Consumer Protection

  • September 17, 2026

    Amazon Sued For Use Of 'Drunk Shakespeare' In 'Off Campus'

    Producers of the live comedy theatrical productions "Drunk Shakespeare" sued Amazon in Florida federal court Thursday, alleging that an episode of Amazon's streaming college romantic drama "Off Campus" infringed their trademark by copying aspects of the productions and using the "Drunk Shakespeare" name.  

  • September 17, 2026

    Broker TradeZero Fined Over Data Breach Tied To Chatbot

    An unvetted chatbot and lax security policies allowed hackers to access personal and financial information of nearly 15,000 customers of online brokerage TradeZero America, the Massachusetts Securities Division said Thursday in announcing a $750,000 fine against the company.

  • September 17, 2026

    Amway To Pay $225M To End Deceptive Marketing Claims

    The Federal Trade Commission and the State of Washington have reached a $225 million settlement with health and beauty company Amway and two of its affiliates to resolve allegations that they engaged in unfair and deceptive multilevel marketing tactics in which independent business owners and their recruits purchased products for "reasons other than genuine demand for them in a near-futile effort to make money while faking their customer sales."

  • September 17, 2026

    Colo. $2B Graduated Tax Proposal Faces Signature Challenge

    A proposal to cut Colorado income tax rates for most earners, raise rates for high earners and raise $2 billion annually failed to gather the signatures needed to reach the state's November ballot, a lawsuit against state election officials charges.

  • September 17, 2026

    Family Tells 11th Circ. Tesla Can't Undo $243M Crash Verdict

    The estate of a woman killed in a crash and her boyfriend are urging the Eleventh Circuit not to throw out a $243 million verdict against Tesla Inc., saying the jury heard enough evidence to conclude that the Tesla driver who hit them was misled about the safety of the vehicle's "Autopilot" feature and that defects in the vehicle led to the crash.

  • September 17, 2026

    Groups Seek 4.4 GHz Revamp, But Clash On Exclusive Use

    Top wireless carriers and shared-spectrum advocates issued reports this week saying the government needs to set the 4 gigahertz band on a path toward industry use, but are at odds on whether to set aside the airwaves for full-power exclusive licenses.

  • September 17, 2026

    DOJ Official Says Political Appointees Play Antitrust Role

    Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. on Thursday defended the role political appointees play in enforcing antitrust laws, saying it would be "blatantly unconstitutional" if U.S. Department of Justice leadership merely deferred to unelected officials.

  • September 17, 2026

    Judge Finds NM PFAS Label Likely Violates First Amendment

    A New Mexico federal judge temporarily blocked the state from requiring manufacturers to place a PFAS label on any product intentionally made with forever chemicals, finding the groups opposed to the mandate likely have First Amendment grounds to challenge it.

  • September 17, 2026

    Samsung Range Caused Wash. House Fire, Insurer Says

    An insurer said it is entitled to recoup costs paid in connection with a Washington policyholder's house fire because the blaze was caused by a defective electric range manufactured by Samsung, according to a suit removed to federal court.

  • September 17, 2026

    Judge Nixes Workers' Bid To Halt IRS Withholding Rules

    A Texas federal judge dismissed two workers' claims that the Internal Revenue Service's income tax withholding regulations resulted in employers overdeducting taxes from their employees' paychecks, finding that federal law bars the workers' bid to prevent tax collection.

  • September 17, 2026

    Trader Joe's Faces Lawsuits Over Sugar Labeling

    Two proposed class actions filed in Illinois federal court Wednesday accuse Trader Joe's of misleading consumers by labeling its Sweet & Sour Gummy Worms and dark chocolate chips as containing zero sugar and no added sugar, respectively, when both products contain an ingredient classified as a sugar under federal labeling rules.

  • September 17, 2026

    Cruz, Markey Urge Senate To Pass Bill On AM Radio In Cars

    Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., have called on the Senate to advance the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act following its passage in the House of Representatives.

  • September 17, 2026

    Auto Lender OKs $709.5M Multistate Deal Over Subprime Loans

    The subprime auto lender Credit Acceptance Corp. has agreed to provide $709.5 million in cash and debt relief as part of a 40-state settlement to resolve allegations that it originated loans to borrowers who could not afford them, attorneys general announced Thursday.

  • September 17, 2026

    StraightPath-Linked Stockbroker Gets 4.5 Years For Fraud

    A New York federal judge has sentenced a former Long Island stockbroker to 4.5 years in prison, after he admitted to duping investors as he and others hawked nearly $200 million of pre-initial public offering shares, including for fraud-ridden vendor StraightPath.

  • September 17, 2026

    For Single-Party FTC, Easier Suits May Come With A Cost

    The Federal Trade Commission has ditched its historical multimember, multiparty ethos for a one-party regime in which fewer dissents might make it easier for Chairman Andrew Ferguson to pursue his agenda, but it also forecloses the potential "moderating influence" that comes with winning broad buy-in from commissioners of two parties.

  • September 17, 2026

    Bulgarian, Egyptian And Vietnamese Rebar Hit With US Duties

    Steel reinforcing bar arriving into the U.S. from Bulgaria, Egypt and Vietnam will be subject to antidumping duties, while the Egyptian and Vietnamese rebar will also be hit with countervailing duties, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Thursday.

  • September 17, 2026

    Republicans Move Trump's CFPB Pick Ahead To Full Senate

    President Donald Trump's latest pick to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moved closer to confirmation Thursday as Republican lawmakers voted to advance his nomination to the U.S. Senate floor.

  • September 17, 2026

    Commerce Orders Duties On Algerian Steel Rod Imports

    Imports of carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Algeria will be subject to a countervailing duty after the U.S. Department of Commerce finalized its determination Thursday that the imports are benefiting from government subsidies.

  • September 17, 2026

    SEC Issues Innovation Exemption For Tokenized Stock Trading

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday unveiled its long-awaited innovation exemption, permitting certain crypto projects and liquidity providers to support tokenized stock trading for a five-year period without registering as exchanges or dealers.

  • September 16, 2026

    Post-Cambridge Analytica Investigation Unserious, Jury Told

    New Mexico jurors heard testimony Wednesday from a former Facebook employee that the social media giant's investigation of third-party app developers after the Cambridge Analytica scandal was weakened by executive anger over the cost and pressure for it to wrap up, among other things.

  • September 16, 2026

    OpenAI Users Say 'Strangers' Review Millions Of Private Chats

    A pair of ChatGPT users filed a proposed class action against OpenAI on Wednesday, alleging that OpenAI misled them about how private their conversations with the chatbot really are because millions of conversations are reviewed by "strangers" at third-party companies without user consent.

  • September 16, 2026

    Express Scripts Seeks To Exit AIDS Group's Drug Rate Suit

    Express Scripts called on a Washington federal judge to toss a lawsuit accusing it of using its market power to bully the AIDS Healthcare Foundation into accepting lower reimbursement rates for life-saving drugs, contending Tuesday that the case rehashes allegations a Missouri federal court has already rejected twice.

  • September 16, 2026

    OE Fed Credit Union's $2.3M 'Boilerplate' Breach Deal Denied

    A California federal judge on Wednesday withheld preliminary approval for a $2.3 million settlement over a cyberattack on OE Federal Credit Union, blasting the filing for its "boilerplate language" and "generic statements" and saying it lacked information to determine whether it's a good deal for the consumer class members.

  • September 16, 2026

    Ocwen, Banks Settle Whistleblowers' Foreclosure Fraud Suit

    Mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial Corp. and various major banks told a Texas federal judge Tuesday they've settled a whistleblower action claiming Ocwen made false representations to the government under the Treasury Department's Home Affordable Modification Program when providing loan modifications for borrowers and wrongly procured incentive payments for itself.

  • September 16, 2026

    CFTC Probing Carbon Credit Markets, Enforcement Chief Says

    U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Enforcement Director David Miller said Wednesday that the division is investigating carbon credit markets as part of his agency's commitment to policing fraud in emerging markets.

Expert Analysis

  • Mitigating The Risk Of Antiestablishment Jurors

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    The legal battles currently embroiling social media companies underscore that jurors with anti-corporate bias and conspiratorial thinking patterns pose myriad risks to corporate defendants, and defense counsel should adapt their trial strategies accordingly, say consultants at Persuasion Strategies.

  • CFPB Complaint Portal Overhaul Signals Changing Priorities

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's updates to its consumer complaint portal and decision to cease publishing consumer complaint narratives should be viewed by companies as one component of a larger recalibration of how the CFPB collects information and allocates its supervisory and enforcement resources, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Being In A Band Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing shows in storied New York City venues and rehearsing with my bandmates in poorly ventilated rooms helped develop the professional qualities I rely on as a litigator, including an ability to collaborate with strong-minded equals and the determination to treat each client with singular focus, says Eliad Shapiro at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Notable Q2 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    After 2026's second quarter, there is more authority rejecting class certification on total loss valuation theories from courts at the federal circuit, federal district and state appellate level — along with a resolution of a novel issue of depreciation on a wildfire claim, says Kevin Zimmerman at BakerHostetler.

  • 10th Circ. Ruling Undermines False Ad 'Two Clicks' Rule

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    The Tenth Circuit’s recent ruling in KetoNatural Pet Foods v. Hill's Pet Nutrition substantially challenges a long-standing assumption that a company can avoid responsibility for promotional claims simply because the consumer encountered them by clicking a hyperlink to a third-party website, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 6 Key Takeaways From CFIUS Annual Report

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    Attorneys at Simpson Thacher review highlights from the annual report of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., released to Congress this month, including the launch of the American First Investment Policy and the Known Investor Pilot Program, and the agency's continued focus on enforcement despite its resource constraints.

  • Mich. Ruling Gives Consumer Protection Law Its Teeth Back

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    The Michigan Supreme Court's recent decision in Attorney General v. Eli Lilly, overruling key holdings in two earlier cases, means that Michigan businesses can no longer defeat allegations of deceptive conduct under the state's consumer protection law simply by pointing to any governmental regulation of the business, say attorneys at DiCello Levitt.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Surviving A Long Trial

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    Most of law school trial advocacy is geared toward the sprint of trying a short case, but beyond managing a cross-examination or closing argument, effectively handling the marathon of a lengthy trial requires the ability to maintain composure, organization and credibility with the jury, says Mihir Elchuri at Hirschler.

  • AI Chatbot's Medical Claims Highlight Enforcement Risks

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    The Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine's recent lawsuit against Character Technologies, arguing that an artificial intelligence chatbot engaged in the unlicensed practice of medicine, may provide other state licensing boards with a road map for going after AI platforms, and counsel should advise clients to calibrate compliance accordingly, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • What Calif.'s New Focus On Microplastics Means For Cos.

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    The recent move by California's Department of Toxic Substances Control to designate microplastics as candidate chemicals under its Safer Consumer Product regulations does not create a new product restriction — but it expands the agency's future reach by putting microplastics on the department’s regulatory runway, says Gregory Berlin at Alston & Bird.

  • 7th Circ. Ruling May Reduce Litigation Risk For Text Marketers

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    The recent Seventh Circuit holding in Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services that unwanted marketing text messages are not telephone calls under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act may strengthen companies' responses to presuit demand letters and early-stage litigation claims premised on do-not-call text theories, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Recent OCC Charter Approvals Signal Fintech Momentum

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent charter approval for Circle, along with faster Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. review procedures, signals a more workable path to national bank and trust charters, meaning fintech firms should prepare regulator-ready applications and plan for intensified competition, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Reel Justice: 'Disclosure Day' Teaches Attys To Listen

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    The underlying message in “Disclosure Day” suggests that communication often breaks down because of a failure to hear and understand, highlighting why a lawyer's ability to listen is not ancillary to their practice — it is what makes effective representation and justice possible, says Veronica Finkelstein at Widener-Delaware Law.

  • Mapping A Compliance Framework For AI Chatbot Operators

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent artificial intelligence guidance, together with emerging state AI chatbot laws, wiretapping statutes and telecommunications requirements, carry significant implications for consumer-facing chatbot and customer service tool operators that require a layered disclosure framework addressing multiple regulatory touchpoints, say attorneys at Winston Taylor.

  • Fashion Greenwashing Risk Goes From Reputational To Legal

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    Fashion brands now face greenwashing risks that extend beyond reputational damage, with California's extended producer responsibility law taking effect soon, and regulatory enforcement and class actions increasing around terms like "sustainable" and "carbon-neutral" — so companies must ensure their marketing is backed up by evidence, says Benjamin Thompson at Thompson LLP.

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