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Consumer Protection
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September 24, 2024
DOJ Accuses Visa Of Monopolizing Debit Card Market
The U.S. Department of Justice accused Visa on Tuesday of illegally maintaining a monopoly over debit card networks by using its dominance to thwart competition from new and existing rivals, as the Biden administration continues its push to combat high prices using antitrust law.
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September 24, 2024
1st Circ. Sides With Wynn Casino Over Voucher Payouts
The First Circuit affirmed a lower court's decision tossing a proposed class action over Wynn Resorts Encore Boston Harbor casino's use of vouchers instead of coins to pay out winnings under $1.
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September 23, 2024
Nike, Others Let TikTok 'Fingerprint' Sites, Suits Claim
Nike, its subsidiary Converse and telehealth company Teladoc were each hit with proposed class actions on Friday in California federal court over allegations that they violated the state's "trap and trace" law by using TikTok software to collect personal data from visitors to their websites.
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September 23, 2024
Albertsons Says Wash. AG 'Cherry-Picked' Merger Fears
Counsel for Albertsons accused Washington regulators Monday of cherry-picking comments from the grocer's CEO hyping Kroger as key competition to bolster the government's case for blocking the merger and overcame the state's objections to introduce emails where the CEO expressed fears about Costco, Walmart and Amazon's ever-expanding reach.
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September 23, 2024
3rd Circ. Probes SEC's 'Close To Vacuous' Reply To Coinbase
Members of a Third Circuit panel on Monday pressed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on its brief denial of crypto exchange Coinbase's request for rulemaking around digital assets, digging into how much of an explanation the agency owes the industry about its decision to forego setting rules for now.
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September 23, 2024
Google Executive Says There's No Internal Ad Tech Advantage
A Google executive pushed back Monday on some of the U.S. Justice Department's most important allegations of a conflict of interest in the search giant's control over online display advertising placement technology, arguing that website publishers are in charge of how ads are placed and priced.
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September 23, 2024
Need To Bag Your Groceries? You Can Have Paper, Calif. Says
California grocery stores won't be allowed to offer plastic bags of any kind in their checkout lines under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom a day before the California Attorney General's Office on Monday accused Exxon Mobil Corp. of inundating the state with plastic waste.
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September 23, 2024
Lowe's Customer Fights Arbitration Bid In 'Made In USA' Suit
A Lowe's customer opposed the retailer's bid to cut down his proposed class action accusing the company of falsely advertising its safety gloves as U.S. made, telling a Michigan federal court Lowe's has no grounds to send his claims to individual arbitration or relocate the dispute to North Carolina.
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September 23, 2024
John Paul Mitchell Beats Dry Shampoo Benzene Suit, For Now
An Illinois federal judge ruled Monday a putative consumer class action claiming a Paul Mitchell dry shampoo contains cancer-causing benzene didn't sufficiently show an "injury-in-fact" to warrant damages or even that the product contained the carcinogen, but gave the consumers a chance to amend their complaint.
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September 23, 2024
Calif. Gov. Vetoes Privacy Bill, OKs Social Media Addiction Law
California's governor has refused to enact legislation that would have required browser developers to make it easier for consumers to stop the sale and sharing of their personal information, while approving a bill that will block online platforms from using algorithms to deliver addictive feeds to children without parental consent.
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September 23, 2024
Gordon Rees Gets Insurer's Wash. Malpractice Suit Trimmed
A Washington judge issued a mixed order in a lawsuit brought by the insurer for a climbing equipment manufacturer over allegations that misconduct by a Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP attorney — coupled with another insurer's decision to yank coverage — forced the manufacturer into a settlement over a climber's fall.
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September 23, 2024
Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Extend Pandemic IG's Life
A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill Monday to extend the pandemic watchdog five years beyond its March sunset, which the office has been asking for continuously.
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September 23, 2024
EPA Admits Mistakes In Approving New Chevron Chemicals
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday told the D.C. Circuit that it overestimated the risk of allowing Chevron Corp. to create new fuel chemicals derived from plastic waste, asking the appeals court to remand the order authorizing the new substances back to federal regulators.
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September 23, 2024
'Bluey,' 'Paw Patrol' App Maker Sued Over 'Stealth Marketing'
A proposed class of parents is suing Budge Studios Inc., the maker of licensed phone and tablet applications for children's cartoons such as "Bluey" and "Paw Patrol," alleging that the company used predatory "stealth marketing" and "dark patterns" to entice children into getting their parents to pay for monthly subscriptions and in-app purchases.
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September 23, 2024
Navigation Co. Says Criticisms Of 900 MHz Plan Overblown
A navigation company that wants to use portions of the lower 900 megahertz band to set up an Earth-based broadband and geolocation network has told the Federal Communications Commission that critics' concerns about interference are overstated.
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September 23, 2024
Kroger Fights FTC's Bid To Move Constitutionality Case
Kroger is fighting to keep its challenge to the Federal Trade Commission's in-house courts in Ohio federal court, pushing back against the agency's effort to get it paused or moved to Oregon, where the FTC's case against the company's merger with Albertson's is already playing out.
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September 23, 2024
Medical Records Co. Accused Of Blocking Data Access
A company that helps insurance providers access patient data on Monday accused medical records company Epic Systems Corp. of violating antitrust law by using its monopoly over electronic health records to squash an emerging competitor.
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September 23, 2024
Paxton Urges Firearms Ban Reversal Before State Fair Opens
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked a state appeals court Monday for emergency relief prohibiting the State Fair of Texas from enforcing its new policy banning firearms on fairgrounds, writing that the entity is "forcing thousands of law-abiding Texans to choose" between their constitutional rights and attendance at the state tradition, which opens Friday.
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September 23, 2024
Calif. Sues Exxon For Plastic Pollution And Recycling Deception
California's attorney general and a coalition of conservation groups hit Exxon Mobil Corp. with a pair of lawsuits on Monday claiming the petrochemical giant has inundated the state with harmful plastic waste while misleading people about recycling's ability to ever make a dent in the problem.
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September 23, 2024
House Swipes Right On Online Dating Safety Bill
The House passed a bipartisan bill via voice vote Monday requiring dating apps to inform users when they're talking with fraudsters.
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September 23, 2024
Edelson, Susman, Berger To Lead MultiPlan Collusion MDL
An Illinois federal judge on Monday tapped a team of lawyers from Edelson PC, Susman Godfrey LLP and Berger Montague PC to take the lead for plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation accusing MultiPlan and a host of insurers of colluding through the use of the data firm's pricing tools to systematically underpay out-of-network providers.
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September 23, 2024
Class Gets Cert In Suit Over Dave's Killer Bread Protein Claims
A California federal judge on Friday granted class certification to a group of consumers alleging that Dave's Killer Bread and Flowers Foods violated U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling regulations by leaving out required protein content information, finding that the consumers had standing.
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September 23, 2024
Radio Station Could Lose FCC License Over $32K In Back Fees
The Federal Communications Commission is threatening to strip a New Jersey gospel radio station's license over delinquent regulatory fees, telling the station it needs either to pay up, explain why the fees should be waived or risk losing its broadcast license.
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September 23, 2024
Amneal Latest Generic EpiPen Maker To Fight Colo. Law
Amneal Pharmaceuticals has sued Colorado in federal court alleging that a state drug affordability program resulted in unconstitutional takings of its generic epinephrine auto-injectors.
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September 23, 2024
Chicago's DoorDash Fee Claims Get Two-Year Limit
An Illinois federal judge on Friday pared down a lawsuit brought by the city of Chicago accusing DoorDash of using various deceptive practices to fool customers into paying higher prices, holding that claims under the city's municipal code that accrued more than two years before the city filed suit are time-barred.
Expert Analysis
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Assessing Algorithmic Versus Generative AI Pricing Tools
A comparison of traditional algorithmic pricing models and those powered by generative artificial intelligence can help regulators and practitioners weigh the pros and cons of relying on large language models to price products or services, say Maxime Cohen at McGill University, and Tim Spittle and Jimmy Royer at Analysis Group.
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How States Are Approaching AI Workplace Discrimination
As legislators across the U.S. have begun addressing algorithmic discrimination in the workplace, attorneys at Reed Smith provide an overview of the status, applicability and provisions of 13 state and local bills.
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A Preview Of AI Priorities Under The Next President
For the first time in a presidential election, both of the leading candidates and their parties have been vocal about artificial intelligence policy, offering clues on the future of regulation as AI continues to advance and congressional action continues to stall, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Opinion
Big Oil Climate Ruling Sets Dangerous Liability Precedent
The recent Maryland court dismissal of Baltimore's case seeking to hold BP responsible for climate damage mischaracterized the city's injuries as divorced from the conduct that caused them, and could allow companies that conceal the dangers of their products to escape liability, says Randall Abate at George Washington University Law School.
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DOJ Must Overcome Hurdles In RealPage Antitrust Case
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent claims that RealPage's pricing software violates the Sherman Act mark a creative, and apparently contradictory, shift in the agency's approach to algorithmic price-fixing that will face several key challenges, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.
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What To Know About CFPB Stance On Confidentiality Terms
A recent circular from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau represents a growing effort across government agencies to address overbroad confidentiality agreements, and gives employers insight into the bureau's perspective on the issue as it relates to the Consumer Financial Protection Act, say Holly Williamson and Elizabeth King at Hunton.
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Opinion
3rd. Circ. Got It Right On Cancer Warning Claims Preemption
The Third Circuit's recent, eminently sensible ruling in a failure-to-warn case against Roundup manufacturer Monsanto, holding that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act preempts state law claims, provides a road map that other courts should adopt, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation.
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How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations
Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.
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Finding Coverage For Online Retail Privacy Class Actions
Following recent court rulings interpreting state invasion of privacy and electronic surveillance statutes triggering a surge in the filing of privacy class actions against online retailers, companies should examine their various insurance policies, including E&O and D&O, for defense coverage of these claims, says Alison Gaske at Gilbert LLP.
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5 Ways To Confront Courtroom Technology Challenges
Recent cybersecurity incidents highlight the vulnerabilities of our reliance on digital infrastructure, meaning attorneys must be prepared to navigate technological obstacles inside the courtroom, including those related to data security, presentation hardware, video playback and more, says Adam Bloomberg at IMS Legal Strategies.
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The State Law Landscape After Justices' Social Media Ruling
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent NetChoice ruling on social media platforms’ First Amendment rights, it’s still unclear if state content moderation laws are constitutional, leaving online operators to face a patchwork of regulation, and the potential for the issue to return to the high court, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Navigating New Enforcement Scrutiny Of 'AI Washing'
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent lawsuit against Joonko Diversity, its first public AI-focused enforcement action against a private company, underscores the importance of applying the same internal legal and compliance rigor to AI-related claims as other market-facing statements, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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What's Next For Federal Preemption In Financial Services
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's review of its preemption interpretations and growing pressure from state regulators signal potential changes ahead for preemption in U.S. financial services, and the path forward will likely involve a reevaluation of the entire framework, say attorneys at Clark Hill.
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Employer Arbitration Lessons From Calif. Consumer Ruling
Although a California state appeals court’s recent arbitration ruling in Mahram v. Kroger involved a consumer transaction, the finding that the arbitration agreement at issue did not apply to a third-party beneficiary could influence how employment arbitration agreements are interpreted, says Sander van der Heide at CDF Labor Law.
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Unpacking Jurisdiction Issues In 3rd Circ. Arbitration Ruling
The Third Circuit's recent ruling in George v. Rushmore Service Center could be interpreted to establish three principles regarding district courts' jurisdiction to enter arbitration-related orders under the Federal Arbitration Act, two of which may lead to confusion, says David Cinotti at Pashman Stein.