Consumer Protection

  • May 03, 2024

    Charities Can't Get 'Second Bite Of The Apple' Against PayPal

    An Illinois federal judge on Friday trimmed a second lawsuit by charities challenging the way PayPal solicits and distributes charitable contributions, saying they can't get a "second bite of the apple" after their nearly identical claims were dismissed because they'd agreed to individually arbitrate disputes.

  • May 03, 2024

    6th Circ. Drops Bettors' Appeal Over Doped Derby Horse

    Kentucky Derby gamblers who claimed they had winning bets after officials disqualified the race's lead horse cannot sue Churchill Downs or the horse's Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, the Sixth Circuit ruled, saying courts can't "turn a losing wager into a winning one."

  • May 03, 2024

    Ill. Hilton Operators Slapped With Time-Tracking BIPA Suits

    Hilton workers have hit several hotel operators in the Chicago area with a proposed class action and an individual lawsuit in Illinois state court, accusing the hotels of illegally collecting and retaining workers' biometric data to keep track of workers' hours in violation of the state Biometric Information Privacy Act.

  • May 03, 2024

    Walmart Hit With False Ad Suit Over 'Reef Friendly' Sunscreen

    A consumer hit Walmart Inc. with a proposed class action on Friday in New York federal court accusing the retail giant of falsely labeling its sunscreen as "Reef Friendly," when it actually contains ingredients that are harmful to coral reefs.

  • May 03, 2024

    Hospital In Novant Merger Beset By Staff Turnover, Court Told

    The Federal Trade Commission and two healthcare companies used witness testimony Friday to paint competing pictures of a North Carolina hospital at the center of a $320 million merger dispute: one in which the hospital has focused on making quality improvements, and another where it's been plagued by poor ratings and high staff turnover.

  • May 03, 2024

    DOJ Seeks Info Sharing With Texas In Google Ad Tech Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice objected on Friday to a Virginia magistrate judge's refusal to coordinate discovery in its suit accusing Google of monopolizing key digital advertising technology with a similar case from state enforcers pending in Texas, contending the information sharing is needed to maintain a level playing field.

  • May 03, 2024

    Google Blasts Epic's Post-Verdict Play Store Reforms Bid

    Google is hitting back at Epic Games' proposed injunction following its jury win on antitrust claims related to the Google Play Store and Android apps, telling a California federal judge Thursday that Epic's proposed rules cover conduct that was not presented to the jury and is "purely hypothetical."

  • May 03, 2024

    Crumbl Faces Privacy Suit For Not-So-Sweet Tracking Cookies

    A customer hit Crumbl LLC with a proposed class action in California federal court alleging the cookie company helps a third-party payment processing company install tracking cookies on web browsers to collect consumers' sensitive information and their online activity without consent.

  • May 03, 2024

    Chamber Blasts FTC Bid For Member IDs In Noncompete Suit

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is defending its ability to represent anonymous members in its Texas federal suit challenging the Federal Trade Commission's pending noncompete ban, arguing that the FTC's attempt to block that representation is "radical and unprecedented."

  • May 03, 2024

    Cash App's Parent Co. Can't Ditch Referral Text Suit

    Block Inc., the parent company of mobile payment service Cash App, can't escape a suit alleging it bombarded cellphone users with "annoying and harassing spam texts," a Washington federal judge ruled, finding the plaintiff has alleged sufficient facts to support a plausible claim for relief under Washington's Consumer Electronic Mail Act.

  • May 03, 2024

    Sens. Look To Add Kids Online Bills To FAA Bill

    A bipartisan group of senators is looking to add legislation to better protect kids online and on social media to the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act, which faces a May 10 deadline for enactment.

  • May 03, 2024

    Judge Says Lender Can't Escape CFPB's Loan Data Suit

    A Florida federal judge has refused to dismiss the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's suit accusing mortgage servicer and lender Freedom Mortgage Corp. of violating federal law by submitting inaccurate government mortgage loan data.

  • May 03, 2024

    Conn. Dentists Settle Govt's Illegal Patient Recruiting Suit

    Two Connecticut dental practices and their co-owners have settled a federal false claims lawsuit accusing them of making illegal payments to a patient recruiter to generate business through Medicaid, agreeing to fork over about $187,000 over five years, plus 4% interest.

  • May 03, 2024

    6 States Strike $270M Opioid Deal With Amneal

    The New York state attorney general on Friday said that a $270 million multistate deal had been reached with opioid manufacturer Amneal Pharmaceuticals for its role in the addiction epidemic over allegations that the company failed to report suspicious orders of the narcotics.

  • May 02, 2024

    Endo Judge Hopes Criminal Sentence Warns Opioid Makers

    A Michigan federal judge said Thursday she hoped Endo's criminal sentence for falsely advertising a pain medication as "abuse deterrent" would itself be a deterrent for other opioid makers, as she accepted the company's recent $200 million settlement deal with federal prosecutors. 

  • May 02, 2024

    SEC Lands $25M Judgment In TikToker-Wannabe Ponzi Suit

    A South Carolina man and his companies must pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nearly $24.9 million to settle claims that he misappropriated investors' money to make Ponzi payments to earlier investors and to pay for luxury cars and over $1 million to TikTok creators, according to judgments issued in Georgia federal court.

  • May 02, 2024

    Google Judge Ponders Search Engine's Might At Trial Closings

    The quality of Google's search engine, and what it would take to actually challenge the company's grip on default placements on Apple browsers and Android phones, were top of mind Thursday for the D.C. federal judge weighing U.S. Department of Justice monopolization allegations.

  • May 02, 2024

    TikTok, Users Push 9th Circ. To Keep Block On Montana Ban

    TikTok and its users are hitting back at Montana's bid to convince the Ninth Circuit to unblock a new law that would ban the social media app in the state, arguing that the state's position that the statute is a consumer protection measure that regulates conduct and not constitutionally protected speech is "premised on fiction."

  • May 02, 2024

    Wells Fargo Discloses Zelle Dispute-Handling Scrutiny

    Wells Fargo & Co. on Thursday became the latest financial institution to disclose government scrutiny of how customers' dispute claims for potentially mistaken or fraudulent instant payments are being handled.

  • May 02, 2024

    Hahn Air To Pay Feds $26.8M To End FCA Travel Fees Suit

    Hahn Air Lines agreed to pay $26.8 million to resolve a whistleblower's allegations that the German airline-ticketing company violated the False Claims Act by intentionally failing to remit to the U.S. government certain travel fees the company collected from U.S. commercial airline passengers.

  • May 02, 2024

    No Atty Fees For Objectors To $5.6B Swipe Fees Settlement

    Class members who initially objected to a $5.6 billion settlement with Visa and Mastercard cannot collect nearly $1 million in attorney fees, a New York federal judge ruled Thursday, saying they haven't shown their objections to the original 2013 settlement substantially benefited the class.

  • May 02, 2024

    Chicken Buyers Request $37M More In Price-Fixing Deal Fees

    Direct broiler chicken purchasers who've inked more than $284 million in price-fixing settlements are asking an Illinois federal judge for more than $37 million in what would be a third distribution of fees and reimbursed costs to their co-lead counsel in the massive case.

  • May 02, 2024

    Tech, Finance Experts Urge CFTC To Consider AI Regs

    Tech advisers urged the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday to consider policies to manage the risks associated with artificial intelligence, along with a list of other recommendations detailing potential approaches to the growing use of AI in financial markets.

  • May 02, 2024

    Attys Due For Spam Suit Sanction, But Not $750K, Judges Say

    Class counsel's misconduct in helping instigate a spam text suit against stock-trading app Robinhood Financial LLC warranted sanctions, a Washington state appeals court panel ruled Thursday, but the judges said the $750,000 penalty went over the top in deterring the bad behavior.

  • May 02, 2024

    Lawmaker Wants Antitrust Probe Of Health Insurance Data Co.

    Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., is calling for antitrust enforcers to investigate concerns that MultiPlan and other healthcare data companies are hurting competition by helping health insurers effectively collude when making pricing decisions.

Expert Analysis

  • 2nd Circ.'s Binance Locus Test Adds Risk For Blockchain Cos.

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    The Second Circuit’s recent use of the irrevocable liability test to rule a class action may proceed against decentralized crypto exchange Binance heightens the possibility that other blockchain-based businesses with domestic customers and digital infrastructure will find themselves subject to U.S. securities laws, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Legal Issues When Training AI On Previously Collected Data

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    Following the Federal Trade Commission's recent guidance about the use of customer data to train artificial intelligence models, companies should carefully think through their terms of service and privacy policies and be cautious when changing them to permit new uses of previously collected data, says James Gatto at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Protested CFPB Supervisory Order Reveals Process, Priorities

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s order announcing its first use of special oversight power to place installment lender World Acceptance Corp. under supervision despite resistance from the company provides valuable insight into which products and practices may draw bureau scrutiny, and illuminates important nuances of the risk assessment procedures, say Josh Kotin and Michelle Rogers at Cooley.

  • Series

    Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from consumer fraud to employment — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including coercive communications with putative class members and Article III standing at the class certification stage.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • 3 Litigation Strategies To Combat 'Safetyism'

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    Amid the rise of safetyism — the idea that every person should be free from the risk of harm or discomfort — among jurors and even judges, defense counsel can mount several tactics from the very start of litigation to counteract these views and blunt the potential for jackpot damages, says Ann Marie Duffy at Hollingsworth.

  • How AI May Be Used In Fintech Fraud — And Fraud Detection

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    Recent enforcement actions in the fintech and finance industries show that the government is increasingly pursuing fraud enabled by artificial intelligence — at the same time it’s using AI innovations to enforce regulations and investigate fraud, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Takeaways From Groundbreaking Data Transfer Order

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    A recent first-of-its-kind executive order and related proposed rulemaking lay the groundwork for important outbound U.S. data protections, but they may have unintended consequences related to the types of data and the subjects within their scope, say attorneys at Kirkland.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • Innodata Suit Highlights 'AI Washing' Liability Risk For Cos.

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    A class action against software company Innodata over so-called AI washing, one of the first of its kind, underscores the litigation and enforcement risks that can arise from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's novel theory about misleading artificial intelligence capabilities, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • The Epic Antitrust Cases And Challenges Of Injunctive Relief

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    The Epic cases against Apple and Google offer a window into the courts' considerable challenges in Big Tech litigation and establishing injunctive relief that enhances competition and benefits consumers, say Kelly Lear Nordby and Jon Tomlin at Ankura Consulting.

  • Banks Should Continue To Prep For CFPB Data Rule Rollout

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    Consumer Financial Protection Bureau-supervised banks should not expect industry pressure to delay the rollout of proposed Section 1033 open banking rules, which regulate how consumer financial information flows between financial institutions, and prepare their required data access portals and compliance procedures now, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • How Calif. Video Recording Ruling May Affect Insured Exams

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    A recent California appellate decision, Myasnyankin v. Nationwide, allowing policyholders to video record all parties to an insurance examination under oath, has changed the rules of the road for EUOs and potentially opened Pandora's box for future disputes, say John Edson and Preston Bennett at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 5 Things Trial Attorneys Can Learn From Good Teachers

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    Jennifer Cuculich at IMS Legal Strategies recounts lessons she learned during her time as a math teacher that can help trial attorneys connect with jurors, from the importance of framing core issues to the incorporation of different learning styles.

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