Consumer Protection

  • October 01, 2026

    Visa, Mastercard Hit With Antitrust Suit Over Post-2019 Fees

    Even though Visa and Mastercard have paid out billions to escape litigation accusing them of plaguing merchants with predatory "swipe fees," the credit titans have not stopped inflating the fees businesses pay every time someone swipes their card, a new lawsuit alleges.

  • October 01, 2026

    SEC Floats Crypto Custody Rule Updates For Funds, Advisers

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday proposed updates to custody rules that would allow investment advisers and funds to hold clients' crypto with state trust companies or safeguard the assets themselves if they can't find a suitable custodian.

  • October 01, 2026

    Amazon Pays $8.25M Over Slowed Delivery In 2 DC ZIP Codes

    Amazon agreed to pay out $8.25 million to resolve allegations it secretly left out certain ZIP codes in the Washington, D.C., area from Prime Delivery services for years while charging those residents the full Prime membership price, Washington, D.C.'s attorney general announced Thursday.

  • October 01, 2026

    Zillow Users Can't Sue Over Microsoft Session Replay Tech

    A Washington federal judge has thrown out a proposed class action claiming Zillow used Microsoft browser tracking software that shared users' website activity with third parties, saying Wednesday that the plaintiffs went against a prior court order by inappropriately tacking two new claims onto the latest version of the lawsuit.

  • October 01, 2026

    Patients' Texas Anesthesia Rollup Suit Trimmed

    A Texas federal judge offered patients a mixed bag Wednesday in a proposed class action accusing U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc. of anticompetitively buying up anesthesia practices in the state and fixing prices, dismissing claims based on ambulatory surgery center services while preserving allegations based on hospitals.

  • October 01, 2026

    AbbVie Gets Humira Antitrust Suit Trimmed, But Not Tossed

    An Illinois federal judge tossed all but one claim in a sheet metal worker health plan's putative class action against AbbVie for allegedly causing artificially inflated prices for the rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira, saying the plan sufficiently alleged AbbVie unlawfully stifled competition in the adalimumab market.

  • October 01, 2026

    MLB Can't Bat Ticket Theft Suit To Arbitration, Judge Says

    A New York federal judge denied a Major League Baseball unit's bid to compel arbitration in a proposed class action over digital security breaches that allegedly led to the disappearance of game tickets from the MLB app, finding it failed to show plaintiffs agreed to terms containing the arbitration clause.

  • October 01, 2026

    Google Beats Online Publishers' AI Overviews Antitrust Suit

    A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday dismissed antitrust suits from Chegg Inc. and Penske Media Corp. against Google, finding that their central claims that the search engine giant coerces publishers into supplying free content for its artificial intelligence products "fail to get out of the starting gate." 

  • October 01, 2026

    Merrill, But Not BofA, Must Face Cash Sweep Rates Suit

    Bank of America escaped account holders' allegations that they were paid unreasonably low interest rates under automatic cash sweep programs, but its wealth management division, Merrill Lynch, must still face most of the proposed class claims, according to a New York federal judge's ruling.

  • October 01, 2026

    Customers Ask 9th Circ. To Halt Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal

    Streaming service customers are asking the Ninth Circuit to step in and stop Paramount Skydance's planned $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery until a court can decide if their antitrust suit challenging the merger will be dismissed.

  • October 01, 2026

    Classes Certified In Ford Diesel Fuel Pump Suit

    A Michigan federal judge has certified classes of truck owners in five states who allege that defective fuel pumps in Ford Motor Co.'s diesel trucks can suddenly fail and cost more than $10,000 in repairs, and, despite trimming some claims, also denied Ford judgment on the core causation issue in the case. 

  • October 01, 2026

    Water Utilities Say EPA Rule Defines Them Too Broadly

    The fate of a federal plan to eliminate the nation's lead drinking-water pipes may come down to a debate over the definition of a public water system.

  • October 01, 2026

    Google Ad Tech MDL Teed Up For Trial Largely Intact

    Gannett, the Daily Mail and a certified class of website publishers scored a major win with a New York federal court ruling largely refusing to let Google scrap antitrust allegations targeting its advertising placement technology business in sprawling multidistrict litigation.

  • October 01, 2026

    DOJ's RealPage Deal Doesn't End States' Antitrust Claims

    A North Carolina federal court has refused to toss antitrust claims from state enforcers accusing RealPage of providing software that allows residential building owners to inflate rents, despite RealPage's settlement in the case with the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • October 01, 2026

    Fla. Doc Says He Opposed Cruise Co.'s Billing, Got Fired

    A doctor has brought a federal whistleblower lawsuit against Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings Ltd. in Florida federal court, alleging he lost his job after speaking out against what he believed were fraudulent practices to overcharge passengers for medical services that weren't necessary. 

  • October 01, 2026

    Ex-Actavis Exec Escapes Some Drug Price-Fixing Claims

    A Connecticut federal judge has dismissed a swath of claims against a former executive of Actavis and Taro in the generic drug price‑fixing litigation brought by state enforcers, holding that evidence was insufficient to prove he joined several alleged single‑drug conspiracies.

  • October 01, 2026

    CFPB Couldn't Verify Security Of Tech Left In Offices, IG Says

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau left computer equipment sitting in its now-closed regional offices for more than a year and a half without confirming that the hardware, and any sensitive material on it, was locked down, a federal watchdog said Thursday.

  • October 01, 2026

    Dems Want FHFA To Restore Internal Watchdog's Funding

    A group of 11 Democratic U.S. Senators told the Federal Housing Finance Agency on Thursday not to proceed with "unlawfully slashing" the FHFA's Office of Inspector General budget for fiscal year 2027.

  • October 01, 2026

    NY, Wyo. To Collaborate For Faster Crypto Reviews, Exams

    Financial regulators in New York and Wyoming on Thursday said they have agreed to collaborate on crypto oversight in ways that could cut down on duplicative review processes and exams for fintechs operating in both states.

  • October 01, 2026

    Merrill Lynch To Pay $39M Over Retirement Cash Sweep Rates

    Bank of America's Merrill Lynch unit has reached a $39 million settlement with account holders in a suit alleging the wealth management division swept idle funds in customers' retirement accounts into low-interest accounts instead of paying the proper market interest rates.

  • October 01, 2026

    SmartSweets Sued Over Artificial Citric Acid In 'Natural' Candy

    A New York woman is suing SmartSweets Inc. in New York federal court, alleging its "better-for-you" candy, which is marketed as having no artificial flavors, contains artificial citric acid, deceiving consumers.

  • October 01, 2026

    Diageo Beats Tequila Purity Suit Due To Sparse Testing

    Global liquor giant Diageo North America Inc. has defeated claims that it falsely labeled tequilas Casamigos and Don Julio as 100% agave after a New York federal judge said the plaintiff consumers failed to show the alleged adulteration was widespread or found within their bottles.

  • October 01, 2026

    Kalshi Looks To Shield Sports Offerings At 2nd Circ.

    Prediction market giant Kalshi has asked the Second Circuit to shield its sports offerings from Connecticut gaming enforcers, drilling down on its position that those offerings ought to be immune from state scrutiny.

  • October 01, 2026

    Fla. AG Says Pfizer Hid COVID Vax Risks From Consumers

    Florida's attorney general sued Pfizer and its CEO on Thursday, claiming they deceptively marketed the pharmaceutical company's COVID-19 vaccines as safe despite knowing of reports of adverse events.

  • October 01, 2026

    Meta Beats Calif. Drivers' DMV Data Collection Suit

    A California federal judge has thrown out a proposed class action alleging Meta Platforms Inc. illegally obtained information from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles through its Pixel software, saying the plaintiffs leading the complaint haven't shown that Meta got any personal or embarrassing information.

Expert Analysis

  • The Preemption Gap In Prediction Market High Court Petitions

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    The Supreme Court is considering three certiorari petitions following a split in prediction market litigation between the Third and Ninth circuits, but one of the petitions would not allow the court to reach the express preemption question, which would leave the dispute half-resolved, says Jordan Garman at Withers.

  • Series

    Fintech Regulator Outlook: 5 Lessons From Minnesota

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    Minnesota's recent cryptocurrency kiosk ban and virtual currency custody rules hold several broad compliance lessons: Digital asset companies must map regulated activities, strengthen third-party oversight and engage regulators early to innovate responsibly, says Deputy Commissioner of Financial Institutions Mike Crow at the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

  • Hims & Hers Suit Spotlights Health Data-Sharing Privacy Risks

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    Regulators' complaint against telehealth company Hims & Hers alleging deceptive practices serves as a reminder that the privacy principles developed under consumer protection laws and predating omnibus statutes remain in force, and sensitive data governance continues to be a crucial component of compliance, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 4 Paths To AI Safety Coordination Amid Antitrust Debate

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    Frontier artificial intelligence companies have more room for collective safety work than the debate over an antitrust waiver suggests, with several existing avenues providing different degrees of protection and oversight, says Evan Miller at V&E.

  • Reel Justice: 'The Furious' And Journalistic Evidence

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    Viewing "The Furious” from a litigator’s perspective highlights nuances that arise when gathering evidence from journalistic investigations, serving as a reminder to not only ask whether evidence is relevant, but also what legal framework governs the person or entity holding it, says Veronica Finkelstein at Widener-Delaware Law.

  • How Calif. Privacy Bill Could Change CIPA Tracking Cases

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    If California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs S.B. 690, the bill could materially reduce the leverage behind a pen-register-only claim or demand, so California Invasion of Privacy Act website tracking claims should not be evaluated the same way they were six months ago, says Alexandra Samofalova at Spencer Fane.

  • For Faster FDIC Review, Banks Must Front-Load Prep

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    Banks seeking to benefit from the efficiency promised by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s new two-phase review of deposit insurance applications must prioritize filing comprehensive submissions or risk the fate of applicants recently rejected by the Comptroller of the Currency, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Resetting For Success After Corporate Litigation Loses Focus

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    Corporate litigation that has lost strategic coherence may barrel disastrously ahead if counsel’s understanding of the matter drifts from the client’s goals, but cases can be wrenched back on track by diagnosing how facts have evolved, determining where resources are justified and deploying practical strategies for restoring discipline, says Jonathan Morris at Gordon Rees.

  • How Bifurcation And Verdict Forms Can Sway Jury Outcomes

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    The bifurcated trial structure used in a Nevada personal injury case — where the jury recently awarded the plaintiff more than $56 million — highlights a strategic option that litigators often overlook and raises considerations about the potential advantage of carefully assembled verdict forms, says litigation consultant Clint Townson.

  • How Cos. Can Avoid Infant Product False Advertising Suits

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    As lawsuits proliferate over products marketed for infant use and sold at a premium that are identical to cheaper general-use products, manufacturers should review related product lines, and scrutinize contextual cues that may contribute to the overall message received by consumers, say attorneys at Chamberlain Hrdlicka.

  • Time Is On Payment Processors' Side As Deal Dynamics Shift

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    As payment processors increasingly use timing and volume to gain leverage, merchants should negotiate payment processing agreements well before renewal or migration deadlines, ensuring proper benchmarking, reserve, data, termination and transition terms are in place, says James Alexander at Reed Smith.

  • How GCs Can Assess The Risks Of Emerging AI Laws

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    Amid a swirl of momentous legislative activity aimed at regulating artificial intelligence, general counsel must return to first principles when determining whether new laws will apply and whether the company’s use could cause regulators to subject it to additional regulation, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • How FTC's $20B Amazon Suit May Shake Up Ad Enforcement

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    Gonzalo Mon at Kelley Drye discusses the significance of the Federal Trade Commission's recent suit against Amazon for allegedly overcharging advertising customers more than $20 billion, the company's potential defenses, and the context of rapidly evolving digital advertising technology.

  • Meta Deal Highlights Advisory Jury Issues, Litigation Risk

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    The $17 billion settlement of youth safety claims brought against Meta offers lessons for all consumer-facing companies because the court made the rare move of empaneling an advisory jury and the case was built on what the company learned from its own studies, says Mark Morgan at McCarter & English.

  • What State AI Election Laws Mean For The 2026 Midterms

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    In the absence of federal rules governing artificial intelligence in elections and no consensus emerging across state laws, campaigns, their vendors and AI developers must address the risks associated with outdated rules written for other problems, says Matthew Shapanka at Covington.

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