Consumer Protection

  • September 29, 2026

    Ford Hybrid Engine Fire Defect Suit Gets Trimmed

    A proposed class action against Ford Motor Co. was trimmed from 11 to two plaintiffs Tuesday after a Michigan federal judge concluded that merely owning a recalled vehicle without an actual defect manifestation is insufficient to establish an injury.

  • September 29, 2026

    Walmart, Energizer Battery Buyers Lose Antitrust Cert. Bid

    A California federal judge denied class certification Monday in three suits alleging Energizer schemed with Walmart to artificially inflate disposable battery prices, finding the buyers' economists' regression models comparing battery prices to lighting products could not reliably show the alleged agreement raised prices.

  • September 29, 2026

    FDA Considers Changes To Tobacco Application Rules

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday said that it is considering updates to how it authorizes the marketing of new tobacco products in light of a growing illicit market, as well as a recent lawsuit filed by manufacturers of e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches challenging the current regulations.

  • September 29, 2026

    DEA Judge Pauses Marijuana Rescheduling Over GAO Report

    A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration administrative law judge on Tuesday paused consideration of a pending proposal to reclassify marijuana after opponents of cannabis reform said a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that regulators did not articulate the reasoning behind their recommendation to loosen restrictions on marijuana.

  • September 29, 2026

    LA Seeks Groundwater Cleanup Costs From Manufacturers

    Los Angeles sued several manufacturers over alleged groundwater contamination from three industrial sites, saying its water department has been saddled with millions of dollars in cleanup costs in the San Fernando Basin.

  • September 29, 2026

    Google Beats Suit Over 'Pig Butchering' App Scams, For Now

    A California federal judge tossed with leave to amend Monday a proposed class action alleging Google falsely advertised its Google Play Store as safe despite allowing swarms of "pig butchering" crypto-scam apps, finding that the claims are barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

  • September 29, 2026

    Live Nation Can't Ditch FTC's Ticket Scalping Case

    A California federal judge refused Monday to toss the Federal Trade Commission's claims Live Nation ignored ticket scalpers and failed to disclose significant Ticketmaster fees upfront, finding the suit plausibly alleges Ticketmaster didn't enforce its own resale policies and duped consumers with "ambiguous and vague" disclosures.

  • September 29, 2026

    Zillow Tells DC Court To Toss Junk Fees Suit

    Zillow Group Inc. has urged a Washington, D.C., federal court to toss a "meritless" proposed junk fees class action, arguing that the challenged rent payment fees are disclosed to residential tenants, and it offers a fee-free payment option.

  • September 29, 2026

    Agency Says Indicted Ex-Boss Can't Use Home For Bond

    The former executive director of two Connecticut housing authorities cannot use his home to secure a $500,000 bond in his federal wire fraud case, the Groton Housing Authority and related entities told the state court judge overseeing a civil case arising from his alleged theft.

  • September 29, 2026

    FCC Can Step Into Idaho Pole Dispute With Utility, ISP Says

    An internet service provider insisted the Federal Communications Commission has jurisdiction in its fight with a utility over pole upgrades for broadband gear in Idaho, saying state regulators lacked authority over the issue when the dispute first occurred.

  • September 29, 2026

    Feds Seek To Throw Out States' Challenge To DEI Contract EO

    The Trump administration told a Maryland federal court that it should toss a lawsuit from states challenging its implementation of an executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the government contracting space, arguing the order falls within well-settled law.

  • September 29, 2026

    Lululemon Says Shoppers Can't Claim Its Tariff Refunds

    A proposed class action brought by Lululemon shoppers seeking refunds for higher prices paid due to unlawful tariffs should be rejected because the retailer hasn't yet recovered all its paid duties, the company told a Washington federal judge.

  • September 29, 2026

    Md. Judge Tosses Vivid Seats 'Drip Pricing' Suit

    A Maryland federal judge has tossed a proposed class action brought by a customer accusing Vivid Seats of "drip pricing" — in which the total cost is revealed only at the end of the buying process — saying that even if added fees included at checkout made the total price more expensive than what was originally displayed, the ticket was still purchased.

  • September 29, 2026

    EU Prosecutors Arrest 7 In Alleged €300M Phone Scam

    Seven people have been arrested as part of an investigation into a network accused of tricking consumers into buying over a million used mobile phones sold as new to pocket €300 million ($340 million), including €30 million in stolen value-added tax, EU prosecutors said Tuesday.

  • September 29, 2026

    Chinese, Indian Electrodes Dumped, Commerce Finds

    Imports of electrodes used for smelting from India and China are facing possible antidumping duties, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Tuesday, finding they are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.

  • September 28, 2026

    Grok-Maker Can't Get Deepfake Suit Paused Or Transferred

    Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company must continue battling a proposed class action brought by women suing over Grok-generated deepfakes of them in sexual situations, a California federal judge ruled Monday, declining to pause or transfer the suit to Texas.

  • September 28, 2026

    Home Depot, Keurig Spam Suits Paused For 9th Circ. Ruling

    Proposed class actions over allegedly misleading spam emails from Home Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond are on hold until the Ninth Circuit decides a related appeal involving Aeropostale's operators, a Washington federal judge said last week, as another Seattle federal judge returned similar suits against Macy's and Audible to state court.

  • September 28, 2026

    ChatGPT Users' Antitrust Suit Against Microsoft Gets Trimmed

    Microsoft isn't going to be able to force into arbitration claims that it undermined OpenAI by forcing the artificial intelligence giant into using only its cloud computing, but it did convince the California federal judge overseeing the case to toss the proposed class's federal antitrust claim.

  • September 28, 2026

    Calif. Governor Vetoes Broad Ban On Sensitive Data Sales

    California's governor has refused to sign off on legislation that would have made the state the latest to restrict the sale and sharing of consumers' geolocation, biometric and other sensitive information, saying the proposed "categorical ban" on these online data practices was "a step too far."

  • September 28, 2026

    6th Circ. Narrows Scope Of Injunction On Ohio Hemp Law

    Ohio officials can enforce much of a state law that reclassified hemp products as marijuana, the Sixth Circuit has ruled, only prohibiting state officials from enforcing on certain companies the parts that put geographical limitations on where cannabis products can be sourced.

  • September 28, 2026

    CFPB Rips Bid To Ax $43M Debt-Relief Win As 'Frivolous'

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has urged the Seventh Circuit to uphold a more than $43 million enforcement judgment against the former operator of a defunct debt relief provider, defending the agency's lower-court win in a case that has stretched across three presidential terms.

  • September 28, 2026

    FCC Seeks FirstNet Band Manager After Court Challenges End

    With a court challenge out of the way, the Federal Communications Commission took strides Monday toward choosing a band manager to coordinate use of the 4.9 gigahertz spectrum band by the First Responder Network Authority.

  • September 28, 2026

    Newsom Signs Calif. Pesticide PFAS Tracking Bill Into Law

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law new regulations requiring state officials to track and publicly disclose when pesticides that are used on state produce contain "forever chemicals."

  • September 28, 2026

    Paramount, States Urge Court To Approve Merger Deal

    State enforcers and Paramount Skydance responded Monday to several questions raised by a lawmaker over a settlement ending the states' challenge of Paramount's deal for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., telling a California federal court there's no need for a full-blown review.

  • September 28, 2026

    Jet Broker Accused Of Stealing $815K Through Ponzi Scheme

    A Florida couple has told a Colorado federal court a private jet charter company kept over $800,000 of the couple's money in "what amounted to a Ponzi scheme" after the company abruptly ceased operations and refused to provide refunds, leaving an estimated $150 million in customer funds in flux.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Know As Legal Duty To Consider AI Takes Shape

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    While the U.K. Jurisdiction Taskforce’s recent statement on liability for artificial intelligence harms is nonbinding for both U.K. and U.S. lawyers, it highlights the importance of being able to distinguish between the availability of a tool and a professional obligation to use it, say Jonny Frank and Michael Costa at StoneTurn.

  • NC Dental Review Change Counters Tougher National Trend

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    North Carolina’s elimination of its prior review requirement for dental management agreements departs sharply from the national trend toward expanded corporate practice of medicine oversight, but stakeholders should not view this regulatory shift as a relaxation of compliance expectations, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • NY Bill Would Boost Litigation Risk For Cosmetics Cos.

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    The Beauty Justice Act, now pending in the New York Legislature, would not only present compliance challenges for companies making cosmetics and personal care products, but could also be used by private plaintiffs to bring consumer fraud, false advertising, toxic exposure and product liability claims, says Kadeejah Kelly-Previl at Faegre Drinker.

  • Appellate Vape Rulings May Expand State Regulation Powers

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    Two recent federal appeals courts decisions rejecting Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act preemption challenges to state electronic nicotine delivery systems directory laws signal an emerging appellate consensus that could significantly expand states' power to regulate vaping product sales where federal enforcement falls short, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • How Solar Fraud Case Affects Lender Oversight Of Dealers

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to review the Third Circuit's ruling in Migliore v. Sunlight Financial means that residential solar finance companies are protected from vicarious liability for deceptive acts by independent solar dealers — but lenders must still take steps to guard against dealer misconduct, says Rand Manasse at Green Lane Partners.

  • Parsing Gov't Scrutiny Of Lending To Unauthorized Workers

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    Attorneys at Mayer Brown explain guidance recently issued by three banking regulators that addresses risks associated with lending to so-called non-work authorized individuals and discuss what the regulatory update could mean for fintech companies.

  • How FCC Covered List Blitz Is Sidelining Commerce Dept.

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    The swath of recent Federal Communications Commission rulemakings raises serious questions about the purpose and future of Commerce's Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services, and how the U.S. government will go forward in imposing national security regulation on domestic applications of adversary-linked technologies, says Peter Jeydel at Troutman.

  • WWE Sanctions Ruling Pins Down Spoliation Lesson

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    The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent verdict in favor of WWE investors may be the most carefully calibrated spoliation sanctions decision in recent memory, and it should reshape how counsel approach their motions — including in federal court, says Ricky Weingarten at Slarskey.

  • DOJ Healthcare Declination Offers Self-Disclosure Checklist

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's declination of criminal charges against Campus Eye Management signals that its new self-disclosure policy provides a real path for healthcare companies to avoid criminal exposure, but that path is paved with speed, transparency and operational remediation, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Amazon v. Perplexity Ruling Limits CFAA Reach Over AI Tools

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Amazon v. Perplexity provides important early guidance on how the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act applies to agentic artificial intelligence, and is the latest in a line of rulings in which courts have declined to stretch existing statutes to broadly regulate AI, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Costco Chicken Case Highlights Food Labeling Lessons

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    Recent litigation over allegedly deceptive food labels, including the ongoing proposed class action in a California federal court over Costco's rotisserie chicken, shows that plaintiffs rarely focus on single label statements in isolation — so product claims that comply with regulations could still incur litigation risk, says Brandy Alonzo-Mayland at Michelman & Robinson.

  • Expect More Probes After 3rd Circ. Algorithmic Pricing Ruling

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    The Third Circuit's recent decision in Cornish-Adebiyi v. Caesars Entertainment, allowing algorithmic price-fixing claims to proceed past motions to dismiss, may serve as a road map for how to contend with increased litigation risk in this developing area of antitrust law, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Addressing Merchant Cash Advances In Subchapter V

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    As regulatory enforcement continues and more small businesses turn to Subchapter V bankruptcy to manage merchant cash advance debt, counsel and trustees can take meaningful steps throughout the bankruptcy process to successfully counteract the potentially nefarious actions of MCAs, say Hannah Hutman at Hoover Penrod and Starria Cuffee at Stretto.

  • SEC Rulemaking Radar: The Rubber Meets The Road

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rulemaking agenda shows its regulatory reset taking shape, with sweeping crypto proposals that could bring the biggest changes it has made to broker-dealer, exchange and trading compliance in decades, says Christopher Grobbel at Goodwin.

  • Mitigating The Risk Of Antiestablishment Jurors

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    The legal battles currently embroiling social media companies underscore that jurors with anti-corporate bias and conspiratorial thinking patterns pose myriad risks to corporate defendants, and defense counsel should adapt their trial strategies accordingly, say consultants at Persuasion Strategies.

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