Consumer Protection

  • January 14, 2026

    Call Vendors Skirt Wiretap Suit Over AI Transcription Tool

    An Illinois federal judge has released dental support organization Heartland Dental LLC and its contractor from a proposed class action accusing them of illegally using an artificial intelligence-powered note-taking tool to record and analyze patient calls, finding that they couldn't be held liable because their alleged electronic interceptions were made for legitimate business purposes.

  • January 14, 2026

    Dover Launches RICO Suit Over Skyrocketing Insulin Prices

    Manufacturing conglomerate Dover Corp. hit insulin manufacturers including Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk and several pharmacy benefit managers with civil racketeering claims in Illinois federal court, accusing them of participating in an illegal scheme that allowed prices to rise dramatically in exchange for preferential treatment on the benefit managers' formularies.

  • January 14, 2026

    Calif. Again Asks 9th Circ. To Unleash Kids' Privacy Law

    California's attorney general was back before the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday, urging the court to vacate a new preliminary injunction blocking a landmark law requiring tech giants to bolster privacy protections for children, and arguing the lower court wrongly found the entire statute likely implicates the First Amendment.

  • January 14, 2026

    Pharmacy Wields Antitrust Law In Challenge To GLP-1 Giants

    Eli Lilly & Co. and Novo Nordisk are using their dominant positions in the market for weight loss and diabetes medications to squash potential competitors, including through unlawful exclusivity agreements with telehealth providers, a compounding pharmacy alleged Wednesday in what it calls a landmark antitrust lawsuit.

  • January 14, 2026

    Meta Wants Zuckerberg's Old 'Hot-Or-Not' Site Out Of LA Trial

    Meta's attorney on Wednesday urged a California judge overseeing bellwether trials over claims social media harms young users' mental health to ban mention of the attractiveness-rating website Mark Zuckerberg created at Harvard, saying the plaintiffs want female jurors to see Zuckerberg as "a bad guy" and Facebook as "born in sin."

  • January 14, 2026

    University Of Phoenix Must Face Student's Pixel Tracking Suit

    An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday refused to release the University of Phoenix from a proposed class action claiming it uses third party tracking tools to share students' video-viewing behavior with Meta, finding it plausibly alleges that third parties can intercept those communications in real-time directly from students who visit the school's site.

  • January 14, 2026

    Freight Broker Tells Justices Negligence Claims Preempted

    Broker and logistics giant C.H. Robinson told the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday that federal law unequivocally shields freight brokers from state-based negligence and personal injury claims, saying the plaintiffs bar is pushing for patchwork liability standards that would upend interstate commerce and the supply chain.

  • January 14, 2026

    FTC Finalizes GM And Onstar Ban On Location Data Sharing

    General Motors and OnStar finalized a non-monetary deal with the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday, agreeing to a five-year ban on disclosing geolocation and driver behavior data to consumer reporting agencies, to end the regulator's allegations the companies didn't get drivers' consent before sharing.

  • January 14, 2026

    Senate Banking Committee Postpones Crypto Bill Markup

    The Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday night postponed a highly anticipated mark-up of a bill to regulate the cryptocurrency industry, hours after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong voiced his opposition to the latest draft, saying his firm would "rather have no bill than a bad bill."

  • January 14, 2026

    Google Inks $8.25M Deal Over Kids' App Data Privacy

    Google has agreed to an $8.25 million settlement that, if approved, will fully resolve a potential class action that children filed in California federal court through their parents, accusing the tech giant of secretly tracking the personal information of children under the age of 13 through child-directed apps.

  • January 14, 2026

    Calif. AG Probes 'Avalanche' Of Grok-Created Sexual Deepfakes

    California is looking into the "avalanche" of nonconsensual sexually explicit materials, including "deepfake" images used to harass women online, that are reportedly being produced by Grok, the chatbot developed by Elon Musk's company xAI Inc., the state's attorney general announced Wednesday.

  • January 14, 2026

    Texas Justices Seem Open To Judicial Review Of Hemp Rule

    The Texas Supreme Court seemed skeptical of the Texas Department of State Health Services' argument that the judiciary lacks authority to review a decision to make delta-8 THC a controlled substance, asking Wednesday why the court should not have authority to enforce an existing law.

  • January 14, 2026

    FCC Still Weighing 39% Broadcast Cap, Carr Tells Lawmakers

    The Federal Communications Commission hasn't decided whether the law gives it wiggle room to lift the 39% cap on national audience share controlled by a single broadcast chain, a move that would let Nexstar merge with Tegna, the FCC's chief told lawmakers Wednesday.

  • January 14, 2026

    Miami Man Admits To $250K Zelle Scam In Connecticut

    A Florida man has pled guilty to a conspiracy charge in Connecticut federal court over his role in scams that ripped off victims including Zelle users for more than $250,000, prosecutors said Wednesday.

  • January 14, 2026

    Justices Wary Of NJ's Immunity Defense In Transit Injury Suits

    The U.S. Supreme Court signaled skepticism Wednesday toward New Jersey's bid to cloak its public transit system in sovereign immunity, repeatedly questioning why the state chose the corporate form and rejected liability for the agency's debts but now insists the entity functions as an arm of the state.

  • January 14, 2026

    Duke Energy Fights To Recover Over $17M In Fuel Costs

    In an effort to secure recovery of over $17 million in fuel costs, counsel for Duke Energy's electric utilities serving the Carolinas told a state appeals court Wednesday that lawmakers have always intended for utilities to recover or return fuel costs "dollar for dollar."

  • January 14, 2026

    Senate Bill Would Give FCC One Year For Satellite Licensing

    A bipartisan U.S. Senate bill unveiled Wednesday would speed up satellite applications by limiting their review at the Federal Communications Commission to one year.

  • January 14, 2026

    Driver Says Sinclair Oil, Gas Stations Sold Contaminated Fuel

    Sinclair Oil distributed gasoline contaminated with diesel fuel to major gas stations, damaging scores of vehicles, according to a proposed class action filed in Colorado state court.

  • January 14, 2026

    NJ Judge Orders Mediation In Merck-Cencora Indemnity Fight

    Cencora Inc. can't derail a Merck third-party complaint arguing a prior settlement between the parties requires the drug wholesaler to indemnify Merck in antitrust litigation by Humana, a New Jersey federal court ruled Wednesday, ordering the parties to go to mediation over the dispute.

  • January 14, 2026

    No Crime-Fraud Exception For Meta Docs In Discovery Row

    A California federal judge overseeing discovery in litigation against social media giants over their platforms' alleged harm to youth mental health has said the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege doesn't apply to certain Meta documents about its internal research on young users.

  • January 14, 2026

    Vizient Beats Spurned Medical Tape Supplier At 5th Circ.

    A Fifth Circuit panel refused to revive an antitrust suit accusing medical supplies group purchasing giant Vizient of locking in hospital customers, agreeing with a district court that a spurned would-be supplier failed at the threshold question of showing a market in which Vizient could be dominant.

  • January 14, 2026

    Microsoft Calls For Arbitration In Edge Privacy Suit Appeal

    Microsoft told a Washington state appeals court panel Wednesday that a proposed class action claiming secret collection of Edge users' browser data belongs in arbitration, contending a lower state court judge wrongly advanced the litigation after a Washington federal judge sent parallel claims to arbitration.  

  • January 14, 2026

    SG Asks High Court To Reshuffle Sides In AT&T Fine Case

    U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to realign the parties' designations in a combined case over the Federal Communications Commission's penalty powers after the justices recently granted review.

  • January 14, 2026

    Uber, DoorDash Drivers Lost $550M In Tips, NYC Says

    UberEats and DoorDash rolled out design tricks after New York City implemented a minimum pay standard for food delivery workers that has led to workers losing $550 million in tips, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection said.

  • January 14, 2026

    Bettors Say Kalshi Operates As Illegal 'Shadow' Sportsbook

    Five sports bettors accused prediction platform Kalshi of running a "shadow" sportsbook and skirting accompanying state gambling and consumer protection laws, telling a New York federal court it shouldn't be able to hide behind federal futures contract regulations.

Expert Analysis

  • A Look At State AGs' Focus On Earned Wage Products

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    Earned wage products have emerged as a rapidly growing segment of the consumer finance market, but recent state enforcement actions against MoneyLion, DailyPay and EarnIn will likely have an effect on whether such products can continue operating under current business models, say attorneys at Quinn Emanuel.

  • AI's Role In Google Antitrust Suit May Reshape Tech Markets

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    The evolution of AI in retail has reshaped the U.S.' antitrust case against Google, which could both benefit small business innovators and consumers, and fundamentally alter future antitrust cases, including the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against Amazon, says Graham Dufault at ACT.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: How It Works In Massachusetts

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    Since its founding in 2000, the Massachusetts Business Litigation Session's expertise, procedural flexibility and litigant-friendly case management practices have contributed to the development of a robust body of commercial jurisprudence, say James Donnelly at Mirick O’Connell, Felicia Ellsworth at WilmerHale and Lisa Wood at Foley Hoag.

  • What To Note In OCC, FDIC Plan To Standardize Supervision

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recent proposals to standardize the meaning of "unsafe or unsound practice" and revise the process for issuing matters requiring attention could significantly narrow the scope of activities that spawn enforcement actions, says Brendan Clegg at Luse Gorman.

  • State Child Privacy Laws May Put More Cos. In FTC's Reach

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    Starting with Texas in January, several new state laws requiring app stores to share user age-related information with developers will likely subject significantly more companies to the Federal Trade Commission’s child privacy rules, altering their compliance obligations, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

  • Why Appellees Should Write Their Answering Brief First

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    Though counterintuitive, appellees should consider writing their answering briefs before they’ve ever seen their opponent’s opening brief, as this practice confers numerous benefits related to argument structure, time pressures and workflow, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • Notable Q3 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    The third quarter of 2025 was another eventful quarter for total loss valuation class actions, with a new circuit split developing courtesy of the Sixth Circuit, while insurers continued to see negative results in cost-of-insurance class actions, says Kevin Zimmerman at BakerHostetler.

  • FTC Focus: M&A Approvals A Year After Trump's Election

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    The Federal Trade Commission merger-enforcement regime a year since President Donald Trump's election shows how merger approvals have been expedited by the triaging out of more deals, grants for early termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period, and zeroing in on preparing solutions for the biggest problems, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • AG Watch: DC Faces Congressional Push To End Elected Role

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    Given the current structural tension between D.C.'s local autonomy and congressional plenary power, legal and business entities operating in the district should maintain focus on local enforcement gaps, and monitor the legislative process closely, says Lauren Cooper at Hogan Lovells.

  • Navigating DEA Quotas: Key To Psychedelics Industry Growth

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    As new compounds like DOI enter the Schedule I landscape, manufacturers who anticipate U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration quota regulations, and build quota management into their broader strategy, will be best equipped to meet the growing demand, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Jaime Dwight at Promega.

  • Game Not Over: Player Redshirt Suits Keep NCAA On Defense

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    A class action recently filed in Tennessee federal court highlights a trend of student-athlete challenges to the NCAA's four seasons eligibility rule following the historic House settlement in June, which altered revenue-sharing and players' name, image and likeness rights, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Series

    Mindfulness Meditation Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Mindful meditation enables me to drop the ego, and in helping me to keep sight of what’s important, permits me to learn from the other side and become a reliable counselor, says Roy Wyman at Bass Berry.

  • Opinion

    Punitive Damages Awards Should Be Limited To 1st Instance

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    Recent verdicts in different cases against Johnson & Johnson and Monsanto showcase a trend of multiple punitive damages being awarded to different plaintiffs for the same course of conduct by a single defendant, a practice that should be deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, says Jacob Mihm at Polales Horton.

  • AI Litigation Tools Can Enhance Case Assessment, Strategy

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    Civil litigators can use artificial intelligence tools to strengthen case assessment and aid in early strategy development, as long as they address the risks and ethical considerations that accompany these uses, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Post-Genius Landscape Reveals Technical Stablecoin Hurdles

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    The Genius Act's implementation has revealed challenges for mass stablecoin adoption, but there are several factors that stablecoin issuers can use to differentiate themselves and secure market share, including interest rate, liquidity, and safety and security, say attorneys at Olshan Frome.

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