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Consumer Protection
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October 18, 2024
FTC Appeals Noncompete Ban Loss To 5th Circ.
The Federal Trade Commission gave notice Friday that it would seek Fifth Circuit intervention against a Texas federal judge's decision to block its ban on employment noncompete agreements.
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October 18, 2024
Judge Slams 'Lazy Lawyering' In Amazon Biometric Data Suit
The judge overseeing a proposed biometric privacy class action against Amazon Web Services Inc. in Delaware federal court chastised the plaintiffs' counsel for identically repleading a previously dismissed claim, calling the move "lazy lawyering" and warning of potential ramifications for "lying to the court."
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October 18, 2024
Timeshare Co. Preyed On Fla. Servicemember, High Court Told
A Florida U.S. Army soldier and his wife petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to review their case against Bluegreen Vacations Unlimited Inc., disputing that his contract isn't legal under the Military Lending Act because the company used predatory tactics to sell him a timeshare.
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October 18, 2024
False Ad Suit Trimmed Over 'Non-Drowsy' Albertsons Meds
An Illinois federal judge on Thursday refused to strike class claims that Albertsons markets and sells cough medicine labeled as "non-drowsy" that does in fact cause drowsiness, but threw out breach of warranty claims because the lead plaintiff failed to give the company adequate notice before filing suit.
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October 18, 2024
Cos. Say Brokerage Startup's NAR Listing Rules Suit Is Stale
HomeServices of America Inc. and HSF Affiliates LLC told a Utah federal court on Friday to toss a residential brokerage startup's antitrust suit that accused them, multiple brokerages and the National Association of Realtors of conspiring to block the startup from NAR's multiple listing services.
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October 18, 2024
FTC Won't Disqualify ALJ in H&R Block False Ad Fight
The Federal Trade Commission denied a request by H&R Block to stop an administrative law judge from overseeing a proceeding that accuses the tax preparation company of deceptive advertising, saying Friday that ALJs don't have unconstitutional job protections as the company claimed.
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October 18, 2024
Credit Suisse, PwC Fight Bondholders' Separate Merger Suits
Credit Suisse and PwC have urged a New York federal judge to toss a proposed class action alleging that they concealed the impact of quarterly losses and the bank's inability to retain client funds leading up to its takeover by UBS AG, saying the plaintiff launched the suit to circumvent its rejected bid to be lead plaintiff in a similar suit.
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October 18, 2024
Vorys Slams 'Copycat' Firms Trying To Lead Antitrust Suit
Vorys Sater Seymour and Pease LLP is opposing a bid from Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Bucher Law PLLC to take the lead in a proposed consumer class action against gaming giant Valve Corp., saying the firms just "piggybacked" off Vorys' work in an identical suit.
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October 18, 2024
Grocery Co. Sued Over 'Naturally Flavored' Cereal Bars Label
North Carolina-based supermarket chain Harris Teeter was hit with a proposed class action alleging its fruit-flavored cereal bars aren't "naturally flavored" like the packaging claims, but instead contain a flavoring that is derived from a petroleum substrate.
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October 18, 2024
Ohio High Court Restores Developer's FHA Penalty Suit
The Ohio Supreme Court has revived a developer's attempt to recoup some of a Fair Housing Act penalty from franchisees who built inaccessible multifamily housing, finding Friday the lower courts jumped the gun when they found the developer's claims were preempted by the FHA.
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October 18, 2024
Enforcers Fight RealPage Transfer Bid In Rent-Fixing Case
Enforcers urged a North Carolina federal court not to transfer the government's antitrust case against RealPage to the Tennessee court overseeing similar private cases, saying Congress has made it clear that public antitrust actions should not be roped into multidistrict litigation.
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October 18, 2024
Fake 'Hollywood Reporter' Scams Job Seekers, Mass. AG Says
Scammers posing as the publishers of entertainment industry trade publication The Hollywood Reporter created an impostor website to lure job seekers into a cryptocurrency fraud scheme, the Massachusetts attorney general alleged in a complaint Friday.
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October 18, 2024
Crypto Coder Asks 2nd Circ. To Delay Expert Witness Reveal
The founder of cryptocurrency service provider Tornado Cash urged the Second Circuit on Friday to pause a district court judge's order for him to disclose who he might call as an expert witness at an upcoming money laundering and sanctions trial.
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October 18, 2024
AGs Slam 4th Circ. Bid To Restore NC Abortion Drug Limits
In a joint amicus brief to the Fourth Circuit, a coalition of 17 states and the District of Columbia has said the abortion drug mifepristone is a part of women's reproductive healthcare, assailing the "needless" limits that states including North Carolina have sought to impose on the drug's access.
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October 18, 2024
Chemical Cos. Say Firefighter Didn't Fix Standing In PFAS Suit
3M Co. and two other chemical firms urged an Ohio federal judge to dismiss a firefighter's revised lawsuit over so-called forever chemicals, arguing that the allegations are plagued by the same shortcomings the Sixth Circuit flagged when it vacated class certification last year.
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October 18, 2024
Google Play Store Injunction Paused To Let 9th Circ. Weigh In
A California federal judge on Friday briefly paused his injunction requiring Google to open up its Play Store to competition while the tech giant seeks an emergency stay of the injunction at the Ninth Circuit, where it's appealing a jury verdict that it illegally monopolized the Android app distribution and payment market.
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October 18, 2024
FTC Probing John Deere Over Right-To-Repair Policies
The Federal Trade Commission is investigating concerns that John Deere unlawfully restricts the repair of its farm equipment, as the company continues to face private litigation over its right-to-repair policies.
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October 18, 2024
Off The Bench: Wemby Suit, Antitrust Fights In NASCAR, MMA
In this week's Off The Bench, NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama sues over illicit merchandise bearing his likeness, while antitrust litigation rocks NASCAR and mixed martial arts promotion Bellator.
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October 18, 2024
Class Sues Fisher-Price Over Swing Linked To 5 Deaths
A proposed class of parents is suing Fisher-Price Inc. and its parent company Mattel Inc. over an infant swing recalled last week after five infants died while using it to sleep, alleging that the recall is inadequate and that the company failed to disclose the risks.
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October 18, 2024
Podcast Co. Hit With Class Action Over Unwanted Texts
Financial advice podcast network Earn Your Leisure was hit with a proposed class action Thursday by a Georgia woman who says the company harassed her and other members of the National Do Not Call Registry with soliciting text messages.
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October 18, 2024
Fantasy Sports Sites Crossed Line Into Betting, Suit Says
Yahoo Fantasy Sports, PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy have been hit with a lawsuit seeking to recover potentially millions of dollars in "pick 'em" bets and other wagers placed by Massachusetts players directly with the platforms, which are not licensed to offer sports betting in the state.
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October 18, 2024
Hemp Industry Group Sues Louisiana Officials Over New Law
Louisiana hemp interests on Friday filed a federal lawsuit against the governor and attorney general challenging a new state law meant to rein in intoxicating hemp products, alleging the new policy runs afoul of the federal law that legalized hemp nationally.
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October 18, 2024
FTC Faces More Pressure To Block $16.5B Novo-Catalent Deal
A dozen advocacy groups are pushing the Federal Trade Commission to block Novo Holdings' planned $16.5 billion purchase of Catalent, arguing that the deal would stifle competition for certain obesity and gene therapy drugs — and that no remedy can fix that.
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October 18, 2024
JPMorgan Says Trial 'Needless' After Couple Loses $20M Suit
JPMorgan Chase Bank NA told a Massachusetts federal judge Thursday there is no need for a two-week trial on the bank's counterclaims after it scored a pretrial win in a suit brought by an elderly couple who said bad investments cost them $20 million.
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October 18, 2024
Tesla Car's Pedestrian Crash Opens NHTSA Death Probe
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday said that it is investigating Tesla's self-driving systems after several accidents, including one that struck and killed a pedestrian.
Expert Analysis
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Remedy May Be Google's Biggest Hurdle Yet In Antitrust Case
There are difficulties ahead in the remedies phase of the antitrust case against Google in District of Columbia federal court, including the search engine giant's scale advantage and the fast-moving nature of the tech industry, setting the stage for the most challenging of the proceedings so far, says Jonathan Rubin at MoginRubin.
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3 Ways To Limit Risks Of Black-Box AI In Financial Services
As regulators increasingly highlight the potential for artificial intelligence to make unfair consumer credit decisions, and require financial institutions to explain how these so-called black-box algorithms arrive at conclusions, companies should consider three key questions to reduce their regulatory risks from these tools, say Jeffrey Naimon and Caroline Stapleton at Orrick.
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Takeaways From EU's 'Pay Or Consent' Advertising Probe
Anne-Gabrielle Haie and Charles Whiddington at Steptoe examine key points from the European Commission's recent investigation into Big Tech's use of "pay or consent" advertising models, as well as the European Data Protection Board’s opinion on how such models can comply with EU competition and data protection laws.
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When Banks Unknowingly Become HIPAA Biz Associates
There appears to be significant confusion regarding the application of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to financial institutions when serving healthcare-related clients, so these institutions should consider undertaking several steps as a starting point in the effort to achieve compliance, say attorneys at Vorys.
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From Muppet Heads To OJ's Glove: How To Use Props At Trial
Demonstrative graphics have become so commonplace in the courtroom that jurors may start to find them boring, but attorneys can keep jurors engaged and improve their recall by effectively using physical props at trial, says Clint Townson at Townson Consulting.
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Opinion
The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address
A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
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Opting In To CIPA Risk Mitigation After New Precedent
A recent California federal court decision, adopting a new, broad interpretation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, will likely increase the volume of CIPA claims and should prompt businesses to undertake certain preventative measures, including adopting an opt-in approach to using third-party website advertising technologies, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.
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Opinion
It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union
As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
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CFPB's Earned Wage Access Rule Marks Regulatory Shift
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's newly issued interpretive rule on earned wage access products, classifying them as extensions of credit, marks a significant shift in their regulatory landscape and raises some important questions regarding potential fringe cases and legal challenges, say Erin Bryan and Courina Yulisa at Dorsey & Whitney.
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What 7th Circ. Samsung Decision Means For Mass Arbitration
The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in Wallrich v. Samsung highlights the dilemma faced by mass arbitration filers in the face of nonpayment of arbitration fees by the defending party — but also suggests that there are risks for defendants in pursuing such a strategy, says Daniel Campbell at McDermott.
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How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act
In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.
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FTC Drives Crackdown On Connected Cars' Data Privacy Risk
After the Federal Trade Commission's warning to automakers about data privacy, which continues to emerge as a national concern, automakers must carefully examine their data collection, use and retention practices, say Catherine Castaldo and Michael Rubayo at Reed Smith.
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Jarkesy May Thwart Consumer Agencies' Civil Penalty Power
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy not only implicates future SEC administrative adjudications, but those of other agencies that operate similarly — and may stymie regulators' efforts to levy civil monetary penalties in a range of consumer protection enforcement actions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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How Courts Split On Damages Analysis In Automotive Suits
As high-profile vehicle recalls and lawsuits alleging vehicle defects surge, many plaintiffs are turning to choice-based conjoint analysis to calculate damages, but a review of federal district court decisions reveals a range of views on the validity of this methodology, say Joshua Hochberg and Shireen Meer at Berkeley Research.
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Considerations As State AGs Step Up Privacy Enforcement
As new state privacy laws take effect, businesses are facing an increasingly complex patchwork of compliance obligations and risk of scrutiny by attorneys general, but companies can gain a competitive edge by building consumer trust and staying ahead of regulatory trends, say Ann-Marie Luciano and Meghan Stoppel at Cozen O’Connor.