Consumer Protection

  • 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.

  • October 01, 2026

    Google Shakes Suit Over Search Engine Default Agreements

    A proposed consumer class action accusing Google of monopolizing the online search market has been tossed by a California federal judge who said the plaintiffs didn't provide evidence showing that "better" options could have been available if Google hadn't struck default search engine deals with Apple and other companies.

  • October 01, 2026

    Online Vape Store Adds Junk Fees To Orders, Suit Claims

    A pair of vape buyers are suing Element Vape in California state court, alleging the vape seller adds junk fees to its orders in the form of a "route package protection fee" that adds virtually no value for the customer.

  • October 01, 2026

    US Adds Certain Faux Leather To Textiles Free Trade List

    Certain faux leather fabric that is bonded to a pile fabric will be added to the list of textiles that can enter the U.S. duty-free under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement, the federal government said Thursday.

  • October 01, 2026

    Commerce Probes Aluminum Composite For Duty Evasion

    A Chinese company's aluminum composite panels may be designed to circumvent duties on common alloy aluminum sheet imported from the country, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Thursday, announcing an investigation.

  • October 01, 2026

    DOJ Outlines New Corporate Fraud Enforcement Priorities

    Federal prosecutors "must place great weight" on a new list of factors when considering potential charges in corporate fraud cases, including whether the matters involve government programs, threats to national security or immigration offenses, according to a memo released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • October 01, 2026

    Vape Co. Eyes Intervention In FDA E-Cigarette Suit

    The maker of the flavored e-liquid brand Naked 100 wants to defend the current U.S. tobacco policy allowing vape products to enter the market without full approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, telling a federal court that reversing the rule could push its products off shelves.

  • September 30, 2026

    9th Circ. Judges Doubt X's Claims Against Anti-Hate Group

    Ninth Circuit judges appeared skeptical Wednesday of X Corp.'s bid to revive claims against two nonprofits for scraping tweets to study online hate speech, with one judge questioning X's contract damages claim and another doubting that the nonprofits could be held liable for publishing true information.

  • September 30, 2026

    Senate Panel Seeks To Hold AI Giants Liable For Rogue Hacks

    Several U.S. senators made a bipartisan push Wednesday to impose both civil and criminal liability on the makers and users of advanced artificial intelligence models for the misuse of these systems, arguing that such a move would give these companies more incentive to combat cyberattacks carried out by rogue AI agents and other potential harms. 

  • September 30, 2026

    7th Circ. Backs Truckers In Union Pacific BIPA Suit

    A Seventh Circuit panel on Wednesday affirmed that fingerprint scans at Union Pacific's Illinois facilities violated a state privacy law, rejecting the company's stance that a government contractor exception applies anytime the contract is active.

  • September 30, 2026

    Paramount Gets OK On Deal With State AGs Over Merger

    A California federal judge gave the green light Wednesday to a settlement to end a group of state enforcers' challenge of Paramount Skydance's planned $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, saying the resolution reflects a "good faith approach" to alleviate concerns that the merger will stifle entertainment industry competition.

  • September 30, 2026

    Baby Food Co. Will Keep Posting Test Results, Texas AG Says

    Baby food company Plum Organics has committed to continuing to publish heavy metal test results for its infant food products, according to a deal it signed with the Texas attorney general's office to end a state investigation.

  • September 30, 2026

    Valve Order Allows 15K Antitrust Arbitrations To Be Closed

    A federal judge in Seattle refused Wednesday to issue a preliminary injunction to curb the closure of nearly 15,000 gamers' antitrust arbitrations against entertainment giant Valve Corp., finding that plaintiff Jeffrey Smith failed to show that closing the arbitrations would cause irreparable harm.

  • September 30, 2026

    NYC Tenants Claim PE Firm Illegally Overcharged Rent

    A proposed class of New York City rent-stabilized tenants alleged Wednesday that they were illegally overcharged for rent while living in 19 Manhattan and Brooklyn residential properties operated by real estate private equity firm PH Realty Capital LLC.

  • September 30, 2026

    Newsom Signs Law Letting California Target Solo Monopolies

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Wednesday that expands California's Cartwright Act to allow the state to pursue monopoly and monopsony claims against a solo company, instead of requiring multicompany coordinated conduct, saying the bill is "leveling the playing field" for small businesses. 

  • September 30, 2026

    Meta Fights 'Monster' Proposed $1.1B CIPA Judgment

    Meta has urged a California federal judge not to grant a partial final judgment of more than $1.1 billion against it for unlawfully obtaining sensitive data from users of the menstrual tracking app Flo, saying the judgment it criticized as "Frankenstein's monster" violates its due process rights.

  • September 30, 2026

    DraftKings Uses AI To Exploit Losing Bettors, Suit Alleges

    DraftKings weaponizes artificial intelligence to identify vulnerable gamblers who tend to lose and then deploys promotions enticing those gamblers to place more bets to increase the house's revenue, according to a proposed class action filed Wednesday in Massachusetts federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • How Rogue AI May Shape Corporate Liability, Responsibility

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    Recent artificial intelligence cyber incidents offer a window into how companies deploying autonomous systems should document risk controls even when systems exceed their intended boundaries, as jurors may treat unexpected AI conduct as foreseeable evidence of inadequate safeguards, says Jorge Monroy at Verdict Insight Partners.

  • The State Of Prediction Market Litigation After 9th Circ. Ruling

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Kalshi v. Assad gives state regulators significant appellate backing to enforce state gaming laws over prediction markets, creating a direct split with the Third Circuit that will likely lead to Supreme Court review of the question, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Teva MDL Loss Shows DPAs Can Return To Haunt Civil Suits

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    Teva’s recent partial summary judgment loss in antitrust multidistrict litigation reinforces the importance of carefully scrutinizing any statement of facts a company admits to in a deferred prosecution agreement, and illustrates the potential costs of resolving a criminal investigation this way, say attorneys at Sheppard.

  • Home Equity Products Face Expanding Regulatory Patchwork

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    Home equity investment providers, which have recently come under scrutiny from regulators and industry groups, face meaningful burdens as the U.S. Senate and a growing number of states take divergent regulatory approaches, with no uniform standard likely anytime soon, say attorneys at Bradley.

  • Series

    Ballet Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of learning and performing ballet taught me that success — whether in dance or practicing law — comes only through hours of thorough preparation, boundless energy and relentless effort, says Sharon Katz-Pearlman at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Illinois BNPL Law Casts Wide Net Over Loan Providers

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    A new Illinois law's broad definition of buy now, pay later providers under its new dedicated licensing and supervisory regime notably imposes conduct standards similar to other consumer credit regimes and aggressively looks through a wide range of business activities and arrangements, say attorneys at Ashurst Perkins.

  • DOJ Fraud Declination Highlights Self-Disclosure Tradeoffs

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    As exemplified by the U.S. Department of Justice's declination of charges against Campus Eye Management under its new corporate enforcement policy, self-disclosure can be an attractive option for healthcare companies navigating criminal exposure, but should be weighed against potential costs, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Nonbank Lenders Should Watch In 'Open Banking' Redo

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    Nonbank mortgage lenders should prepare for several key changes in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's anticipated open banking rule rewrite that could reshape verification costs, vendor relationships and loan workflows, says Kara Ward at Baker Donelson.

  • SEC's Long-Awaited Crypto Rule Is 1st Piece Of Larger Puzzle

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently proposed crypto rule provides issuers with a workable exempt offering framework but leaves holder-side questions for forthcoming rules, meaning compliance officers and counsel will have to work from an incomplete picture for now, says Josh Burton at Silver Regulatory Associates.

  • How Economic Analysis Informs Consumer Lending Disputes

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    A new wave of consumer lending class actions makes clear that economic analysis of control, pricing, repayment risk and borrower behavior will be central to litigation involving fintech platforms, earned wage access products and online lending models as regulatory enforcement recedes, say economists at The Brattle Group.

  • Q3 Numbers Refine Picture Of SEC Enforcement Trajectory

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    A snapshot of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s third-quarter enforcement actions suggest the program may be smaller than in prior years, but that it is increasingly concentrated around market abuse and individual misconduct, especially related to insider trading, say Adrienna Huffman, Jan Jindra and Erik Johannesson at The Brattle Group.

  • Banks Face Lighter CRA Burdens Under Regulators' Proposal

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    Banking regulators' recently proposed rule to redo the framework under the Community Reinvestment Act would materially change which banks are subject to its most demanding requirements and how regulators evaluate lending, services, community development activities and strategic plans, says James Williams at Venable.

  • 10 Ways To Avoid Privacy Risks Revealed In AI Notetaker Suits

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    Litigation claiming Otter.ai trained its AI-powered transcription tool on user conversations and a recent complaint alleging Granola’s notetaking bot joined video calls unbeknownst to participants show companies should assess these technologies as communications-capture tools with privacy and wiretap risks, says Jennifer Ruehr at Hintze Law.

  • FTC IonQ Review Unearths A Divide In Vertical Merger Remedy

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent split decision to close its investigation into the merger between IonQ and SkyWater Technology offers a candid window into how enforcers may approach vertical merger concerns after a string of difficult government cases, says Nicholas Cheolas at Wiley.

  • Series

    Taekwondo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Taekwondo has taught me to recognize when to fight for a position and when to focus on finding a solution, and that the best outcomes are often achieved by solving problems — all of which has improved my work as a bankruptcy lawyer, mediator and Subchapter V trustee, says Amy Denton Mayer at Berger Singerman.

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