Consumer Protection

  • April 08, 2024

    DirecTV Questions FCC Legal Authority For New Rules

    DirecTV said the Federal Communications Commission is relying on a faulty interpretation of the Communications Act to justify imposing rules that would block early termination fees for satellite service and require rebates for TV program blackouts during carriage disputes.

  • April 08, 2024

    Wells Fargo Knew Of Ex-Texas Atty's Fraud, Victims Claim

    Victims of a former Texas attorney's multimillion-dollar fraud urged a Lone Star State federal court on Monday to keep alive their lawsuit accusing Wells Fargo Bank NA of enabling the scheme, arguing the bank was aware the lawyer was misusing clients' money and profited from the arrangement.

  • April 08, 2024

    Conn. Law Firm Demands Insurer Pay More For Leak In Office

    A Connecticut law firm and a real estate company have accused their insurer of failing to fully cover damage from a leak at their New Haven offices despite a $2.2 million policy in a suit removed to Connecticut federal court by the insurer.

  • April 08, 2024

    PE Firm Calls FTC's Antitrust Claims 'Many Yesterdays' Old

    A Texas anesthesiology company and the private equity firm that created it told a Houston federal judge Monday that the Federal Trade Commission has gone back "many yesterdays ago" in making its antitrust case, arguing that there's no imminent threat of a monopoly in an attempt to get the case dismissed.

  • April 08, 2024

    Tesla Owner Claims Company's Warranty Misled Customers

    A California Tesla owner claims the electric vehicle company falsely advertised a battery warranty and refused to replace a fuse on his car without charge, a repair that should have been covered by the agreement, according to a proposed class action filed in California federal court.

  • April 08, 2024

    Tesla Settles Autopilot Wrongful Death Suit On Eve Of Trial

    On the day a closely watched trial was set to get underway in California, Tesla Inc. revealed it reached a confidential settlement with the family of an Apple engineer who died in a 2018 crash of a Tesla vehicle engaged in Autopilot, the company said in a California Superior Court filing on Monday, asking the judge to seal the figure.

  • April 08, 2024

    Starbucks Drops TM Suit After Fake Websites Go Dark

    Starbucks has agreed to drop a trademark lawsuit claiming a pair of websites ripped off its "twin-tailed siren" logo and other brand material to sell fake franchise deals, saying in a recent Washington federal court filing that the allegedly unauthorized activity has stopped.

  • April 08, 2024

    Atlantic City Hotels Say Gov't Backing Can't Save Pricing Suit

    Atlantic City casino-hotels continue to push a New Jersey federal judge to toss room rate price-fixing allegations they say get no help from a U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission intervening brief that argued algorithmic collusion is just as liable under antitrust law.

  • April 08, 2024

    Feds Can't Believe Steel Factory Doesn't Know Own Directors

    The U.S. government told a Michigan federal judge that a steel input manufacturer can't try to avoid questions about business decisions by claiming it can't identify company leaders, asking the judge to make the factory answer key inquiries about its practices when it sought to remove oven gas limits.

  • April 08, 2024

    Ex-IRS Criminal Investigations Head Joins Crypto Data Firm

    A newly retired chief of the Internal Revenue Service's law enforcement arm is taking his skills to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, where he'll help federal agencies and crypto firms leverage Chainalysis' data and solutions to combat financial crime.

  • April 08, 2024

    FTC Defends In-House Judges' Role In H&R Block Case

    H&R Block wrongly claimed that the Federal Trade Commission's administrative law judges should be disqualified from overseeing an administrative proceeding accusing the tax preparation company of deceptive advertising, FTC lawyers told the agency, arguing the judges don't have illegal job protections.

  • April 08, 2024

    Taxi Hailing Cos. Settle Hidden Fees RICO Claims

    Three taxi hailing companies have settled a proposed class action accusing them of conspiring to hit users who call for cabs using their tech products with hidden fees, according to a new order from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissing the suit.

  • April 08, 2024

    Key Congressional Leaders Float Sweeping Data Privacy Bill

    The heads of the U.S. Senate and House commerce committees have taken a major step toward enacting a comprehensive federal consumer data privacy framework, reaching a long-awaited deal on proposed legislation that would minimize the personal data companies can gather, allow consumers to bring lawsuits and eliminate a growing patchwork of state laws.

  • April 05, 2024

    PNC Must Face Customer's Suit, Judge Says After Fixing Error

    A federal judge in Philadelphia reissued an opinion Friday requiring PNC Bank NA to face a customer's breach of contract suit after an earlier decision mischaracterized parties involved in an alleged check-forging scheme as PNC employees.

  • April 05, 2024

    Wow Bao Says Customer Can't Prove Kiosk Data Collection

    Asian fast-food chain Wow Bao has urged an Illinois state court judge to grant it summary judgment in a biometric privacy suit targeting the company's self-serve kiosks, arguing it cannot be held liable for collecting or possessing data it never in fact had.

  • April 05, 2024

    Justices Urged To 'Shut The Door' On Meta Disclosure Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court should "shut the door" on private securities lawsuits that could create a bloated disclosure regime and hurt businesses and investors alike, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Friday in a brief backing Meta Platforms Inc.'s call for the justices to hear a shareholder proposed class action over the Cambridge Analytica data abuse scandal.

  • April 05, 2024

    5th Circ. Blocks Biden Admin's Predatory College Loan Rule

    The Fifth Circuit has ordered a preliminary injunction blocking the Biden administration's changes to a program providing student loan forgiveness to borrowers defrauded by higher education institutions, finding that the plaintiff representing for-profit colleges demonstrated a likelihood of suffering irreparable harm without the injunction.

  • April 05, 2024

    Top 3 Groups Lobbying The FCC

    The Federal Communications Commission heard from policy advocates more than 200 times in March, as the agency fielded concerns on net neutrality rules, bulk billing for internet service, broadband deployment, school connectivity and more.

  • April 05, 2024

    BofA Objects To Allowing Zelle Fraud Claim To Proceed

    Bank of America took umbrage with certain recommendations a federal magistrate judge made in allowing to proceed a proposed class action over alleged fraud on the peer-to-peer payment service Zelle.

  • April 05, 2024

    Meta Looks To Nix FTC's Antitrust Case Over Acquisitions

    Meta Platforms urged a D.C. federal court on Friday to toss the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust case against it, saying the agency has found no evidence showing its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp hurt competition or consumers.

  • April 05, 2024

    Neb. Beef Seller Says No Proof It Joined Wage-Fixing Scheme

    A Colorado federal judge gave a Nebraska beef wholesaler another chance to petition for dismissal from a class action accusing it of participating in a meat industry wage-fixing scheme, after the company filed a motion that didn't follow the court's page limit.

  • April 05, 2024

    Alabama Station Wins Carriage Fight With Dish At FCC

    An Alabama TV station won a Federal Communications Commission ruling against Dish Network, forcing Dish to carry the station throughout the Columbus, Georgia, and Opelika, Alabama, markets after the satellite provider initially refused.

  • April 05, 2024

    FCC Says Carrier Must Kill Tax Relief Scam Robocalls

    The Federal Communications Commission says it's doing some spring-cleaning and will be clearing out entities supporting clients that make illegal robocalls, starting with a company that has been allowing a client to send out some 15 million calls about a fake tax relief program.

  • April 05, 2024

    NC County School Board Joins Chorus Saying Apps Harm Youth

    The Board of Education in Wake County, North Carolina, on Friday joined the ranks of school systems suing Meta, Snapchat, TikTok and other social media companies, accusing them of stoking addiction in young users and saddling taxpayers with the cost.

  • April 05, 2024

    DC Circ. Says DOJ Can Reopen Realtor Antitrust Probe

    The D.C. Circuit said on Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice can reopen an antitrust investigation into the National Association of Realtors, despite an earlier agency settlement over the association's rules.

Expert Analysis

  • CFPB As Pay App Watchdog May Invite More Fintech Regs

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    While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent proposal to enhance federal oversight of the biggest consumer payment applications would impose no new regulatory obligations, the rulemaking could provoke heightened scrutiny for all participants in the digital payments market, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • Emerging Risks Affecting The Tech Legal Landscape

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    The tech industry has become a battleground for various legal challenges shaped by geopolitical events, partisan politics, regulatory initiatives, patent disputes and class action trends, but companies can adopt several proactive legal strategies to safeguard their interests, say Natasha Allen and Louis Lehot at Foley & Lardner.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024

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    Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • A Look At Consumer Reporting In 2023, And What's To Come

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    The legal landscape of consumer reporting is evolving as courts, federal regulators and state legislatures continue to weigh in — and while last year may have seen a slight downtick in the overall volume of Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation, 2024 is set to be a watershed year for this area of the law, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Breaking Down The New FCC Lead Generation Rules

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    The Federal Communications Commission's new rules to close the so-called lead generator robocall and robotexts loophole herald a transformative halt to the traditional lead generation industry, necessitating the development of entirely new marketplace solutions to align with the impending compliance requirements, says Alexis Buese at Bradley Arant.

  • What To Know About FCA Cybersecurity Enforcement

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    Now is a good time for practitioners, government contractors and potential relators to review recent developments in cybersecurity-related False Claims Act enforcement, and consider best practices for navigating this space in the new year, say Ellen London at London & Stout, and Li Yu and Molly Knobler at DiCello Levitt.

  • 8 Privacy Law Predictions For 2024

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    As the new year begins, looking back to several of last year's privacy law developments may help companies forecast what to focus on when updating their privacy programs, including children's privacy, so-called dark patterns and the collection of data by connected cars, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • What One Litigator Learned Serving On A Jury

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    Kilpatrick attorney April Isaacson shares insights for trial lawyers from her recent experience serving on a jury for the first time, including lessons about the impact of frequent sidebars, considerations for using demonstratives, the importance of clear jury instructions, and the unconscious habits that can drive jurors mad.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

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    As 2023 came to an end, we continued to see developments in California that are certain to have an impact on the financial services industry in 2024, including the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation's request for comments on the state's new digital asset law and the state's continued enforcement actions against debt collectors, say Jennifer Olivestone and Juan Azel at Winston & Strawn.

  • 4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year

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    As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.

  • FTC Rite Aid Order Holds Biometrics And AI Compliance Tips

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement action against Rite Aid over its use of facial biometric technology on customers provides lessons that can be leveraged to reduce and manage the risk of regulatory scrutiny of biometrics and artificial intelligence, says David Oberly at Baker Donelson.

  • What Brands Need To Know About Consumer Reviews In 2024

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    Testimonials, endorsements and consumer reviews have been on the Federal Trade Commission's radar for years — and since this evolving area will continue to be an enforcement priority in 2024, now is the time to ensure your house is in order, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    In The CFPB Playbook: Rulemaking Rush Before Election Year

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    In this quarterly Consumer Financial Protection Bureau activity recap by former bureau personnel, attorneys at McGuireWoods explain the regulator's recent push to finalize new rules about data aggregators, digital payment apps and more before the election-year Congressional Review Act window opens.

  • Ill. BIPA Ruling May Spark Violation-Of-Law Exclusion Fight

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    An Illinois appeals court's recent holding in National Fire Insurance v. Visual Pak that a violation-of-law exclusion didn't preclude coverage for an underlying Biometric Information Privacy Act suit contradicts an earlier Seventh Circuit decision that aligns with long-standing insurance law principles — which may lead the state's high court to weigh in, says Tae Andrews at Pasich.

  • Securities Question Stands After Contradicting Crypto Rulings

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    The debate about the regulation of crypto-assets came to a head in 2023 when two New York federal judges came to opposite conclusions about whether crypto-assets were securities by using the Howey test, highlighting the uncertainty facing the crypto industry as it seeks to resolve definitional questions, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

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