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Consumer Protection
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May 23, 2024
House Passes Bill To Block Fed-Issued Digital Dollar
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital dollar in a vote that fell starkly along party lines, with Democrats decrying the bill as fearmongering over privacy concerns and a departure from the previous day's bipartisan passage of a regulatory framework for digital assets.
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May 23, 2024
High Court Urged To Rule On FCC Question In TCPA Dispute
A chiropractic practice group is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take another crack at the question of whether district courts must adhere to a Federal Communications Commission's legal interpretation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, in a bid to revive its proposed class action against McKesson over junk faxes.
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May 23, 2024
Coverage Suit Paused Until Resolution Of Gun Sales Dispute
A California federal court paused Crum & Forster's suit against a police gun and fitness club and the city of Los Angeles over coverage for underlying actions brought by officers accusing the club of selling them stolen handguns, citing factual overlap between the actions.
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May 23, 2024
NFL Says Unsolicited-Text Suit Belongs In Arbitration
The NFL wants to force into arbitration a lawsuit filed by a New York woman frustrated with her inability to stop unwanted text messages from the football organization, citing a binding agreement she consented to when registering to receive notifications about the 2023 draft.
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May 23, 2024
GSK, Boehringer Prevail In 1st Zantac Cancer Trial
A Chicago jury found Thursday that Zantac heartburn medication and its generic counterparts sold by GlaxoSmithKline and Boehringer Ingelheim are not responsible for an Illinois woman's colon cancer and her subsequent, debilitating symptoms, handing the drug companies a decisive victory in the first of hundreds of such cases to go to trial.
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May 23, 2024
DOJ Sues Live Nation 14 Years After Ticketmaster Deal
The U.S. Department of Justice sued Live Nation Thursday over the 2010 agreement clearing the concert promotion giant's purchase of Ticketmaster, an oft-maligned deal that enforcers now want to unwind and that is blamed for fiascoes like the meltdown of ticket sales for Taylor Swift's Eras tour.
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May 23, 2024
Wow Such Basic: Justices Back Crypto Fans In Dogecoin Duel
It's up to judges, not arbitrators, to figure out whether contracts between businesses and consumers have subtly superseded earlier agreements to hash out disputes in arbitration rather than litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
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May 22, 2024
Neb. Takes Aim At TikTok For 'Exploiting' Teen Users
Nebraska's attorney general has become the latest to accuse TikTok of operating a service that is addictive and harmful to teens, alleging in a complaint filed in state court Wednesday that the popular video-sharing site has misled consumers about how safe and appropriate the platform is for minors.
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May 22, 2024
Stubhub, Attys Beat Sanctions Bid For Lost Hyperlinked Docs
A California federal magistrate judge on Monday rejected a request for sanctions against StubHub and its counsel over problems finding hyperlinked documents in a case brought by consumers seeking refunds for events that were canceled or rescheduled due to COVID-19, saying the court's order requiring their production was "in most cases impossible to comply with."
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May 22, 2024
EasyPay Agrees To Exit Mass. In 'Rent-A-Bank' Settlement
EasyPay, an alternative finance company, has settled with Massachusetts officials over claims that it gouged Bay State borrowers with predatory loans issued through an out-of-state bank, agreeing to pay $625,000 to consumers and stop doing business in the state as part of a deal unveiled Wednesday.
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May 22, 2024
Caesars Escapes Privacy Suit Over Online Video Games
A New Jersey federal judge on Wednesday tossed without prejudice a proposed class action accusing Caesars of illegally sharing the personal identifying information of those who played video games on its casino website, saying the online games are not covered under the law the plaintiff alleges the casino violated.
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May 22, 2024
US House Passes Crypto Bill Over SEC, White House Dissent
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a Republican-led framework to regulate digital assets despite pushback from many Democrats, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the White House, which questioned whether the bill will actually provide the clarity it promises.
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May 22, 2024
Ex-FTX Exec Deserves Up To 7 Years For Fraud, Feds Say
Federal prosecutors have told a New York federal judge they are seeking a five- to seven-year prison sentence for former FTX executive Ryan Salame, arguing that his campaign finance offense "is one of the largest-ever in American history."
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May 22, 2024
Monsanto's Appellate Win Won't Nix $438M PCB Loss
A Washington state trial judge has declined to throw out a $438 million judgment against Monsanto in one of a series of PCB poisoning suits tied to a school site, rejecting the company's argument that the judgment cannot stand on the heels of a state appellate court ruling reversing another plaintiffs' win in the case group.
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May 23, 2024
Sunsetting Section 230 Gains Traction On Both Sides Of Aisle
Everyone at Wednesday's House subcommittee hearing, from left to right, seemed to agree that it's time to ditch the Communications Decency Act's hotly contested Section 230, which shields online platforms from liability for content posted by third parties.
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May 22, 2024
ATM Plaintiffs Must Share New Data In Visa, Mastercard Suit
A D.C. federal judge ordered ATM operator plaintiffs on Wednesday to turn over updated data showing average interchange fees and transaction surcharges at the center of a discovery dispute in their long-running class action against Visa and Mastercard, telling the plaintiffs that she wanted to err on the side of "liberal discovery."
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May 22, 2024
Antitrust Judge Questions Apple's Phil Schiller On New Fees
A California federal judge deciding whether Apple has complied with her ban on App Store anti-steering rules questioned Apple fellow Phil Schiller on Wednesday on Apple's new program imposing 27% fees on out-of-app transactions, saying "all the new program does is maintain the anti-competitive environment" for the company's benefit.
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May 22, 2024
Zillow Trade Practices Case Meets Skeptical Conn. Judge
A federal judge in Connecticut on Wednesday seemed skeptical of a real estate sales associate's proposed class action complaint against Zillow Inc., suggesting that the website's "Zestimates" of home values are protected by the First Amendment during a summary judgment hearing on the sole remaining claim in the dispute.
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May 22, 2024
Ga. Lender Asks Panel To Free It From Unsolicited Check Case
A Georgia lending institution asked the Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday to reverse a trial court's decision not to free it from a lawsuit alleging it violated the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act by sending out an unsolicited live check that was stolen and cashed by an unknown party.
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May 22, 2024
Mich. Judge Not Satisfied By Atty's Letter Over Flint PR Stunt
The federal judge overseeing Flint, Michigan, water crisis cases isn't satisfied with a California attorney's letter denying involvement in an alleged smear campaign targeting a lawyer for Flint children, saying Wednesday that if the attorney doesn't provide more substantive information, she will be referred to the State Bar of California.
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May 22, 2024
Justices' CFPB Alliance May Save SEC Courts, Not Chevron
A four-justice concurrence to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's unique funding scheme last week carries implications for other cases pending before the court that challenge the so-called administrative state, or the permanent cadre of regulatory agencies and career government enforcers who hold sway over vast swaths of American economic life.
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May 22, 2024
1st Circ. Affirms UBS Win In Puerto Rico Pension Fight
The First Circuit said public pensioners in Puerto Rico can't advance their claims that UBS Financial Services illegally underwrote $3 billion in bonds, ruling that the island's financial restructuring plan transferred the right to those claims to a special committee.
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May 22, 2024
Wells Fargo Tries 2 Tactics To Get Overdraft Fee Suit Bounced
Wells Fargo is arguing to a South Dakota federal judge that customers suing as a potential class fully knew they were subject to penalties when they bounced checks, and that an arbitration clause obligates them to handle disputes outside court.
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May 22, 2024
Accepting Price-Fix Tech Invite Can Be Enough: DOJ Official
An advisor to the Justice Department's top competition official continued to argue Wednesday that signing onto a price setting algorithm can be enough to trigger antitrust liability if the program was billed as fixing prices.
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May 22, 2024
FCC Weighs Requiring AI Disclosures In Political Ads
The Federal Communications Commission will soon decide if it needs new rules requiring disclosure of content generated with artificial intelligence in radio and TV political ads.
Expert Analysis
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How New Rule Would Change CFIUS Enforcement Powers
Before the May 15 comment deadline, companies may want to weigh in on proposed regulatory changes to enforcement and mitigation tools at the disposal of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, including broadened subpoena powers, difficult new mitigation timelines and higher maximum penalties, say attorneys at Venable.
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Is The Digital Accessibility Storm Almost Over?
Though private businesses have faced a decadelong deluge of digital accessibility complaints in the absence of clear regulations or uniformity among the courts, attorneys at Epstein Becker address how recent federal courts’ pushback against serial Americans with Disabilities Act plaintiffs and the U.S. Department of Justice’s proposed government accessibility standards may presage a break in the downpour.
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PE In The Crosshairs Of Public And Private Antitrust Enforcers
A series of decisions from a California federal court in the recently settled Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, as well as heightened scrutiny from federal agencies, serve as a reminder that private equity firms may be exposed to liability for alleged anti-competitive conduct by their portfolio companies, say attorneys at Axinn.
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Series
Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.
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Key Priorities In FDIC Report On Resolving Big Bank Failures
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s report last month on the resolvability of large financial institutions contains little new information, but it does reiterate key policy priorities, including the agency's desire to enhance loss-absorbing capacity through long-term debt requirements and preference for single-point-of-entry resolution strategies, say attorneys at Freshfields.
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Microplastics At The Crossroads Of Regulation And Litigation
Though there are currently not many federal regulations specifically addressing microplastics as pollutants, regulatory scrutiny and lawsuits asserting consumer protection claims are both on the rise, and manufacturers should take proactive steps to implement preventive measures accordingly, say Aliza Karetnick and Franco Corrado at Morgan Lewis.
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New Federal Bill Would Drastically Alter Privacy Landscape
While the recently introduced American Privacy Rights Act would eliminate the burdensome patchwork of state regulations, the proposed federal privacy law would also significantly expand compliance obligations and liability exposure for companies, especially those that rely on artificial intelligence or biometric technologies, says David Oberly at Baker Donelson.
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Opinion
CFPB Could, And Should, Revise Open Banking Rulemaking
In light of continued global developments in open banking, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should evaluate whether it actually should use its proposed rule on Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act to amplify personal financial data rights in the U.S., says Brian Fritzsche at the Consumer Bankers Association.
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FDIC Bank Disclosure Rules Raise Important Questions
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new rules mandating disclosures for nonbanks offering deposit products leave traditional financial institutions in a no-man's land between fintech-oriented requirements and the reality of personal service demanded by customers, say Paul Clark and Casey Jennings at Seward & Kissel.
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Setting Goals For Kicking Corruption Off FIFA World Cup Field
The unprecedented tri-country nature of the 2026 men's World Cup will add to the complexity of an already complicated event, but best practices can help businesses stay on the right side of anti-corruption rules during this historic competition, say Sandra Moser and Emily Ahdieh at Morgan Lewis.
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Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert
As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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Takeaways From FDIC's Spring Supervisory Highlights
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s spring 2024 consumer compliance supervisory report found that relatively few institutions had significant consumer compliance issues last year, but the common thread among those that did were inadequacies or failures in disclosures to consumers, says Matthew Hanaghan at Nutter.
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Online Portal Helps Fortify Feds' Unfair Health Practices Fight
The Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently launched an online portal where the public can report potentially unfair healthcare practices, effectively maximizing enforcers' abilities to police anti-competitive actions that can drive up healthcare costs and chill innovation, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
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Series
Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
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Key Issues Raised By Colorado's Brain Data Privacy Bill
Colorado recently became the first state to provide consumer privacy protections for data generated from a person's brain waves, and despite the bill’s ambiguity and open questions introduced, the new law has helped turn the spotlight on neurodata, says Sara Pullen Guercio at Alston & Bird.