Settlement Gets Final Approval

    A Michigan federal judge has given final approval to a $2.9 million deal for a maker of prosthetics and orthotics to settle claims the company didn't protect customers' sensitive information from a cyberattack.

  • June 24, 2024

    Altria Subsidiary Allowed To Sell Menthol-Flavored Vapes

    Altria Group Inc. subsidiary NJOY has secured permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell four menthol-flavored vapes, marking the first time any kind of flavored e-cigarette has secured federal approval.

  • June 24, 2024

    3rd Circ. Seems Ready To Send Experian Row To Arbitration

    A Third Circuit panel on Monday appeared poised to send a Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuit against Experian to arbitration, questioning whether a plaintiff's dispute over applying an arbitration agreement with an Experian-related credit-monitoring service fell under the "scope" disputes that would also get decided by an arbitrator.

  • June 24, 2024

    Apple Becomes 1st Target Of New EU Digital Markets Law

    European authorities provisionally accused Apple's App Store of violating its new digital antitrust law designed to curtail the power of Big Tech, claiming the iPhone maker's guidelines unfairly prevent developers from steering consumers to alternative platforms.

  • June 21, 2024

    Apple Won't Offer AI Tools In EU Due To Regulatory Concerns

    Apple confirmed Friday that the tech giant isn't planning on releasing new artificial intelligence features in the European Union this year due to "regulatory uncertainties" involving the bloc's new Digital Markets Act and the potential security risks that complying with the DMA could pose to Apple users.

  • June 21, 2024

    Lawmakers Visit Imprisoned Ex-IRS Agent And Binance Exec

    Rep. French Hill, R.-Ark., and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D.-Pa., reiterated their calls for the release of Binance executive and former IRS agent Tigran Gambaryan after visiting with him in the Nigerian prison where he's being detained on money laundering charges levied against his employer.

Expert Analysis

  • New Laws, Regs Mean More Scrutiny Of Airline Carbon Claims

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    Recent climate disclosure laws and regulations in the U.S. and Europe mean that scrutiny of airlines' green claims will likely continue to intensify — so carriers must make sure their efforts to reduce carbon emissions through use of sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen and carbon offsets measure up to their marketing, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers

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    BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • How Uyghur Forced Labor Law Affects Importing Companies

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    Amid a growing focus on forced labor in supply chains and a likely increase in enforcement under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, companies may face costly import delays unless they develop and implement compliance best practices, say Thad McBride and Lauren Gammer at Bass Berry.

  • What Companies Should Consider Amid Multistate AG Actions

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    The rise of multistate attorney general actions is characterized by increased collaboration and heightened scrutiny across various industries — including Big Tech and gaming — and though coalitions present challenges for targeted companies, they also offer opportunities for streamlined resolutions and coordinated public relations efforts, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • 3 Surprising Deposition Dangers Attorneys Must Heed

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    Attorneys often do not think of discovery as a particularly risky phase of litigation, but counsel must closely heed some surprisingly strict and frequently overlooked requirements before, during and after depositions that can lead to draconian consequences, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

  • Careful Data Governance Is A Must Amid Enforcement Focus

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    Federal and state regulators' heightened focus on privacy enforcement, including the Federal Trade Commission's recent guidance on consumer protection in the car industry, highlight the importance of proactive risk management, compliance and data governance, say Jason Priebe and Danny Riley at Seyfarth.

  • 5 Critical Factors Driving Settlement Values In Cyber Litigation

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    Recent ransomware incidents and their legal repercussions offer five valuable insights into the determinants of settlement values in cyberattack-related litigation, and understanding these trends and their implications can better prepare organizations for the potential legal fallout from future breaches, says Peter Kamminga at JAMS.

  • Opinion

    Paid Noncompetes Offer A Better Solution Than FTC's Ban

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    A better alternative to the Federal Trade Commission's recent and widely contested noncompete ban would be a nationwide bright-line rule requiring employers to pay employees during the noncompete period, says Steven Kayman at Rottenberg Lipman.

  • How Associates Can Build A Professional Image

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    As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.

  • Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age

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    As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • High Court's BofA Ruling Leaves State Preemption Questions

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    A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Cantero v. Bank of America sheds light on whether certain state banking regulations apply to federally chartered banks, but a circuit split could still force the Supreme Court to take a more direct position, says Brett Garver at Moritt Hock.

  • Cyber Takeaways For Cos. From Verizon Data Breach Report

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    Camilo Artiga-Purcell at Kiteworks analyzes the key findings of the 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report from a legal perspective, examining the implications for organizations' cybersecurity strategies and compliance efforts.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing

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    When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Lessons From Epic's Dutch Fine For Unfair Marketing To Kids

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    Dutch regulators' imposition of a €1.1 million fine on Epic Games for unfair commercial practices targeting children marks a significant moment in the ongoing scrutiny of digital market practices, and follows an increased focus on children's online safety in the U.S. and European Union, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

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