Consumer Protection

  • October 08, 2026

    Utility Giant Southern Co. Sued Over Recent Data Breach

    The Southern Co. has been hit with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court, accusing the utility holding company of failing to adequately protect hundreds of thousands of customers' personal information during a recent cyberattack.

  • October 08, 2026

    IP Rights Group Urges Against Litigation Funding Disclosure

    An inventor rights advocacy group has told a federal courts rules committee that requiring the disclosure of who is funding civil litigation would put independent inventors at a disadvantage when trying to enforce patents against a larger company.

  • October 08, 2026

    Pa. Justices To Hear Philly's Suit Over Opioid-Spurred Crime

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to weigh in on whether the city of Philadelphia can sue CVS Pharmacy Inc. and other stores under state public nuisance laws for allegedly exacerbating the opioid epidemic with their prescription drug sales.

  • October 08, 2026

    New Fraud Division Flexes Might In Latest Enforcement Policy

    The National Fraud Enforcement Division's new corporate enforcement policy emphasizes the quick pursuit of certain types of fraud through data analysis and staff resources, expands the target list beyond traditional healthcare providers and highlights the division's growing dominance within the U.S. Department of Justice, experts say.

  • October 08, 2026

    High Court Puts 4th Circ. Political Ad Rate Ruling On Ice

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a Fourth Circuit ruling that directed the Federal Communications Commission to review an agency staff decision requiring broadcasters charge the lowest political ad rates for committees tied to candidates.

  • October 08, 2026

    Pa. Legislators Want More Time To Regulate 'Skill Games'

    Three Pennsylvania lawmakers and a coalition of "skill games" operators want the state Supreme Court to extend a deadline before police start seizing the game terminals, hoping to give the state Legislature more time to pass a law governing the games after the court found them to be illegal slot machines.

  • October 08, 2026

    Benefits Co. Wants Sanctions For 'Frivolous' TCPA Suit

    A Florida-based dental insurance carrier has asked a Michigan federal judge to sanction a dental practice and its attorneys at Bock Hatch & Oppenheim LLC and Shenkan Injury Lawyers, saying they pursued a baseless junk fax class action for years that resulted in millions of dollars in defense costs.

  • October 08, 2026

    Amazon Sued Over Child And Woman's Fire Pit Fuel Burns

    A minor and a family friend are suing Amazon.com Inc. in a New Jersey state court, alleging they were severely burned when a defective fueling bottle for a tabletop fire pit experienced "flame jetting" while the fire pit was being refueled.

  • October 07, 2026

    Florida AG Seeks To Force Meta To Curb Addictive Features

    The Florida attorney general Wednesday asked a state court to compel Meta Platforms Inc. to impose age verification measures and curb addictive features, saying that a recent $17.1 billion settlement with other state attorneys general shows that the social media giant can do so.

  • October 07, 2026

    House, Senate Dems Pitch Plans To Clamp Down On AI Harms

    A House Democrat floated draft legislation Wednesday aimed at making it easier for those harmed by emerging artificial intelligence systems to sue developers for damages, on the same day that the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee unveiled her own comprehensive framework for addressing "catastrophic" risks posed by AI.

  • October 07, 2026

    Blue Cross Must Justify Carve-Up Unit By Unit In Calif.

    Counsel for hospital plaintiffs touted a "landmark" win in California state court litigation that will require the Blue Cross Blue Shield network to justify unit by unit how it has carved up markets.

  • October 07, 2026

    1st Circ. Clearing Appeals Over Old FCC Jail Phone Cap Order

    The First Circuit is clearing up a tangle of appeals it has on its plate challenging the Federal Communications Commission's prison phone rate caps after the agency threw a wrench in the plan by updating those regulations post-oral argument.

  • October 07, 2026

    Meatpackers Urge 8th Circ. To Decertify Price-Fixing Classes

    Cargill, JBS, Tyson and National Beef urged the Eighth Circuit on Tuesday to undo class certifications in sprawling beef price-fixing litigation against the meatpackers, arguing a Minnesota federal judge granted the certifications despite evidence that many class members were unharmed by the alleged conspiracy.

  • October 07, 2026

    Amazon Patron's Sales Tax Overcharge Suit Tossed, For Now

    A Washington federal magistrate judge has thrown out a consumer's proposed class action accusing Amazon of charging too much Tennessee sales tax, finding Wednesday that the plaintiff had not shown the e-commerce giant's alleged overcollection was driven by profit or other business motives.

  • October 07, 2026

    FCC Weighing Reg To Block Adversary Equipment Labs

    The Federal Communications Commission will consider an order this month to block certain foreign adversaries' testing labs from clearing equipment for the U.S. market.

  • October 07, 2026

    Local Banks Want In On Plan To Use Banks To Stop Robocalls

    Community banks want to make sure they qualify to issue letters of credit to voice providers if the Federal Communications Commission decides to go through with rules that would require companies to show they have financial backing in the hopes of staunching the onslaught of robocalls.

  • October 07, 2026

    FCC Eyes Spectrum Sale To Boost 5G, Satellite D2D

    The Federal Communications Commission's staff has teed up a proposal that would pave the way for a new auction of 25 megahertz worth of spectrum that could be used for advanced Earth-based wireless service and satellite connectivity to smart devices.

  • October 07, 2026

    5th Circ. Won't Revive Suit Against Dishwasher Water Rule

    The Fifth Circuit agreed with a Texas federal court that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act requires suits challenging federal water efficiency standards for appliances to be filed in circuit court.

  • October 07, 2026

    BMW Beats X5 Transmission Defect Suit, For Now

    BMW has defeated for now a proposed class action alleging it knew about a transmission component defect causing some of its cars to jerk and shudder but refused to cover repair costs, with a New Jersey federal judge saying Wednesday the allegations are insufficient to infer BMW knew about any defect.

  • October 07, 2026

    4th Circ. Says FCC Defied Congress Through Political Ad Rule

    A split Fourth Circuit panel Wednesday granted a request from Democratic candidates to force the Federal Communications Commission to issue a ruling on whether broadcasters may only charge the lowest possible rate for ads purchased by political committees attached to candidates.

  • October 07, 2026

    Milk Producers Accused Of Using Exports To Raise Prices

    Consumers have filed a proposed class action accusing major dairy producers and their trade association of violating antitrust law by using an export assistance program to divert sales abroad, allegedly resulting in higher domestic prices for milk and dairy products.

  • October 07, 2026

    Crypto.com Beats Website Users' Tracking Suit, For Now

    A California federal judge dismissed, for now, a proposed class action alleging Crypto.com's site operator allowed third parties to track visitors' browsing activities despite rejecting the use of cookies, ruling Monday the plaintiffs lack standing since the information that was allegedly collected wasn't sensitive enough to constitute concrete injury.

  • October 07, 2026

    Family Tells 5th Circ. Penske Can't Evade Crash Liability

    The family of a man killed in a Texas collision said a Fifth Circuit panel faithfully followed federal law when it revived its lawsuit alleging freight broker and trucking giant Penske is vicariously liable for the 2018 accident, and en banc review before the full court is unwarranted.

  • October 07, 2026

    Vape Group, Makers Want In On FDA E-Cig Enforcement Suit

    A vape industry group and a pair of manufacturers are asking a Maryland federal court to let them intervene on the side of the federal government in a suit by health groups challenging new guidance on enforcement priorities for new tobacco products.

  • October 07, 2026

    Scheduling 'Cascade' Hangs Over Amazon's FTC, Calif. Trials

    Amazon.com sparred with the Federal Trade Commission in a Washington federal court filing over whether to stick to a late March trial kickoff, or whether the multiple trials against the company in 2027 must be pushed back because a California state judge has called a January start unrealistic.

Expert Analysis

  • Money Transmission Issue Looms For Prediction Markets

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    The circuit split recently created by the Ninth Circuit's ruling in Kalshi v. Assad has implications reaching beyond gaming regulation as, depending on the ultimate characterization of prediction market event contracts, platforms may face differing obligations under federal and state money transmission laws, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • How Cos. Can Fight Consumers' Tariff Refund Class Actions

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court's February decision in Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump, invalidating $165 billion of presidentially imposed tariffs, consumers have filed numerous class actions seeking tariff refunds from businesses — but companies have substantial and multifaceted defenses available against these claims, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.

  • FTC Focus: A Shift In The Pricing Disclosure Terrain

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    Recent state and Federal Trade Commission developments spotlight materially different ways in which personalized pricing might be addressed, which could result in an increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape in which businesses face differing disclosure obligations and substantive restrictions depending upon the jurisdiction, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • What Trial Teams Should Know About AI Jury Research Tools

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    Using artificial intelligence for jury research is quickly becoming part of the litigation consulting landscape, and can be a useful part of a case assessment toolkit — but litigators must understand what these systems are built to measure, and what conclusions can reasonably be drawn from their output, say Bill Kanasky and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

  • Lessons For Banks When A Fintech Partner Fails

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    Recent fintech bankruptcies highlight best practices for how banks can strengthen third-party oversight, data-access rights, wind-down planning and customer communications to limit regulatory exposure and consumer harm when a fintech partner collapses, say attorneys at Barack Ferrazzano.

  • Attorneys Using AI May Have Ethical Duty To Redact Docs

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    The trajectory of legal ethics guidance in recent years strongly suggests that as redaction technology becomes more accessible, the failure to use it when uploading highly confidential materials into artificial intelligence tools will become increasingly difficult to defend as reasonable, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.

  • 5 Practice Tips After DOJ's Healthcare Fraud Declination

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    In light of the U.S. Department of Justice's decision to not prosecute Campus Eye Management under the agency's new corporate enforcement and voluntary self-disclosure policy, healthcare companies should keep several considerations in mind when weighing their risk and self-disclosure strategy, including the distinctions between reporting to the DOJ versus other government agencies, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Assessing The Early Days Of Woodcock's SEC Tenure

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    Since David Woodcock took over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement four months ago, the division has pursued a scaled-back caseload centered on fraud and manipulative conduct, largely following the enforcement outlook that emerged under SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • State AI Safety Laws Raise New Liabilities For Healthcare Cos.

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    Healthcare and life science companies using third-party artificial intelligence tools should pay particular attention to the changing state-level legal landscape, where the rollout of multiple AI safety laws is introducing both new compliance obligations and potential consumer protection liabilities, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Series

    Juggling And Unicycling Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Because I juggle (sometimes with fire) and ride the unicycle, friends and family used to joke that I should join the circus, but I pursued the practice of law instead and learned that my hobbies benefit my profession in several important ways, says Morgan Eddy at Smith Currie.

  • Opinion

    NC Litigation Funding Ban Sets Model For Other States

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    States worried about rising liability costs and the commercialization of their courts should treat North Carolina's recently enacted litigation funding ban as a model because a prohibition adequately addresses the distortion that disclosure only documents, say attorneys at McAngus Goudelock.

  • Expert Witness's ChatGPT Use Highlights New AI Risks

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    An expert witness's recent use of ChatGPT in multidistrict litigation involving 3M to formulate most of his opinion illustrates the lack of clear rules for how an expert may use generative AI in an opinion, expanding both offensive and defensive discovery considerations, says David Shargel at Bracewell.

  • AI Note-Taking Suits May Fill Gap In Privacy Law Structure

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    A recent class action against Granola joins other pending lawsuits against AI note-taking providers, highlighting the legal uncertainty surrounding these tools, but there are practical steps companies using "invisible" AI services can take to mitigate risk, including conducting inventories and reviewing access permissions, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • How 'Swap' Fight Underpins Prediction Market Enforcement

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    As courts around the country grapple with whether, and under what circumstances, event contracts qualify as swaps, federal enforcement authority hangs in the balance, with implications for companies that need to manage compliance risks during this period of legal uncertainty, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • FDA Closeout Letter Suggests Relaxing Stance On Wearables

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent decision not to pursue enforcement action against Whoop's wearable blood pressure tracker, read together with guidance released earlier this year, suggests a softer shift in the FDA's approach to regulating wearables, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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