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Consumer Protection
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June 06, 2024
FCC Could Change Credit Rules To Qualify For Broadband Aid
The Federal Communications Commission is considering easing some letter of credit requirements for Universal Service Fund recipients, saying the current mandates may have become too onerous and could be slowing broadband deployment.
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June 06, 2024
FTC And DOJ Divvy Up Probes Of OpenAI, Microsoft, Nvidia
The Federal Trade Commission will investigate OpenAI and its investor Microsoft for potential competition issues, while the U.S. Department of Justice will look at chipmaker Nvidia's role in the quickly emerging artificial intelligence space, a source confirmed to Law360 on Thursday.
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June 06, 2024
6th Circuit Selected For Start Of Net Neutrality Fight
The Sixth Circuit was chosen by random drawing Thursday to consolidate, at least for now, more than half a dozen challenges to the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules.
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June 06, 2024
High Bar For Booking.com Price Limits, EU High Court Told
A European Court of Justice advocate general recommended a high bar Thursday for Booking.com assertions that price parity clauses imposed on contracts with hotels are "ancillary" to, and thus protected as, legitimate business arrangements.
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June 06, 2024
Alaska Air Passengers Refile Suit Over Boeing Blowout
A group of passengers who were on an Alaska Airlines Inc. flight when a door plug blew out during a Jan. 5 flight have refiled their claims against the airline, Boeing Co. and Spirit AeroSystems Inc. in federal court — days after voluntarily dismissing their state court suit.
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June 06, 2024
Transport Monopoly Indictment Is Deficient, Accused Says
One of 12 individuals who U.S. federal prosecutors claim conspired to monopolize cross-border sales of used vehicles and other goods from the U.S. to Central America using violence has moved to dismiss antitrust charges, saying prosecutors omitted elements of an indictable offense.
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June 06, 2024
FCC Floats New Rules On ISPs To Protect Internet Security
The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday proposed to impose new rules on internet service providers to ensure security of the internet's crucial routing technology, the Border Gateway Protocol.
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June 06, 2024
Prof Can Test NC State Building For Carcinogens
A split state appeals court has granted a former North Carolina State University employee stricken by cancer access to gather evidence in a campus building that studies showed contained cancer-causing materials.
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June 06, 2024
Meta Can't Get Section 230 Shield Over Scam Ads At 9th Circ.
The Ninth Circuit has ruled that Section 230 is "not limitless" and doesn't shield Meta from contract claims in a proposed consumer class action over Chinese vendors' scam ads on Facebook and Instagram, with one judge calling on the Ninth Circuit to rethink precedent that broadly interprets Section 230's scope.
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June 06, 2024
Co. Won't Face Defect Claims In Suit Over Lost Fingers
A worker who lost her fingers after her right hand was pulled into an industrial laminating machine won't get the chance to add design defect claims to her lawsuit against the manufacturer, a Texas federal judge has ruled, saying she squandered her opportunity to investigate those claims.
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June 06, 2024
EPA To Reevaluate Widely Used Toxic Chemical Under TSCA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a rule to limit the use of a chemical found in hundreds of products from paint to cleaning products that has been linked to miscarriages, reduced male fertility and other health issues.
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June 06, 2024
Abbott Labs Must Face Bulk Of Glucerna False Ad Suit
A California federal judge won't free Abbott Laboratories from a proposed class action over its Glucerna shakes, saying the complaint plausibly alleges that the labeling would mislead consumers about the health aspects of the drinks.
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June 06, 2024
ZoomInfo To Pay Nearly $30M To End Privacy Suit
ZoomInfo has agreed to come up with close to $30 million to resolve potential class claims that it nonconsensually used people's names and identities to advertise paid access to its full database, allowing monetary recovery for just more than a million class members in four states, class counsel told an Illinois federal judge Thursday.
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June 06, 2024
'Brussels Effect' Of EU's AI Act Is Uncertain, Legal Pros Say
BigLaw attorneys advising international clients on the European Union's AI Act tell Law360 there are significant uncertainties over vague terms in the 458-page statute, how its steep eight-figure fines will be enforced, and whether it will set a new standard globally as part of the "Brussels effect."
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June 05, 2024
Texas AG Sets Up New Team To Enforce Data Privacy Laws
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is "doubling down" on efforts to curb companies' misuse of residents' personal information by establishing a new team dedicated to enforcing the state's data protections, including a comprehensive consumer data privacy law that's set to take effect next month.
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June 05, 2024
Amazon Beats BIPA Suit Targeting Thermal Camera Use
An Illinois federal judge handed Amazon a pretrial win over accusations that it violated workers' biometric privacy rights by using thermal cameras to screen for fevers during the pandemic, saying the company is immune from such claims under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act.
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June 05, 2024
Fubo Loses Bid To Toss Consumer's Privacy Suit
Streaming service Fubo cannot escape a proposed class action alleging it unlawfully shared subscribers' personally identifiable information, or PII, with third-party advertisers, an Illinois federal judge ruled Tuesday.
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June 05, 2024
PwC Asks Calif. Justices To Revive $2.5M Sanction Against LA
PwC urged the California Supreme Court on Wednesday to revive a $2.5 million sanction against the city of Los Angeles for yearslong discovery misconduct in an underlying utility billing dispute, arguing the trial court's inherent authority to pose such penalties isn't limited to nonmonetary sanctions.
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June 05, 2024
Catholic Broadcasters Angry Over FCC 'Gender Ideology' Rule
The Catholic Radio Association is up in arms over the Federal Communications Commission's new workforce diversity reporting mandates that will require broadcasters to report how many nonbinary people they employ, telling the agency they're being forced to record something that "does not comport to reality."
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June 05, 2024
Bank Group Takes Fight Over FDIC Fee Letter To 8th Circ.
A Minnesota bank industry group is appealing its federal district court loss in litigation over Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation guidance proscribing non-sufficient funds fees, or NSF fees, the organization said Wednesday.
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June 05, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Review Cathay Pacific Ticket Refund Fight
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday refused to reconsider its decision ordering a couple who were left stranded in the Philippines during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to arbitrate their breach of contract dispute with Cathay Pacific Airways under their contract with a third-party booking site.
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June 05, 2024
Wells Fargo Sued For Allegedly Aiding $300M Ponzi Scheme
Wells Fargo Bank NA has been hit with a proposed class action in Florida federal court alleging that it aided and abetted a $300 million Ponzi scheme that duped more than 1,000 investors, most of whom were elderly and lost substantial life savings due to the scheme.
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June 05, 2024
Fla. High Court Told Immunity Doesn't Bar UF COVID-19 Suit
A University of Florida student on Wednesday urged the state's high court to revive his lawsuit over cancellation of on-campus services during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that sovereign immunity doesn't bar his breach-of-contract claim against the college.
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June 05, 2024
Google Legal Dept. Goes From Crisis Mode To Long Term
As much of the major antitrust litigation against Google winds down, the company is shuffling around its in-house legal departments to add more people and settle from crisis mode into the more sustainable posture of a technology giant where lawsuits have likely become a permanent feature of its existence.
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June 05, 2024
Panel To Pick Venue For FCC Net Neutrality Challenges
The federal courts are poised to randomly pick which circuit court will initially hear more than half a dozen legal challenges to the Federal Communications Commission's recently adopted net neutrality rules.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer
Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.
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Opinion
The SEC Is Engaging In Regulation By Destruction
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent use of regulation by enforcement against digital assets indicates it's more interested in causing harm to crypto companies than providing guidance to the markets or protecting investors, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.
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Series
NJ Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1
Early 2024 developments in New Jersey financial regulations include new bills that propose regulating some cryptocurrency as securities and protecting banks that serve the cannabis industry, as well as the signing of a data privacy law that could change banks’ responsibility to vet vendors and borrowers, say attorneys at Chiesa Shahinian.
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Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.
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ShapeShift Fine Epitomizes SEC's Crypto Policy, And Its Flaws
A recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission order imposing a fine on former cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift for failing to register as a securities dealer showcases the SEC's regulation-by-enforcement approach, but the dissent by two commissioners raises valid concerns that the agency's embrace of ambiguity over clarity risks hampering the growth of the crypto economy, says Keith Blackman at Bracewell.
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Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent
Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.
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Antitrust Ruling Shows Limits Of US Law's Global Reach
Antitrust plaintiffs often cite the legislative history of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act to support application of U.S. antitrust law to alleged injuries abroad, but as a California federal court recognized recently in Figaro v. Apple, the cited history does no such thing, say Daniel Swanson and Eli Lazarus at Gibson Dunn.
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Overdraft Opt-In Practices Hold Risks For Banks
A recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau action against Atlantic Union Bank regarding overdraft opt-in sales practices highlights compliance risks that financial institutions must be aware of, especially when enrolling customers by phone, says Kristen Larson at Ballard Spahr.
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Opinion
Intoxicating Hemp Products: It's High Time For Clarity
Thanks to ambiguity in the 2018 Farm Bill, intoxicating hemp cannabinoid products are largely unregulated and are widely available without restrictions on who can buy the products, and although there are several possible solutions, voluntary industry action by good actors is the best option, say Andrew Kline and Tommy Tobin at Perkins Coie.
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Calif. High Court Ruling Has Lessons For Waiving Jury Trials
The California Supreme Court’s recent decision in TriCoast Builders v. Fonnegra, denying relief to a contractor that had waived its right to a jury trial, shows that litigants should always post jury fees as soon as possible, and seek writ review if the court denies relief from a waiver, say Steven Fleischman and Nicolas Sonnenburg at Horvitz & Levy.
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HHS' Updated Tracking Tech Guidance Offers Little Clarity
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights' updated guidance on the use of online tracking technologies appears more focused on legal issues raised in ongoing litigation with the American Hospital Association and less on practical guidance for covered entities, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Take AG James' Suit Over Enviro Claims As A Warning
New York Attorney General Letitia James' recent suit against JBS USA Food Co. over allegedly misleading claims about its goal to reach net zero by 2040 indicates that challenges to green claims are likely to continue, and that companies should think twice about ignoring National Advertising Division recommendations, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.
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And Now A Word From The Panel: Benefits Of MDL Transfers
A recent order from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation highlights a critical part of the panel's work — moving cases into an existing MDL — and serves as a reminder that common arguments against such transfers don't outweigh the benefits of coordinating discovery and utilizing lead counsel, says Alan Rothman at Sidley Austin.
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How Experian, Apple Aid CFPB's 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Goals
Experian’s recent voluntary addition of Apple's “buy now, pay later” loans to consumer credit reports makes now a useful occasion to reflect on past Consumer Financial Protection Bureau calls for wider transparency around these products, and to analyze how its stated priorities for regulating them may shape coming bureau guidance and rules, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.
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Ready Or Not, Big Tech Should Expect CFPB Surveillance
In light of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposed plan to supervise large companies providing the vast majority of digital money transfers, not only will Big Tech have to prepare for regulation previously reserved for traditional banks, but the CFPB will also likely face some difficult decisions and obstacles, says Meredith Osborn at Arnold & Porter.