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Consumer Protection
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April 18, 2024
Wife Of Alleged $3B TelexFree Scammer 'Hounded' In MDL
The estranged wife of alleged TelexFree Ponzi schemer Carlos Wanzeler said Thursday that plaintiffs in a decade-old civil suit are needlessly "hounding" her for information they already have and urged a Massachusetts federal court to free her from the "litigation purgatory."
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April 17, 2024
Ethics Panel Douses Judge DQ Talk In 5th Circ. CFPB Case
A judicial ethics panel has concluded that recusal isn't automatically required for the Fifth Circuit judge whose financial disclosures have fueled calls for his disqualification from litigation challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $8 credit card late fee rule.
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April 17, 2024
House Sends Bill To Close Data Warrant 'Loophole' To Senate
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday narrowly advanced bipartisan legislation that would ban federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies from purchasing from data brokers personal information about Americans that they would otherwise need a warrant to obtain, despite the White House voicing opposition to the measure.
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April 17, 2024
New TikTok Bill Gives More Time For Divestment
A bill requiring ByteDance Ltd. to divest TikTok or face a ban in the U.S. was included in the package of national security bills House Republicans introduced on Wednesday, which gives a longer runway to sell the app than the one the House previously passed in March.
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April 17, 2024
Walgreens Investors' $36M Deal In Opioid Suit Gets First OK
An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday granted his initial approval of a $36 million settlement to end a stockholder's derivative suit accusing Walgreens and its leadership of failing to limit retail pharmacies from dispensing unreasonable amounts of opioids.
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April 17, 2024
'Fired Up': House Leaders Say Data Privacy Law Top Priority
House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders said Wednesday that they are "fired up" to finally push long-running efforts to enact a federal data privacy framework across the finish line, although concerns about the scope of the proposal and desires to enhance digital safeguards for children threaten to derail this momentum.
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April 17, 2024
NY Settles With Payroll, Prepaid Card Bank For $700K
Pathward, formerly MetaBank, has reached a $700,000 agreement with New York Attorney General Letitia James to resolve allegations the bank broke the law by freezing certain customer accounts and illegally handing over customer money to debt collectors.
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April 17, 2024
ISPs Seek Clearer Preemption In Feds' Net Neutrality Draft
With the Federal Communications Commission set to vote on net neutrality rules later this month, internet service providers are hoping the agency will clarify exactly how its orders trump state regulations on ISP conduct.
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April 17, 2024
Kraft Sued Over Lead Contamination In Lunchables
Kraft has been slapped with a proposed class action over its popular Lunchables snack kits after independent testing of the kits allegedly found that they contained high, though legally allowable, levels of lead and other harmful substances.
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April 17, 2024
Biden Says Tariffs On Chinese Steel Should Be Tripled
President Joe Biden promised Wednesday to seek significantly steeper tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum imports should the U.S. Trade Representative confirm that China is engaging in unfair trade practices that erode competition.
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April 17, 2024
DC Judge Questions 7-Eleven Position On FTC Constraints
A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday pressed counsel for 7-Eleven on the company's claims that only the U.S. attorney general can seek civil penalties on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission, questioning how the commission itself can be limited when the FTC Act gives it the right to take up actions if the U.S. Department of Justice does not.
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April 17, 2024
Cinemark Shorted Thirsty Moviegoers By 2 Ounces, Suit Says
Movie theater chain Cinemark USA Inc. is ripping off customers by lying about its purported 24-ounce drink sizes when in reality, the plastic containers can only hold 22 ounces of liquid, according to a proposed class action filed in Texas federal court.
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April 17, 2024
Don't Ignore Problematic Merger Docs, FTC Comp Chief Says
The Federal Trade Commission's top antitrust enforcer urged merging parties Wednesday to be fully open and transparent with reviewing staffers, warning that trying to get enforcers to ignore potentially problematic material just makes their jobs more difficult.
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April 17, 2024
Tinder, Hinge Seek Arb. In 'Preposterous' Addictive Apps Suit
Allegations that the Tinder and Hinge dating apps are addictive and lead to compulsive use are "preposterous," Match Group told a California federal judge, arguing that not only are the claims baseless, but the consumers bringing them all signed arbitration agreements when they signed up for accounts.
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April 17, 2024
New Stablecoin Bill Eyes Investor Protections, AML Regime
Sens. Cynthia Lummis, R.-Wyo., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D.-N.Y., have unveiled their long-awaited proposal to regulate stablecoins, which would require issuers to hold full reserves, ban algorithmic stablecoins and define the authority that state and federal banking regulators will have over the tokens.
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April 17, 2024
First-Of-Its-Kind Brain Data Privacy Bill Passes In Colo.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday signed a bipartisan bill to protect the privacy of individuals' brain activity, marking the first time in the United States that a law expands the definition of "sensitive data" to include biological and neural data.
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April 17, 2024
Jury To Decide Fault Of Driver In Spray-Huffing DUI Death
A Minnesota federal judge on Wednesday said it's up to a jury to decide whether a driver acted intentionally or negligently when he allegedly huffed a compressed gas spray and killed a woman in a collision, in a trial against the spray's manufacturer over the death.
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April 17, 2024
Liberty Mutual's Spyware Suit Halted Pending 3rd Circ. Appeal
A proposed class action accusing Liberty Mutual of using software to track customers' actions on its website without consent was put on hold Wednesday by a Pennsylvania federal judge pending guidance from the Third Circuit in a similar case.
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April 17, 2024
Flagstar Bank Beats Overdraft 'Fee Maximization' Suit
A Michigan federal judge has shut down a proposed consumer class action that accused Flagstar Bank of unlawfully charging millions of dollars in surprise overdraft fees, ruling that the bank had provided clarifying disclosures that left no more room for surprise.
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April 17, 2024
Lawmaker Says New Merger Guides Hurt Small Businesses
The head of the House Small Business Committee has sent letters to the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, contending enforcers did not fully consider how new merger guidelines will impact the small business community.
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April 17, 2024
Geolocation Co. Seeks FCC Revamp Of Lower 900 MHz
Tech developer NextNav has asked the Federal Communications Commission to reconfigure the lower 900 megahertz spectrum band to allow for geolocation services that can back up the Global Positioning System.
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April 17, 2024
Coding Bootcamp Fined $164K For Misleading Student Loans
A company that runs coding "bootcamps" has been permanently banned from consumer lending after U.S. regulators found it inflated its job placement rates to students and lied to them about a tuition financing program that turned out to be risky loans.
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April 17, 2024
FDA Denies Marketing For 65 MNGO Disposable E-Cigarettes
The latest action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on e-cigarettes was to tell a Chinese company to take its range of 65 e-cigarette products in a variety of flavors from menthol to pink lemonade and watermelon off the market.
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April 17, 2024
FDA Tells Justices It Has A Better Vape Case In Mind
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has told the U.S. Supreme Court that if it wants to address the agency's decision not to approve applications for flavored e-cigarettes, there is a better case in the pipeline than the appeal lodged by Lotus Vaping Technologies that the justices should choose instead.
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April 17, 2024
States, Biz Groups Back Fight Over DOE Furnace Rules
Eighteen states and several business associations are backing gas utility groups' challenge to the U.S. Department of Energy's tighter energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters, telling the D.C. Circuit that the agency is unlawfully forcing a switch to new appliances.
Expert Analysis
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Legal Issues When Training AI On Previously Collected Data
Following the Federal Trade Commission's recent guidance about the use of customer data to train artificial intelligence models, companies should carefully think through their terms of service and privacy policies and be cautious when changing them to permit new uses of previously collected data, says James Gatto at Sheppard Mullin.
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Protested CFPB Supervisory Order Reveals Process, Priorities
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s order announcing its first use of special oversight power to place installment lender World Acceptance Corp. under supervision despite resistance from the company provides valuable insight into which products and practices may draw bureau scrutiny, and illuminates important nuances of the risk assessment procedures, say Josh Kotin and Michelle Rogers at Cooley.
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Series
Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from consumer fraud to employment — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including coercive communications with putative class members and Article III standing at the class certification stage.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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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.