Consumer Protection

  • October 31, 2025

    OpenAI Opposes 'Cookie-Cutter' Google Search Fixes

    OpenAI waded into the Justice Department's case against Google's search monopoly Friday to urge the D.C. federal judge to apply flexibility to mandates requiring Google to syndicate its search results to would-be rivals, arguing that permitting Google's more rigid "ten blue links" proposal would stifle "innovative uses."

  • October 31, 2025

    PVC Pipe Makers Say Price 'Conspiracy' Is 'Basic Economics'

    Polyvinyl chloride pipe manufacturers facing antitrust claims over 2020 price increases have told an Illinois federal judge the purchaser plaintiffs have failed to plausibly show there was a per se price-fixing conspiracy, so their suit should be dismissed.

  • October 31, 2025

    NJ Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Ban Kratom Extract

    A New Jersey state senator is looking to ban a kratom-derived compound, 7-hydroxymitragynine or 7-OH, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says should be highly restricted and is at the center of several proposed consumer class actions.

  • October 31, 2025

    Ed Dept. Pushing Millions Of Borrowers Into Default, Suit Says

    The secretary of the U.S. Department of Education and three major credit bureaus were hit with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court for allegedly forcing millions of student loan borrowers into delinquency and default due to operational failures in loan servicing after the COVID-19 deferment period ended earlier this year.

  • October 31, 2025

    4 Mass. Rulings You May Have Missed In October

    Massachusetts state court judges in October dealt with missing details in a trade secrets case, missing lawyers in a proposed class action over COVID-19-related refund demands, and missing evidence during summary judgment proceedings.

  • October 31, 2025

    Federal Action Sought To Boost Low Earth Orbit Satellites

    Federal officials need to update rules governing low Earth orbit satellites to allow the space-based communications industry to keep expanding at a time of rising congestion, according to a pair of think tanks.

  • October 31, 2025

    Gov't Shutdown Puts Pause On Firefighting Foam PFAS Suits

    A South Carolina federal judge on Friday agreed to stay 22 cases in a multidistrict litigation seeking to hold the U.S. government liable for so-called forever chemical contamination from firefighting foam as the government shutdown continues.

  • October 31, 2025

    FCC Plans To Drop More Regs Covering 'Obsolete' Techs

    When the Federal Communications Commission convenes for its monthly meeting in November, it will vote on a measure that would nix nearly two dozen more rules that the agency has deemed obsolete in one fell swoop.

  • October 31, 2025

    Students Defend Law School Application Fee Antitrust Suit

    Plaintiffs in a proposed class action accusing the Law School Admission Council of fixing application fees with its member schools claim in a new filing their complaint is strong enough to survive a motion to dismiss.

  • October 31, 2025

    RealPage, Landlords Flag 'Fatal Deficiencies' In Antitrust Suit

    Property management software company RealPage Inc. and multiple landlords are urging a New Jersey federal court to toss the state's rent price-fixing suit, arguing that the suit contains "fatal deficiencies" and that the state is relying on circumstantial evidence in its attempt to show that the defendants made anticompetitive agreements.

  • October 30, 2025

    Snowflake, Clients Can't Escape MDL Over Cloud Data Breach

    Cloud storage provider Snowflake, along with its clients Ticketmaster and LendingTree, will continue to face sprawling multidistrict litigation over a data breach that hit Snowflake last year, after a Montana federal judge refused several bids to ax or force arbitration of negligence and other claims brought by a wide range of consumers who were impacted by the incident. 

  • October 30, 2025

    Sling TV Settles Privacy Claims From Calif. Streaming Sweep

    Sling TV has agreed to pay $530,000 to settle California's allegations that the streaming television service made it hard for consumers to stop the sale of their personal information and failed to provide sufficient privacy protections for children, California's attorney general announced Thursday.

  • October 30, 2025

    Lufthansa Must Face Same-Sex 'Outing' Suit, 9th Circ. Says

    Deutsche Lufthansa AG cannot ground a same-sex couple's lawsuit accusing the German airline of outing their marriage to the Saudi Arabian government, a split Ninth Circuit panel ruled Thursday, saying there are enough strings tying the case to California to meet jurisdiction requirements.

  • October 30, 2025

    Philly Accuses PBMs Of Knowingly Enabling Opioid Crisis

    Philadelphia on Thursday sued CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum, accusing the pharmacy benefit managers of contributing to the city's opioid epidemic via deceptive marketing and conspiring with drugmakers to increase the sale of OxyContin and other prescription opioids.

  • October 30, 2025

    Apple, Google Fight Bids To Depose CEOs In Antitrust Suit

    Google LLC and nonparty Apple Inc. have fired back in California federal court on a proposed class of consumers' effort to depose Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai in their antitrust case alleging Google suppressed rival search engines with anticompetitive deals.

  • October 30, 2025

    BetterHelp Wins Defense Costs From Insurer For Privacy Case

    A California federal judge said a CNA Financial Corp. insurance unit must pay for BetterHelp's legal defense costs in underlying consumer litigation claiming the online therapy provider unlawfully disclosed private health information without consent, saying the timing of the alleged Electronic Communications Privacy Act violation triggered the duty to defend.

  • October 30, 2025

    Small Biz Groups Seek Quick Win In CFPB Lending Data Fight

    A coalition of consumer-aligned advocacy groups is seeking summary judgment in Washington, D.C., federal court in their suit aiming to compel the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to implement a 15-year-old Congressional mandate to collect lending data for women- and minority-owned small businesses.

  • October 30, 2025

    Judge Says FCA Qui Tam Provisions Don't Violate Constitution

    A Wisconsin federal judge has rejected Wisconsin Bell's attempt to shutter a whistleblower's claims it overcharged schools and libraries for connectivity services provided under the federal E-Rate program by arguing the False Claims Act's qui tam provisions are unconstitutional.

  • October 30, 2025

    Garden Supply Co. Faces Suit Claiming PFAS In Products

    A gardening supply company was hit on Wednesday with a proposed class action in California federal court alleging that it falsely advertises its soil and fertilizer products as organic even though they contain synthetic and dangerous "forever chemicals."

  • October 30, 2025

    FCC Dem Concerned About Broadband 'Bridge To Nowhere'

    The Federal Communications Commission's lone Democrat said Thursday she's worried the government will end up building a "bridge to nowhere" by leaning too heavily on broadband deployment projects at the expense of connectivity aid.

  • October 30, 2025

    Florida Tribe Sues PFAS Makers Over Health Risks, Cleanup

    A Florida tribe has brought a civil action in South Carolina federal court against several makers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, alleging their land is contaminated by products containing the so-called forever chemicals. 

  • October 30, 2025

    State AGs Target 'Anticompetitive Recycling Practices'

    The attorneys general of Florida and several other states have said they're concerned that environmental groups are coordinating with large corporations to implement "anticompetitive recycling practices" that could violate state or federal antitrust law.

  • October 30, 2025

    NASCAR Driver Says Life Insurer Pitched Him 'Financial Trap'

    NASCAR driver Kyle Busch and his wife said they lost $8.5 million after they were allegedly bamboozled by Pacific Life Insurance Co. and an insurance producer to invest in complex life insurance policies as a form of tax-free retirement income, according to a North Carolina state court complaint.

  • October 30, 2025

    Nicaraguan Businessman Sues Citi Over $270K Account Freeze

    A Nicaraguan businessman has sued Citibank in Florida federal court, alleging the bank froze and closed his accounts holding more than $270,000 without explanation and has failed to return the money to him.

  • October 30, 2025

    Google Tells Justices Epic Order Makes Court Central Planner

    Google has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a case being brought by Epic Games over Google's Play Store policies, telling the justices a sweeping injunction issued in the case defies precedent by turning a court in California into a "central planner" for Android mobile devices.

Expert Analysis

  • CFIUS Trends May Shift Under 'America First' Policy

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    The arrival of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' latest annual report suggests that the Trump administration's "America First" policy will have a measurable effect on foreign investment, including improved trendlines for investments from allied sources and increasingly negative trendlines for those from foreign adversary sources, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • What CFTC Push For Tokenized Collateral Means For Crypto

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    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent request for comment on the use of tokenized products as collateral in derivatives markets signals that it is expanding the scope and form of eligible collateral, and could broaden the potential use cases for crypto-assets held in tokenized form, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Risk Mitigation For Psychedelic Use In Reproductive Health

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    With the rising use of psychedelics among women of reproductive age and the absence of clear professional guidelines regarding risk labeling, healthcare providers and facilitators should adopt proactive, evidence-based approaches to mitigate malpractice liability risks, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Sara Shoar at the University of Southern California.

  • Justices' LabCorp Punt Leaves Deeper Class Cert. Circuit Split

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    In its ruling in LabCorp v. Davis, the U.S. Supreme Court left unresolved a standing-related class certification issue that has plagued class action jurisprudence for years — and subsequent conflicting decisions among federal circuit courts have left district courts and litigants struggling with conflicting and uncertain standards, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • State Of Insurance: Q3 Notes From Pennsylvania

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    Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey discusses three notable Pennsylvania auto insurance developments from the third quarter, including the Third Circuit weighing in on actual cash value, a state appellate court opining on the regular use exclusion and state legislators introducing a bill to increase property damage minimums.

  • Indiana Law Sets New Standard For Wage Access Providers

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    The recent enactment of a law establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for earned wage access positions Indiana as one of the leading states to allow EWA services, and establishes a standard that employers must familiarize themselves with before the Jan. 1 effective date, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • 10 Quick Tips To Elevate Your Evidence Presentation At Trial

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    A strong piece of evidence, whether in the form of testimony or exhibit, is wasted if not presented effectively, so attorneys must prepare with precision to help fact-finders both retain the information and internalize its significance, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Practicing Stoicism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Practicing Stoicism, by applying reason to ignore my emotions and govern my decisions, has enabled me to approach challenging situations in a structured way, ultimately providing advice singularly devoted to a client's interest, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Texas, One Year In

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    A year after the Texas Business Court's first decision, it's clear that Texas didn't just copy Delaware and instead built something uniquely its own, combining specialization with constitutional accountability and creating a model that looks forward without losing touch with the state's democratic and statutory roots, says Chris Bankler at Jackson Walker.

  • AI Product Safety Insights May Expand Foreseeability

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    Product liability law has long held that companies are responsible for risks they knew about or should have known about — and with AI systems now able to assess and predict hazards during the design process, companies should expect that courts will likely treat such hazards as foreseeable, says Donald Fountain at Clark Fountain.

  • AG Watch: Illinois A Key Player In State-Level Enforcement

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    Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has systematically strengthened his office to fill federal enforcement gaps, oppose Trump administration mandates and advance state policy objectives, particularly by aggressively pursuing labor-related issues, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Educating Your Community

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    Nearly two decades prosecuting scammers and elder fraud taught me that proactively educating the public about the risks they face and the rights they possess is essential to building trust within our communities, empowering otherwise vulnerable citizens and preventing wrongdoers from gaining a foothold, says Roger Handberg at GrayRobinson.

  • How A 9th Circ. False Ad Ruling Could Shift Class Certification

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    The Ninth Circuit's July decision in Noohi v. Johnson & Johnson, holding that unexecuted damages models may suffice for purposes of class certification, has the potential to create judicial inefficiencies and crippling uncertainties for class action defendants, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Strategies For Merchants As Payment Processing Costs Rise

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    As current economic pressures and rising card processing costs threaten to decrease margins for businesses, retail merchants should consider restructuring how payments are made and who processes them within the evolving legal framework, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

  • 7 Areas To Watch As FTC Ends Push For A Noncompete Ban

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    ​​​​​​As the government ends its push for a nationwide noncompete ban, ​employers who do not want to be caught without protections for legitimate business interests should explore supplementing their noncompetes by deploying elements of seven practical, enforceable tools, including nondisclosure agreements and garden leave strategies, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

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