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Consumer Protection
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May 30, 2024
Sen. Dems Call On DOJ To Prevent Price-Fixing In Oil Industry
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., led a group of Senate Democrats in calling on the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday to do everything in its power to prevent and prosecute price-fixing and collusion in the oil industry.
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May 30, 2024
NY Expects Crypto Cos. To Meet Customer Service Standards
The New York State Department of Financial Services on Thursday told the crypto firms under its purview that it expects them to resolve customer service issues promptly and fairly, according to newly issued guidance.
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May 30, 2024
What To Watch As The FTC Targets Drug Patent Listings
The Federal Trade Commission has been scrutinizing patents listed by drugmakers on a key federal database, warning several companies that their listings are improper and drive up drug prices. Here's a look at what the agency and others could do next.
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May 30, 2024
KKR's $24B NetCo Buy Gets EU Regulatory Approval
The European Commission said Thursday it has approved KKR & Co.'s planned $23.7 billion acquisition of NetCo from Italian telecommunications provider TIM Group, paving the way for the close of one of the largest deals announced last year.
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May 30, 2024
Mich. Judge Refers Atty To Calif. Bar Over Flint PR Stunt
A Michigan federal judge overseeing contaminated drinking water litigation in Flint, Michigan, referred a California attorney to that state's bar on Thursday after the lawyer refused to provide more details, or submit to the court's jurisdiction, over her involvement in an alleged smear campaign targeting a lawyer for Flint children.
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May 30, 2024
NCAA To End Transfer Rules In Deal With DOJ
The NCAA agreed on Thursday to stop enforcing all rules governing athletes transferring from one institution to another, as part of a proposed consent decree filed by the U.S. Department of Justice to settle an antitrust suit against the organization by 10 states and the District of Columbia.
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May 30, 2024
ExamSoft, Bar Examiners Face $2M Software Crash Claims
A 68-year-old former paralegal who hopes to become a pro bono attorney has sued the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee and ubiquitous bar exam test-taking software vendor ExamSoft Worldwide Inc. for $2 million, claiming three software crashes stymied her ability to take a exam offered remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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May 30, 2024
Sen. Warren Pushes CMS On 'Medical Loss Ratio' Data
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to collect more data to determine whether private healthcare insurers in Medicare Advantage that employ vertical integration are evading a statutory requirement that they spend the bulk of their earnings on medical claims.
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May 30, 2024
Bottler Says It's Owed Defense In Wine Contamination Dispute
A wine bottler told a California federal court its insurer must reimburse defense costs it incurred while fighting a now-settled suit seeking to hold the company liable for a $1.2 million wine contamination, arguing the lawsuit didn't specifically allege what the bottler's actions were nor the cause of contamination.
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May 30, 2024
Data Co. Exec, Worker Guilty Of Fraud In Mail Scam Case
A Colorado federal jury on Thursday convicted two former Epsilon Data Management employees for their roles in selling data to mail scammers who preyed on the elderly and vulnerable.
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May 30, 2024
High Court Calls For 2nd Circ. Redo In BofA Preemption Fight
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday threw out a Second Circuit decision that freed Bank of America NA from class action litigation brought over a New York escrow interest law, ruling that the circuit court wasn't "nuanced" enough in finding the law preempted for national banks.
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May 29, 2024
Amazon Shouldn't Escape BIPA Suit, Judge Recommends
A Washington federal magistrate judge on Wednesday recommended that the court should not toss a suit alleging Amazon.com Inc. collected facial scans of teens playing a popular video game without proper disclosures or consent, saying the plaintiff sufficiently alleges that Amazon knowingly obtained the data and disseminated it.
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May 29, 2024
Feds Dismantle Massive Botnet, Arrest Malware's Admin
Following an investigation by law enforcement in the U.S., Singapore, Thailand and Germany, the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday announced it has dismantled a botnet used in cyberattacks, child exploitation, massive fraud and export violations, and arrested a Chinese national behind the malware.
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May 29, 2024
CFPB Says Citi 'Wrong' On Wire Transfer Rules In NY Suit
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is backing New York's attorney general in a lawsuit accusing Citibank NA of failing to adequately protect customers from online wire transfer fraud, arguing the bank is "wrong" about what rules govern its obligations to scam victims.
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May 29, 2024
Spotify Listeners Slam Scrapped Music Device As 'Paperweight'
Spotify has suddenly decided to shut down its "Car Thing" device, which connects listeners' playlists to their cars, making the devices obsolete and leaving customers "with nothing more than a paperweight that cost between $50 and $100," according to a proposed class action filed Tuesday in New York federal court.
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May 29, 2024
5th Circ. Sends Hain Toxic Baby Food Suit To State Court
Grocery store chain Whole Foods Market Inc. and international food company Hain Celestial Group Inc. can't escape a lawsuit seeking to hold them liable for the mental and physical decline of a toddler, allegedly caused by tainted baby food they sold, the Fifth Circuit ruled, saying the case was improperly removed to federal court.
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May 29, 2024
Visa, Mastercard Consumers Ink $197.5M ATM Antitrust Deal
A pair of Visa and Mastercard consumers asked a Washington, D.C., federal judge Wednesday to greenlight a $197.5 million class settlement that would resolve claims that the credit card companies conspired with major banks to fix ATM access fees.
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May 29, 2024
Pot Co. Stiiizy Accused Of Marketing Unsafe High-THC Wares
California cannabis giant Stiiizy has been accused of marketing dangerous high-potency THC products to young people, allegedly resulting in cannabis-induced psychosis in one user who brought a product liability and fraud suit Wednesday in Northern California state court.
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May 29, 2024
Texas Securities Regulator Orders Crypto MLM To Shut Down
Texas State Securities Board Commissioner Travis J. Iles has ordered the shutdown of an allegedly fraudulent Arkansas-based multilevel marketing scheme that claimed to offer investments in cloud mining cryptocurrency.
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May 29, 2024
NC State Is Blocking Probe Of PCBs In Building, Court Told
North Carolina State University is trying to exploit the judicial process in order to destroy evidence of building contamination, a cancer-stricken professor told a state appeals court Tuesday in a bid to advance plans for a carcinogen inspection.
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May 29, 2024
Microsoft's Post-Merger Layoffs Cited In I-Told-You-So Appeal
A private group of gamers is pointing to Microsoft's recent layoffs of 1,900 Activision and XBox employees as evidence of market harms stemming from Microsoft Corp.'s acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc., as the group seeks to revive a private antitrust suit challenging the merger in the Ninth Circuit.
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May 29, 2024
Google, Apple Say Nothing New To Revive Search Pact Suit
Google and Apple urged a California federal judge not to revive a private lawsuit accusing Google of paying Apple not to produce its own search engine, arguing the consumers have nothing new in citing months-old revelations from the Justice Department's search monopolization case against Google.
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May 29, 2024
FCC Chief Floats Plan To Cut Down On Orbital Satellite Debris
The Federal Communications Commission's chair proposed new rules Wednesday aiming to reduce the chances of spacecraft explosions that leave debris in orbit.
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May 29, 2024
South Baltimore Citizens Call On EPA For Incinerator Relief
Baltimore has turned a blind eye to South Baltimore residents suffering from respiratory diseases and persistently urging the city to transition away from Maryland's largest trash incinerator to zero-waste infrastructure for dealing with refuse, two environmental groups and a residents group say in an administrative complaint Wednesday.
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May 29, 2024
TikTok Ban Gets Expedited Sept. Hearing Date At DC Circ.
The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday agreed to expedite the briefing schedule for a constitutional challenge against a federal law banning TikTok from the United States unless it severs its ties with its Chinese parent company, ByteDance Ltd., with oral arguments set to be heard this fall.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Series
Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.
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Examining The Arbitration Clause Landscape Amid Risks
Amid a new wave of mass arbitrations, recent developments in the courts and from the American Arbitration Association suggest that companies should improve arbitration clause drafting to protect themselves against big-ticket settlements and avoid major potential liability, say attorneys at Benesch.
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Takeaways From The 2023 DOJ Fraud Section Report
Attorneys at Wiley discuss notable trends from the U.S. Department of Justice's recently reported Fraud Section activity last year and highlight areas of enforcement to watch for in the future, including healthcare fraud and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.