Consumer Protection

  • August 18, 2026

    Calif. Says Academy Mortgage Must Pay Data Breach Penalty

    Residential mortgage lender and servicer Academy Mortgage Corp. must pay a penalty for a March 2023 consumer data breach that impacted more than 34,000 Californians, the state's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation announced.

  • August 18, 2026

    Equity To Sell Boston Towers To Satisfy Antitrust Concerns

    Equity Residential has agreed to sell off two high-rise apartment buildings in Boston to avoid state and federal antitrust claims following its $69 billion merger with AvalonBay Communities, according to an agreement with the Massachusetts attorney general.

  • August 18, 2026

    ABC Sues FCC To Stop License Renewal 'Retaliation'

    ABC sued the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, accusing the Trump administration of using the agency to threaten the Disney-owned network's licenses in a bid to stop it from broadcasting anything displeasing to the president.

  • August 17, 2026

    Albertsons Judge Hears $44B Opioid Abatement Plan In Wash.

    Addressing harm caused by prescription opioid abuse in Washington would cost nearly $44.4 billion, an expert testified Monday during a bench trial in the state's case accusing Albertsons and its Safeway subsidiary of exacerbating Washington's overdose crisis by failing to curb the flow of controlled substances.

  • August 17, 2026

    Treasury Plan Would Map Boundaries Of US Stablecoin Market

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Monday floated a proposal to set standards for how and when payment stablecoins may enter the U.S. market, moving ahead on a key unfinished plank of the emerging federal regulatory framework for the stable-value tokens.

  • August 17, 2026

    Standing Flaw Sinks Chrysler Website Tracking Row, For Now

    A California federal judge has tossed, with leave to amend, a proposed class action accusing automaker FCA of illegally divulging Chrysler website visitors' personal information to a data broker, finding that the plaintiff had failed to establish the type of concrete injury necessary to sustain her wiretap and privacy claims.

  • August 17, 2026

    Meta Exec Can't 'Rule Out' Addiction But Doubts It, Jury Told

    A Meta safety executive admitted Monday to a Tennessee jury that she cannot "rule out" that addiction may occur with Instagram but said she believes that so far there is no evidence to identify anything beyond "problematic use."

  • August 17, 2026

    Experts See Looming Legal Disputes Over FCC Party Balance

    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to ditch case law shielding independent federal agency members from presidential removal is unlikely to resolve ongoing controversy over White House control of the Federal Communications Commission, experts said Monday.

  • August 17, 2026

    Pitney Bowes Hit With Tariff Refund Suit By EBay Users

    EBay users hit Pitney Bowes Inc. with a breach of contract proposed class action Monday in Connecticut federal court alleging the global shipping and logistics company failed to return or refund them tariff-related charges that were deemed illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year.

  • August 17, 2026

    Calif. AG Pans Bid To Pause Social Media Algorithm Limits

    The California attorney general urged a federal judge to deny requests from TikTok, Meta and Google to block enforcement of a state law barring them from using algorithms to deliver feeds to children, saying the court already denied a preliminary injunction and should not grant one pending the companies' appeal.

  • August 17, 2026

    Feds Back NJ Drivers' Bid To Void NYC Congestion Pricing

    The Trump administration threw its support behind New Jersey and out-of-state drivers suing to shut down New York's congestion pricing, saying a Biden-era federal agreement that gave New York's program the green light was invalid from the start.

  • August 17, 2026

    DOJ Charges Ga. Man Over $165M Crypto Ponzi Scheme

    A serial "Ponzi-schemer" is charged with wire fraud for allegedly spearheading a $165 million cryptocurrency scheme that defrauded over 6,000 victims around the world and using the money to make alimony payments and buy expensive cars for his children, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday. 

  • August 17, 2026

    Meta Loses 'Hail Mary' Sanctions Bid On Eve Of AGs' Trial

    A California federal judge Sunday denied Meta's request for spoliation sanctions against state attorneys general that would've barred a Meta whistleblower from testifying in the upcoming high-stakes social media addiction bellwether trial, ruling that Meta's request was an "obvious" "Hail Mary attempt to eliminate a strong witness" before trial.

  • August 17, 2026

    Apple Bricked Smartwatches In Software Update, Suit Says

    Apple has been hit with a proposed class action in California federal court alleging it breached its contracts with customers by intentionally killing updated software support for five generations of its smartwatches and essentially bricking them before the end of the hardware's useful life.

  • August 17, 2026

    Happy Egg Breaks 'Pasture Raised' False Ad Class At 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday threw out class certification of California and New York consumers accusing the company behind the Happy Egg brand of deceptively labeling egg cartons with promises that its hens are "pasture raised on over 8 acres."

  • August 17, 2026

    Virginia Hemp Cos. Lose Bid To Halt THC Cap

    A Virginia federal judge has refused to block a state law placing new potency caps on THC products, ruling that the hemp businesses opposing the law are unlikely to succeed with claims that the law constitutes an unconstitutional taking.

  • August 17, 2026

    Google To Pay $10M For Spirit Airlines Data To Help AI Models

    Technology giant Google LLC has won an auction for Spirit Airlines' emails, chats, spreadsheets and other data, offering $10 million for anonymized information it will use to improve its large language models and other products, according to a notice filed Friday in New York bankruptcy court.

  • August 17, 2026

    Kalshi Loses Bid To Block Conn. Enforcement

    A Connecticut federal judge has denied a bid from KalshiEX to keep offering sports contracts while it pursues an appeal before the Second Circuit, finding the prediction market's arguments for a stay had already been rejected by the court and that it has not shown it is likely to win on appeal.

  • August 17, 2026

    Doxo To Pay FTC $2.1M Over Misleading Ads And Fees

    Doxo will pay $2.1 million to settle Federal Trade Commission claims that the online bill pay service and two co-founders misled consumers about fees and used deceptive advertising to impersonate billers, the commission announced on Monday, after a Washington federal judge granted partial summary judgment earlier this year.

  • August 17, 2026

    Home Sauna Kit Burned Consumer, Suit Says

    A New Jersey woman said in a suit filed Friday in Garden State federal court that the water tank in a personal steam sauna suddenly exploded while she was using it, which caused severe and painful burns.

  • August 17, 2026

    FCC Turns Down Bid To Revisit Campaign Ad Pricing Policy

    The Federal Communications Commission declined a petition asking it to reconsider guidance the agency put out earlier this year about political ads, saying the "central premise" of the request was "wrong many times over."

  • August 17, 2026

    Blue States Say FTC Can't Regulate Trans Youth Health

    A group of left-leaning states, including Massachusetts and California, asked a Texas federal court to toss a Federal Trade Commission suit against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, saying Monday that the FTC's suit constitutes a "federal attack on state-regulated transgender healthcare."

  • August 17, 2026

    AIG Exclusion Doesn't Bar Multiplied Damages, Judge Says

    A California federal judge in a narrow ruling declared that a portion of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan's insurance policy does not automatically bar coverage for a portion of a $581 million False Claims Act settlement attributable to multiplied damages, but will decide later whether the agreement actually included such damages. 

  • August 17, 2026

    Paramount Wants AGs, WGA To Pay $1.9B Merger Suit Bond

    Paramount Skydance Corp. put a price tag Monday on waiting until next year to close its planned $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, asking a California federal judge to impose an approximately $1.9 billion bond requirement on the Democratic attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America challenging the deal.

  • August 17, 2026

    Pornhub To Pay $120M To End Child Abuse Content Cases

    The companies behind adult entertainment website Pornhub have agreed to make extensive policy changes and pay $120 million to end certified class claims in California and Alabama by child sex trafficking and sexual abuse material survivors who allege the website profited from crimes committed against them.

Expert Analysis

  • Constructing AI Compliance Plans As State Laws Diverge

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    With Colorado, Connecticut and the federal government recently announcing wildly different approaches to artificial intelligence regulation, creating a workable compliance program means addressing overlapping obligations using shared systems rather than separate silos, say attorneys at Ogletree.

  • Assessing Issues The CFTC's Sports Betting Rules May Face

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently proposed a rule to consolidate its control of sports bets made on prediction market trading platforms, but problems may arise from possible conflicts between the proposed changes and state laws — and maybe even the Commodity Exchange Act itself, says David Slovick at Kopecky Schumacher.

  • Opinion

    State Courts Must Be Gatekeepers Of Expert Testimony

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    Based on my experience in the state judiciary, emulating federal courts' role as gatekeepers of expert witness testimony would help state court judges maintain the appearance of impartiality and assist juries, thus enhancing the overall confidence people have in their justice system, says Lorie Gildea at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Series

    Moshing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Entering a mosh pit is much like entering the practice of law — it is difficult, you have to know both the written and unwritten rules, and conduct yourself according to the expectations of each community, says Christopher Deubert at Constangy Brooks.

  • Data Reveals Pivot In Feds' Financial Fraud Priorities

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    Recent Justice Department data shows fraud prosecutions fell to their lowest rate in a decade in 2025, illustrating a move away from traditional financial cases and toward a targeted mix of healthcare, government program, consumer and sanctions matters, say Paul Hinton and Adrienna Huffman at The Brattle Group.

  • Tracking The Rare 'Quick Look' Win In FTC's Zillow-Redfin Suit

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    The Federal Trade Commission’s suit claiming that Zillow illegally paid Redfin to exit the apartment rental market is one to watch because its early success under the less rigorous “quick look” standard of antitrust review could turn into a rare case won under the doctrine, say attorneys at Axinn.

  • Why Highly Specialized Experts May Risk Exclusion At Trial

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    Expert witnesses with highly specific areas of focus may be vulnerable to exclusion in court, making it important for attorneys to check how potential witnesses' qualifications can be bolstered by their publications and other professional activities, say Evan Weisberg and Christopher Cunio at Hunton, and Kevin Cahill at FTI Consulting.

  • Gatorade Suit Offers Lessons On Product Performance Claims

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    A proposed class action in New York federal court disputing PepsiCo's claim that Gatorade "hydrates better than water" presents a broad challenge to the way food and beverage companies communicate product benefits — and the risks that arise when marketing claims outpace the evidence supporting them, says Pejman Javaheri at Juris Law Group.

  • Trump AI Order: Voluntary Framework, Mandatory Implications

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order promoting the advancement of artificial intelligence innovation and security establishes a new framework for government collaboration with the AI industry, but its classified benchmarking criteria, prerelease framework terms and operational rules will determine whether it establishes de facto compliance expectations, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • FDIC Proposal Takes Bank-Like AML Approach To Stablecoins

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    Rather than craft a bespoke regime for stablecoin issuers, a recently proposed Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. rule builds a technology-neutral Bank Secrecy Act compliance framework under the Genius Act, firmly anchoring stablecoins within the U.S. financial regulatory perimeter, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

  • Opinion

    FTC's Clinical Trial Requirement Threatens Food Claim Rules

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    The Federal Trade Commission's general requirement for randomized controlled trials for most health-benefit claims, recently embraced by the National Advertising Review Board, lacks legal basis and endangers the existing statutory framework Congress created for marketing food and dietary supplements versus drugs, say attorneys at Keller & Heckman.

  • How A Novel NY Law Fits Into The AI Legal Landscape For Ads

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    An amendment to New York's General Business Law requiring disclosures when advertisements use performers generated by artificial intelligence arrives at a moment of rapid transformation in the marketing ecosystem and indicates that advertisers should take a proactive approach grounded in transparency, contractual protections and alignment across legal and creative teams, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • Opinion

    Current Consumer Protection Laws Can Fit Agentic Commerce

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    While agentic commerce — artificial intelligence that searches, compares and makes purchases for customers — doesn't warrant a new consumer protection regime, it will require companies to design compliance into their products from the outset and challenge regulators to consistently apply existing laws, says Katherine Adkins at Affirm.

  • How Reserve Studies Fit Into Condo Association Compliance

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    In the five years since the Surfside condominium collapse and as states like New Jersey establish related safety mandates, reserve planning has emerged as a central compliance concern for community associations, acting as a practical tool for responsible disclosure and managing long-term capital obligations, say attorneys at Dilworth Paxson.

  • AI Heightens Old Compliance Risks For Investment Advisers

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    Though artificial intelligence offers genuine promise for investment advisers, it also magnifies long-standing risks — including those involving fiduciary duties, books and records, client confidentiality, and marketing — with most foundational compliance requirements likely to remain, says Theodore Edwards at Troutman.

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