Consumer Protection

  • June 10, 2024

    Home Flooding Was Unavoidable, Agency Tells Appeals Court

    A Texas river management agency has told a state appeals court that a group of Houston residents' properties would have flooded regardless of its actions to mitigate Hurricane Harvey's effects, urging the appellate court to overturn a trial court order denying its bid for release from the residents' suit.

  • June 10, 2024

    Health Data Co. Says Rival's Request Risks Patient Security

    A healthcare data company pushed back against claims in Maryland federal court that it blocks a rival's access to nursing home patient data used to identify potential complications, saying the rival is asking to disable security measures that prevent attacks on its system.

  • June 10, 2024

    Ill. Judge Hangs Gain False Labeling Claims Out To Dry

    An Illinois consumer who washes clothes with Gain detergent cannot pursue fraud claims targeting a bottle's purported load capacity because she hasn't shown that reasonable customers believe the label refers to large rather than medium loads, a federal judge said Monday.

  • June 10, 2024

    Apple IPhone Antitrust MDL Heads To NJ, Where DOJ Is Suing

    Apple customers accusing the company of locking in iPhone users through anticompetitive agreements will have their cases consolidated in New Jersey, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ruled Friday, finding the parties can coordinate with the U.S. Department of Justice's enforcement action there to avoid duplicative discovery and inconsistent rulings.

  • June 10, 2024

    Bloomberg's Utility Bond Changes Hurt Consumers, Suit Says

    Bloomberg LP was hit with a proposed class action by California and Texas electricity customers who claim the company reclassified certain bonds issued by utility companies to elevate their perceived risk and hike interest rates, a move they say benefited institutional investors but imposed increased costs on electricity customers.

  • June 10, 2024

    NY Lawmakers Pass Kids Social Media Addiction Bill

    New York lawmakers have passed a bill that will rein in social media algorithms from delivering addictive content to minors and sent it to Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk for approval, which is widely expected.

  • June 10, 2024

    Baltimore Lands $45M Deal With Allergan In Opioid Litigation

    Baltimore has put to rest its claims that Allergan played a part in the opioid crisis, reaching a $45 million settlement with the pharmaceutical company, an amount the city called "unprecedented" in an announcement on Monday.

  • June 10, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Choctaw's Dispute With CVS Must Be Arbitrated

    A Ninth Circuit panel forced the Choctaw Nation to arbitrate a dispute over prescription drug reimbursement with CVS Health Corp. subsidiaries, affirming an Arizona federal judge's order in a published opinion Monday.

  • June 10, 2024

    Triumph Motorcycles Hit With Complaint Over Defective Brakes

    An Iowa resident has accused a Georgia-based motorcycle company of putting defective brakes on a bike that caused him to sustain permanent brain injuries after he was unexpectedly thrown from the vehicle, in a complaint filed in North Carolina federal court.

  • June 10, 2024

    'Junk Fee' Suit Against Hilton Shipped Back To State Court

    A D.C. federal judge has sent back to state court a traveler advocacy group's lawsuit accusing Hilton of tricking hotel guests into paying "junk fees" late in the booking process, rejecting the hotel chain's bid to litigate the proposed class action in federal court.

  • June 10, 2024

    FCC Urged To Add Missing Persons Code For Tribes

    Tribal leaders urged the Federal Communications Commission to consider adding a missing persons code specific to Indigenous people as it upgrades the Emergency Alert System.

  • June 10, 2024

    Cut Penalties For Rural Buildout Shortcomings, FCC Urged

    A trade group representing electric cooperatives is joining the chorus of industry interests calling for the Federal Communications Commission to reduce penalties for companies that withdraw from federally backed rural broadband projects, saying the commission rules should not be "punitive" when build-outs stop making sense.

  • June 10, 2024

    Split 4th Circ. Tosses Suit Over 'Forever Chemicals' In NC

    The Fourth Circuit ruled Monday that environmental groups couldn't challenge in district court the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's selection of particular so-called forever chemicals for testing after the agency agreed, at the groups' request, to research the chemicals' effects in North Carolina.

  • June 10, 2024

    Judge Orders Site Worker To Film Drone Video In Cancer MDL

    A state judge said Monday that additional drone video of cleanup efforts at a contaminated rail yard sought by Houston residents living near the site must be taken by a Union Pacific Railroad Co. employee following a dispute over allegedly improper drone videos filmed over the site last month.

  • June 10, 2024

    Drugmakers Look To Nix Non-Insulin Claims From AG Suit

    Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and Sanofi-Aventis asked the federal judge overseeing a diabetes drug price-fixing multidistrict litigation to rule for drugmakers on Mississippi's claims the pricing for GLP-1s is illegal, saying in a brief that the drugs are under patent and too new to be included in the insulin-pricing suit.

  • June 10, 2024

    'Four Tops' Singer Sues ER Staff Who Ordered Psych Test

    The lead singer of Motown group The Four Tops has sued a hospital in Michigan federal court, claiming in a complaint filed Monday that hospital staff treated him as if he was mentally ill when he said he was a famous singer.

  • June 10, 2024

    House Dems Push For More Info On Sports Streaming Venture

    A pair of House Democrats are pushing The Walt Disney Co., Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery for more information on their planned joint streaming venture, saying the companies' previous response did not assuage their concerns about competition, consumer protection and pricing.

  • June 10, 2024

    Calif. Cannabis Co. Stiiizy Wants Delta-8 Product Suit Tossed

    A California cannabis company urged an Illinois federal judge to toss a consumer-led false advertising lawsuit alleging it put higher levels of THC in its vape pens than federally allowed, saying the buyers didn't even purchase the one product that was allegedly tested.

  • June 10, 2024

    Juul Ends FOIA Suit Over FDA E-Cig Decisions

    Vaping company Juul Labs Inc. has agreed to drop its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that sought to obtain documents related to the agency's order requiring its e-cigarettes to be pulled off the market.

  • June 10, 2024

    FTC To Fight Go-Ahead Order On Novant $320M Hospital Deal

    Just days after a district court loss, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday it will ask the Fourth Circuit to step in and block Novant Health from buying two North Carolina hospitals in a $320 million deal the agency contends would harm competition.

  • June 10, 2024

    9th Circ. To Hear Args In Psilocybin Right-To-Try Case

    A Ninth Circuit panel will hear oral arguments in August in an appeal brought by a Seattle doctor seeking to administer psilocybin to terminal cancer patients under state and federal right-to-try laws.

  • June 10, 2024

    Justices Call For Do-Over In 9th Circ. Bank Preemption Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday tossed a Ninth Circuit decision rejecting federal preemption of a California state interest-on-escrow law for Flagstar Bank, ordering a do-over in the case following the high court's recent ruling on preemption standards in a similar case involving Bank of America.

  • June 10, 2024

    Prudential Financial Hit With Data Breach Suit In NJ

    Prudential Financial Inc. faces a negligence suit alleging the company failed to protect the personal information of nearly 37,000 clients after it acknowledged that certain of its systems were compromised in a February hacking incident involving so-called social engineering.

  • June 10, 2024

    Justices To Hear Meta Investor Suit Over Risk Disclosures

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear Meta Platforms' petition regarding the Ninth Circuit's decision to partially revive investors' claims over the Cambridge Analytica data abuse scandal, after the tech giant argued the appellate panel adopted "extreme outlier positions."

  • June 10, 2024

    High Court Won't Review FCC's Universal Service Fund

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to review whether the country's fee-based telecom subsidy system unlawfully delegates taxing powers from Congress to the Federal Communications Commission and a privately run administrator.

Expert Analysis

  • FDIC Bank Disclosure Rules Raise Important Questions

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    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.

  • Setting Goals For Kicking Corruption Off FIFA World Cup Field

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    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.

  • Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert

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    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.

  • Takeaways From FDIC's Spring Supervisory Highlights

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    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.

  • Online Portal Helps Fortify Feds' Unfair Health Practices Fight

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    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.

  • Series

    Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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.

  • Key Issues Raised By Colorado's Brain Data Privacy Bill

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    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.

  • Birkin Bag Case Carries Competition Lessons For Retailers

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    A recently proposed antitrust class action alleging that Hermès violated federal and California law when selling its iconic Birkin and Kelly handbags highlights some issues that other brands and retailers should consider, particularly given a prevailing landscape that seems to prioritize antitrust scrutiny, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Expect Tougher Bank Exams 1 Year After Spring 2023 Failures

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    With federal banking agencies still implementing harsher examinations with swifter escalations a year after the spring 2023 bank failures, banks can gain insight into changing expectations by monitoring how the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are coordinating and updating their exam policies, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic

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    Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Breaking Down EPA's Rule On PFAS In Drinking Water

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    Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized the first enforceable federal drinking water regulation for PFAS, which, along with reporting and compliance requirements for regulated entities, will have a number of indirect effects, including increased cleanup costs and the possible expansion of existing Superfund sites, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals

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    Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.

  • The Drawbacks Of Banking Regulators' Merger Review Plans

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    Recent proposals for bank merger review criteria by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. share common pitfalls: increased likelihood of delays, uncertainties, and new hurdles to transactions that could impede the long-term safety and soundness of the banks involved, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Opinion

    The FTC's Noncompete Rule Is Likely Dead On Arrival

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    The Federal Trade Commission's April 23 noncompete ban ignores the consequences to the employees it claims to help — but the rule is unlikely to go into effect provided the ideological makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court remains the same, say Erik Weibust and Stuart Gerson at Epstein Becker.

  • 'Beauty From Within' Trend Poses Regulatory Risks For Cos.

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    Companies capitalizing on the current trend in oral supplements touting cosmetic benefits must note that a product claim that would be acceptable for an externally applied cosmetic may draw much stronger scrutiny from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration when applied to a supplement, say Natalie Rainer and Katherine Staba at K&L Gates.

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