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Consumer Protection
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April 24, 2024
Metals Firm To Pay $66M Over Retirement Coin Scam
A California federal judge has ordered a metals trading firm to pay $66 million and each of its owners to pay between $1 million and $3 million to settle claims that they defrauded hundreds of investors by convincing them to sell their retirement securities to buy gold and silver coins at inflated prices.
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April 24, 2024
Congress Didn't OK FCC's 'Disparate Impact' Ban, Critics Say
Business groups told the Eighth Circuit on Wednesday that the Federal Communications Commission's new rules against discrimination in broadband deployment should be overturned because Congress never intended that the agency use a sweeping "disparate impact" liability standard.
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April 24, 2024
Groups Back Intuit's 5th Circ. Challenge To FTC Over Ads
Business and conservative groups defended tax software giant Intuit Inc. in its Fifth Circuit constitutional challenge to the Federal Trade Commission's findings that the company engaged in deceptive advertising, saying the agency acts as both prosecutor and jury and that its administrative judges have unchecked power.
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April 24, 2024
Group Fights SpaceX's FCC Grants After Musk's Actions In War
A pro-Ukraine nonprofit is urging the Federal Communications Commission to halt spectrum assignments to Elon Musk's SpaceX and launch an investigation into the CEO's "erratic" behavior, arguing that his alleged meddling in U.S. foreign policy could disqualify him from exercising control over the company's Starlink satellite network system.
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April 24, 2024
Bill O'Reilly Can't Duck Canceled Cruise Suit, Customer Says
Bill O'Reilly cannot use his New York ties to shrug off a proposed class action, a man denied refunds for a canceled cruise has told an Arkansas federal court, arguing the former Fox News host and others gave the court jurisdiction when they launched a nationwide marketing campaign for the trip that reached Arkansas residents.
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April 24, 2024
Binance Founder Should Get 3 Years, Not Probation, Feds Say
Federal prosecutors asked a Washington federal judge to sentence Binance founder Changpeng Zhao to three years over his failure to implement an effective anti-money laundering program at his crypto exchange, but the founder said jail time isn't necessary since he's already paid "massive" fines and comparable cases haven't resulted in prison sentences.
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April 24, 2024
Chamber Of Commerce Sues FTC Over New Noncompete Rule
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has lodged a promised lawsuit challenging the Federal Trade Commission's new rule banning noncompete agreements, contending the pacts are good for the economy and that the agency lacks authority to issue the regulation.
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April 24, 2024
FDA Can Keep Most Docs Hidden From Juul's FOIA Request
A District of Columbia federal judge has largely sided with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in a suit by Juul Labs Inc. seeking documents related to the FDA's decision to ban its products, saying the bulk of the files fall under a privilege that protects predecision deliberations.
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April 24, 2024
Dow Loses Bid To Keep NJ Toxic Water Row In Federal Court
A New Jersey federal judge on Tuesday remanded to state court the attorney general's lawsuit accusing Dow Chemical Co. and other companies of hiding the danger of 1,4-dioxane, a likely cancer-causing compound, and causing "pervasive and widespread" groundwater pollution.
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April 24, 2024
Wash. Nationals' Millennial Discount Doesn't Fly, Suit Says
Older fans of the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team were out of luck when it came to getting 30% discounted tickets because the team only offered it to millennials ages 21 to 39 as part of a marketing promotion that a proposed class action alleges is illegal.
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April 24, 2024
Joe Rogan Brain Health Supplements Don't Work, Suit Claims
A proposed class of supplement buyers is suing a brain health supplement founded and promoted by podcaster Joe Rogan in New York federal court, saying the company's own studies prove false its advertisements claiming the product is "clinically" proven to promote cognitive function.
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April 24, 2024
Landlords Bring NY Rent Law Challenge To High Court Again
Thirteen New York property owners urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review their challenge to two 2019 changes to New York rental laws, arguing that the suit is the better-tailored vehicle Justice Clarence Thomas signaled interest in when denying a similar challenge in January.
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April 23, 2024
Calif. Fertility Clinic Implanted Dead Embryos, Couples Say
An Orange County, California, fertility clinic accidentally destroyed embryos but still implanted them into patients in an attempt to cover up its mistakes, nine couples said in a suit filed Tuesday in Golden State court.
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April 23, 2024
Turkish Co. Hit With $168M Suit Over Failed Uniform Deal
Strategic advisory firm Sinclair & Wilde Ltd. sued a Turkish military textile company in New York state court, seeking approximately $168 million in damages over allegations it violated verbal military uniform supply agreements involving Ukraine and used political connections to get Sinclair's CEO detained in Turkey.
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April 23, 2024
Ex-Auditor, County Prosecutor Win Pennsylvania AG Primary
The race for Pennsylvania's next attorney general will pit an academic who was the state's fiscal watchdog against a Navy veteran serving as a county's top prosecutor, early primary election results showed Tuesday evening.
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April 23, 2024
Monsanto Judge Slashes $857M PCB Jury Verdict
A Washington state judge slashed a nearly $860 million PCB poisoning verdict against Monsanto by roughly half on Tuesday, while the company sought to avoid future losses by moving to sever an upcoming 14-plaintiff trial in another toxic tort stemming from the same Evergreen State school site.
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April 23, 2024
AGs Urged To Probe Anti-Abortion Centers' Privacy Claims
A watchdog group on Tuesday pressed the attorneys general from Idaho, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington to investigate certain "crisis pregnancy centers" that are allegedly misrepresenting their compliance with federal health privacy law, arguing that the organizations are exploiting consumers' misconception that the statute broadly protects their medical data.
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April 23, 2024
New Ga. Law Restricts Social Media Use For Youth Under 16
A bill signed into law Tuesday by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp imposes new restrictions on minors' internet usage, including requiring social media companies to verify that users are 16 or older unless they receive approval from an individual's parents to use the service.
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April 23, 2024
TikTok Divestment Bill Heads To Biden's Desk
The Senate voted 79-18 on Tuesday night to pass a bill requiring ByteDance Ltd. to divest the popular social media app TikTok or face a ban in the U.S., which now goes to the president's desk.
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April 23, 2024
BNSF Says Zurich Should Pay For Defense In Asbestos Cases
BNSF asked a Texas appeals court Tuesday to consider hundreds of asbestos exposures in Libby, Montana, as separate occurrences to trigger an insurance policy provision, saying during oral arguments that Zurich American Insurance Co. needed to cough up defense costs in cases relating to the exposures.
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April 23, 2024
Kerrygold Butter-Maker Can't Nix 'Pure' Label False Ad Suit
A New York federal judge on Tuesday largely denied a bid by Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter's maker to discard a proposed class action alleging its product is misbranded as "pure" though it might contain "forever chemicals," finding the suit plausibly alleges chemicals from the packaging could migrate to the product.
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April 23, 2024
Small Providers Can't Meet 'Vague' Title II Rules, FCC Hears
Small broadband providers will need at least a six-month buffer before they have to start complying with certain net neutrality mandates, should the Federal Communications Commission vote to restore open internet rules on Thursday, according to a communications industry trade group.
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April 23, 2024
ACLU Backs States' Power To Preempt Feds' Net Neutrality
The ACLU is a supporter of the Federal Communications Commission's plans to usher in a new era of net neutrality later this month, but the civil rights organization is also pressing the agency to make sure that states are free to enact stricter open internet protections if they see fit.
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April 23, 2024
Texas Orders Digital Gold Vault Scheme To Shut Down
Texas financial regulators have ordered the operators of a digital gold vault scheme to stop operating in the state, alleging individuals and companies were running a fraudulent multilevel marketing scheme to lure investors in unregistered securities.
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April 23, 2024
Realtors, Home Sellers Get OK For $418M Broker Rules Deal
The National Association of Realtors and a nationwide class of home sellers on Tuesday scored a Missouri federal judge's initial approval of their $418 million settlement resolving claims that the trade group's broker commission rules caused home sellers across the country to pay inflated fees.
Expert Analysis
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3 Principles For Minimizing The Risk Of A Nuclear Verdict
In one of the latest examples of so-called nuclear verdicts, a single plaintiff was awarded $2.25 billion in a jury trial against Monsanto — revealing the need for defense attorneys to prioritize trust, connection and simplicity when communicating with modern juries, say Jenny Hergenrother and Mia Falzarano at Alston & Bird.
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Series
Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.
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Freight Forwarders And Common Carriers: Know Your Cargo
Freight forwarders and other nonprincipal parties involved in global cargo movement should follow the guidance in the multi-agency know-your-cargo compliance note to avoid enforcement actions should they fail to spot evasive tactics used in supply chains to circumvent U.S. sanctions and export controls, say attorneys at Venable.
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Debt Collector Compliance Takeaways From An FDCPA Appeal
A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau amicus brief last month in an ongoing First Circuit appeal focusing on an interpretation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act can serve as a reminder for debt collectors to understand how their technologies, like bankruptcy scrubs and letter logic, can prevent litigation, says Justin Bradley at Womble Bond.
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SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap
As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.
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Bitcoin ETF Approval Doesn't Mean SEC Approves Of Crypto
While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approval last month of 11 applications for spot exchange-traded funds tracking bitcoin is a landmark moment for the crypto-asset industry, investors who are hopeful that the SEC will approve similar crypto-based ETFs may be disappointed, says attorneys at Mintz.
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Googling Prospective Jurors Is Usually A Fool's Errand
Though a Massachusetts federal court recently barred Google from Googling potential jurors in a patent infringement case, the company need not worry about missing evidence of bias, because internet research of jury pools usually doesn’t yield the most valuable information — voir dire and questionnaires do, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.
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Opinion
CFPB Shouldn't Ditch Prior Earned Wage Access Precedent
Recent statements from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau general counsel Seth Frotman indicate the CFPB may be concluding that some or all earned wage access products are credit under federal law, but doing so would threaten the existence of the products and cause consumers to turn back to costly alternatives, says Eric Goldberg at Akerman.
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A Look Into How Jurors Reach High Damages Awards
In the wake of several large jury awards, Richard Gabriel and Emily Shaw at Decision Analysis shed light on challenges that jurors have in deciding them, the nonevidentiary and extra-legal methods they use to do so, and new research about the themes and jury characteristics of high-damages jurors.
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Aviation Back On Course, But Keep Seat Belts Fastened
While the airline industry finally returned to profitability last year for the first time since the onset of COVID-19, and is poised for historic levels of traffic in 2024, supply chain problems and economic and geopolitical uncertainty persist — so more turbulence may lie ahead, say Kevin Lewis and Bart Biggers at Sidley.
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What Brands Must Know For Calif. Recycle Label Compliance
A brand that stamps nonrecyclable packaging with the chasing arrows symbol could face liability under California's new law on labeling recyclable material, so brand owners should keep an eye on the state's pending survey process to identify which materials meet the criteria before requirements go into effect, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
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FTC AI Inquiry Signals Intensified Focus On Emerging Tech
The Federal Trade Commission's recent inquiry into investments and partnerships between Big Tech companies and artificial intelligence startups appears to be directed at guiding future enforcement decisions in competition, privacy and consumer protection — and three principles discussed at a related tech summit give insight on the agency's approach, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Preparing For A New Wave Of Litigation Under Silicosis Rules
After the Division of Occupational Safety and Health of California issued an emergency temporary standard to combat noncompliance with assessments of workers' exposure to particles of crystalline silica, companies that manufacture, distribute or sell silica-containing products will need aggressive case-specific discovery to navigate a new wave of litigation, say attorneys at Dechert.
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Managing Competing Priorities In Witness Preparation
There’s often a divide between what attorneys and witnesses want out of the deposition process, but litigation teams can use several strategies to resolve this tension and help witnesses be more comfortable with the difficult conditions of testifying, say Ava Hernández and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.
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Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.