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Consumer Protection
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June 04, 2024
Judiciary Panel Clears 1st MDL Rule, Eyes 'Mouthpiece' Amici
Top rulemaking gatekeepers for the federal judiciary Tuesday capped off seven years of strife in the defense and plaintiffs bars by backing a milestone measure aimed at optimizing multidistrict litigation, and then promptly greenlighted an entirely different war of words over new efforts to ferret out amicus briefs from "paid mouthpieces" masquerading as independent experts.
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June 04, 2024
Monsanto Tries To Flip $1B PCB Losses As Plaintiffs Press On
Monsanto is moving to capitalize on a Washington state appellate victory it claims casts doubt on more than $1.1 billion in PCB poisoning verdicts, while plaintiffs are staking out positions to defend — and even build on — their blockbuster wins.
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June 04, 2024
Microsoft Failing To Protect Students' Data, EU Watchdog Told
A prominent Austrian advocacy group is urging the country's data protection authority to take a closer look at how Microsoft is protecting children's personal information, arguing the tech giant is unfairly trying to "shift" its responsibility under European Union privacy law to the schools that use its educational software and is secretly tracking minors' online activities.
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June 04, 2024
Insulin Pens Exposed Patients To Disease, Hospital Says
A Connecticut-based hospital says medical device manufacturer Novo Nordisk should be on the hook for a $1 million settlement the hospital paid to end claims that patients were exposed to blood-borne infections because of the medical staff's use of Novo Nordisk's product.
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June 04, 2024
CFPB Seeks Traffic Cop For Parallel Small-Biz Data Rule Suits
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday asked a Kentucky federal judge to stay an industry lawsuit challenging the agency's small-business lender reporting requirements, saying a largely identical challenge filed earlier in Texas should take precedence.
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June 04, 2024
Rep. Gaetz Backs FTC's Noncompete Ban In Court
Rep. Matt Gaetz threw his support behind the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday in a court battle over the agency's new rule banning employee noncompete clauses, arguing that Congress has repeatedly affirmed the commission's authority to make competition rules.
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June 04, 2024
Zantac Suits Belong In Conn. State Court, Cancer Patients Say
Lawsuits claiming Zantac and its generic equivalents caused cancer belong in Connecticut state court, two groups of Constitution State cancer patients and their estates say, arguing against several drugmakers' assertions that they can't be sued in the state on innovator and warning label liability claims.
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June 04, 2024
Bread Financial Wants Suit Over Spinoff's 'Death Spiral' Axed
Financial services company Bread Financial Holdings Inc. and its CEO have asked an Ohio federal judge to toss a proposed investor class action over the alleged "death spiral" of a now-bankrupt spinoff company, saying the suit actually details Bread's "good faith efforts" to establish the spinoff as a successful independent venture.
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June 04, 2024
Telecom Org. Says Expanding Universal Fund Only Way To Go
The head of a major telecommunications industry group is urging Congress to tap big tech in order to keep the Universal Service Fund afloat, saying in a new article that "the solution to affordable connectivity is staring us in the face."
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June 04, 2024
DOJ Remains 'Clear Eyed' About No-Poach Prosecutions
A senior U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division prosecutor continued Tuesday to emphasize the importance of criminal cases accusing employers of fixing wages or curtailing recruitment and hiring of workers from rivals, asserting that despite courtroom defeats, enforcers are trying to learn from past failures.
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June 04, 2024
Meta, Texas Strike Deal To End State's Biometric Privacy Suit
Meta Platforms Inc. and Texas' attorney general have agreed to settle the state's suit accusing the social media giant of using its facial recognition technology to illegally collect Facebook users' biometric information without their consent, the parties told a state court.
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June 04, 2024
Fla. Biz Owners Indicted On Grant-Writing Fraud Conspiracy
Two northern Florida business owners have been federally indicted on fraud conspiracy-related charges in connection to a scheme in which they allegedly stole nearly $3 million from minority-owned companies by promising grant-writing services that were never delivered.
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June 04, 2024
10th Circ. Backs CPSC In Baby Lounger Injunction Dispute
The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday sided with the Consumer Product Safety Commission in an appeal by a pillow company aiming to block a CPSC proceeding against it over one of its infant products, saying even if the company can show that removal protections for CPSC's commissioners and a judge are unconstitutional, the company hasn't shown how that affects its case.
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June 04, 2024
Wildfire Attys Descend On Colo. As Xcel Litigation Ramps Up
Hundreds of lawsuits seeking to hold Xcel Energy responsible for a devastating 2021 Colorado wildfire are just the latest battleground for a relatively small community of lawyers who have been involved in some of the biggest catastrophic fire suits in the western U.S.
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June 04, 2024
Differences In Lost Car Resale Value Doom Class Certification
A Massachusetts judge has concluded that a group of drivers who want insurers to cover the lost value of their vehicles following crashes still can't show how liability could be established without an individualized assessment, dooming their latest bid for class certification.
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June 04, 2024
BofA Gets First Nod For $21M Wire Fee Settlement
A North Carolina federal judge gave an early nod Tuesday to a $21 million settlement between Bank of America NA and the proposed class of its customers who accused it of slapping $15 "junk fees" on their incoming wire transfers, with $7 million of the deal going to class counsel.
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June 04, 2024
CFPB Cautions Firms Against Contractual 'Fine Print Tactic'
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday warned banks and other financial services firms against trying to "trick" consumers with unenforceable waivers in their customer contracts, saying their use of certain contractual terms and conditions can open them up to supervisory or enforcement action.
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June 04, 2024
GM Ends Ga. Crash Suit That Nearly Forced CEO To Testify
General Motors and the widower of a woman whose death was alleged to have been caused by one of its vehicles have reached an agreement to end long-running wrongful death litigation that at one point threatened to force the company's CEO to testify, the parties said.
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June 04, 2024
Top 3 Groups Lobbying The FCC
The Federal Communications Commission heard from advocates nearly 200 times in May on issues ranging from cybersecurity in schools and libraries to tribal broadband funding and deployment, net neutrality rules and captioning for the hearing- and speech-disabled.
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June 04, 2024
Experian Accuses Firms Of Fake Mortgage Denial Scheme
Credit reporting law firm Stein Saks PLLC headed up a nationwide scheme to "extort" Experian into settling "sham" lawsuits by consumers through creating fake credit denial letters in order to inflate damages and bolster their consumers' suits, according to a federal lawsuit filed by the credit reporting agency.
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June 04, 2024
Alaska Airlines Passengers Drop Boeing 737 Blowout Suit
A group of passengers has agreed to drop claims against The Boeing Co., supplier Spirit AeroSystems and Alaska Airlines over the Jan. 5 mid-flight door plug blowout on a Boeing 737, according to a stipulated dismissal notice filed in Washington state court.
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June 04, 2024
Manning Kass Adds 11 Insurance Attys From Morrison Mahoney
Manning & Kass Ellrod Ramirez Trester LLP has expanded its New York roster with a team of 11 attorneys and six paralegals from Morrison Mahoney LLP, saying Tuesday that the hires will bolster its work in insurance fraud and affirmative litigation.
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June 04, 2024
Khan, Kanter Say There's Bipartisan Will To Stop 'Coercion'
The federal government's top antitrust enforcers said Tuesday their aggressive scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions is changing the way businesses approach consolidation at the start of the process, and that's good for consumers and workers alike.
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June 04, 2024
Mondelez, BCLP Must Face Negligence Claims Over 2023 Breach
An Illinois federal judge has trimmed the majority of claims in proposed data privacy class actions brought by Mondelez workers against their employer and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP stemming from a 2023 data breach, although the company and law firm couldn't shake the cases entirely.
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June 03, 2024
Voir Dire With No Judge Present Persists In State Courts
Data released Friday by the National Center for State Courts revealed that voir dire conducted by lawyers with no judge present in the room persists in 7% of state court trials, but has been virtually eliminated in federal courts.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
New Mexico Fire Victims Deserve Justice From Federal Gov't
Two years after the largest fire in New Mexico's history — a disaster caused by the U.S. government's mismanagement of prescribed burns — the Federal Emergency Management Agency must remedy its grossly inadequate relief efforts and flawed legal interpretations that have left victims of the fire still waiting for justice, says former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas.
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Opinion
Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.
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4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best
As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.
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Decoding The FTC's Latest Location Data Crackdown
Following the Federal Trade Commission's groundbreaking settlements in its recent enforcement actions against X-Mode Social and InMarket Media for deceptive and unfair practices with regards to consumer location data, companies should implement policies with three crucial elements for regulatory compliance and maintaining consumer trust, says Hannah Ji-Otto at Baker Donelson.
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Series
Illinois Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1
In the first quarter of 2024, Illinois lawmakers proposed a stack of bills aimed at modernizing money transmission, digital assets and banking laws, with a particular focus on improving consumer protections and better defining the state’s authority to regulate digital services, say James Morrissey and Mark Svalina at Vedder Price.
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Series
Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1
The first quarter of the year brought the usual onslaught of new regulatory developments in California — including a crackdown on junk fees imposed by small business lenders, a big step forward for online notarizations and a ban on predatory listing agreements, says Alex Grigorians at Hanson Bridgett.
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Tipsters May Be Key To Financial Regulators' ESG Efforts
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are looking to whistleblowers to assist their climate and ESG task forces, suggesting insider information could be central to the agencies' enforcement efforts against corporate greenwashing, false investment claims and climate disclosure violations, says John Crutchlow at Youman & Caputo.
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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.