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Consumer Protection
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June 11, 2024
Prison Phone Cos. Want To Factor Security Cost Into Rates
Prison phone call providers need to be allowed to factor the cost of safety and security features into the rates that they charge incarcerated people to contact their loved ones, a trio of companies has told the Federal Communications Commission.
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June 11, 2024
NFL Balks At Delays, Amendments To Mobile App Privacy Suit
A proposed class action alleging that the NFL failed to protect data on its mobile app should not be allowed to replace the lead plaintiff, especially after he has exhibited a "lack of diligence and delay" during the suit, the league told a Rhode Island federal judge Tuesday.
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June 11, 2024
9th Circ. Judge On Theranos Appeal: 'Good Story' For Holmes
Two Ninth Circuit judges on a three-judge panel expressed concerns Tuesday that the district judge presiding over convicted former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes' criminal trial erred by allowing a layperson witness to offer expert testimony at trial, with one judge saying, "There's a pretty good story here for Ms. Holmes."
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June 11, 2024
Granulated Sugar Price-Fixing Cases Centralized In Minn.
A collection of price-fixing suits against some of the country's biggest refined sugar manufacturers is being consolidated in Minnesota federal court, with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation choosing the venue over federal courts in New York.
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June 11, 2024
HashiCorp Hit With Investor Suit Over $6.4B Sale To IBM
Software company HashiCorp Inc. and its board members face an investor suit seeking to halt an upcoming shareholder vote on a proposed $6.4 billion acquisition of HashiCorp by tech giant IBM, alleging the deal would unfairly benefit company insiders and hasn't been properly detailed in required filings.
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June 11, 2024
Southwest Ditches 2022 Holiday Mayhem Suit, For Now
A California federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a group of Southwest Airlines customers' proposed breach of contract class action stemming from massive flight cancellations during the airline's December 2022 holiday-week meltdown but gave the plaintiffs another shot to bolster their claims.
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June 11, 2024
4 More States Join DOJ's Antitrust Suit Against Apple
The attorneys general of Washington, Massachusetts, Nevada and Indiana on Tuesday became the latest to join the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit in New Jersey federal court claiming Apple is monopolizing the smartphone market.
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June 11, 2024
Capital One Will Face Savings-Rate MDL In Its Home District
Virginia-headquartered Capital One will face suits over allegedly misleading marketing for its high-yield savings accounts in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has determined.
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June 11, 2024
NJ Supreme Court Rejects Bid For Roundup Mass Tort
The New Jersey Supreme Court has rejected a request for litigation against Monsanto Co. and Bayer AG to be designated as multicounty litigation because there are too few cases, according to a notice to the bar published Monday.
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June 11, 2024
Wells Fargo Seeks Exit From 'Free Trial' Marketing Scam Suit
Wells Fargo on Tuesday asked a California federal judge to let it escape a lawsuit alleging that the bank's problematic sales practices led it to play a supporting role in two "free trial" marketing scams that pulled in $200 million from consumers, arguing there is no admissible evidence to support the plaintiff's "story."
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June 11, 2024
FCC Looks To Fine Telecom $2.6M For Failing To Pay Fees
The Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday it plans to fine a Texas telecom $2.65 million for failing to pay required fees to support an array of FCC programs, including low-income subsidies, services for disabled consumers and phone number portability.
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June 11, 2024
Biz Groups Urge 6th Circ. To Put Net Neutrality On Hold
Industry groups want the Sixth Circuit to put the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules on hold while they are litigated and to reject an FCC bid to move numerous consolidated challenges to the D.C. Circuit.
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June 11, 2024
FTC Gets Short Extension On Novant Deal Pause
A North Carolina federal court Tuesday extended an order preventing Novant Health from closing its $320 million deal for a pair of hospitals in the state by 10 days to give the Federal Trade Commission time to ask the Fourth Circuit to pause the transaction.
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June 11, 2024
AI Hiring Platform's Ex-CEO Charged With $27M Fraud
The founder of hiring startup Joonko Diversity Inc. has been charged with fraud, with prosecutors saying Tuesday that she deceived investors into dumping $27 million into a platform that supposedly used artificial intelligence to help companies recruit diverse job candidates.
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June 11, 2024
FINRA Fines Brokerage TradeZero Over 'Finfluencer' Promos
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined broker-dealer TradeZero America Inc. $250,000 for allegedly failing to properly supervise its influencer partners, who promoted the firm on their social media accounts.
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June 11, 2024
JPML Consolidates AT&T Data Breach Suits In Texas
Thirty lawsuits brought against AT&T over a data breach that left 70 million customers' information on the dark web are being consolidated in the Northern District of Texas, with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ruling that proximity to AT&T headquarters will bring added efficiency to the proceedings.
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June 11, 2024
Watchdog Says EPA's Lead Exposure Notice Program Lagging
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is not on track to roll out a public warning system for exposure to lead in drinking water by an October deadline, the EPA's internal watchdog said in a new report.
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June 11, 2024
DOE Urges DC Circ. To Extinguish Furnace Rule Fight
The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday defended its tighter energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters, telling the D.C. Circuit that arguments that the new regulations unlawfully force a costly switch to new appliances are meritless.
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June 11, 2024
Texas AG Urges DC Circ. To Revive Media Matters Probe
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants the D.C. Circuit to revive his investigation into progressive media watchdog Media Matters' reporting on the social media platform X, saying the D.C. federal court had no authority to interfere with the probe.
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June 11, 2024
Greenberg Traurig Adds Environmental Team From Steptoe
Greenberg Traurig LLP has bolstered its environmental practice with the addition of a shareholder and two assistant directors from Steptoe LLP at its Washington, D.C., office.
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June 11, 2024
Charity Founder Charged With Embezzling $2.5M, Evading Tax
The founder of a New York City charity embezzled $2.5 million in donations meant for low-income families and then failed to report the earnings to the Internal Revenue Service or pay tax on them, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday in New York federal court.
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June 11, 2024
CFPB Floats Rule To Take Medical Debt Off Credit Reports
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday proposed a rule that would restrict how lenders and credit reporting companies can use consumers' medical debt information, a measure that the agency said could remove up to $49 billion in outstanding medical bills from millions of credit reports.
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June 11, 2024
Singleton Schreiber Adds Tribal And Environmental Law Pro
Robert O. Saunooke, a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and previously a solo practitioner, has spent the past 30 years representing the underdog, working pro bono in almost every area of tribal law to protect the rights of Native American tribes across the country.
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June 11, 2024
J&J Inks $700M Deal To End AGs' Talc Marketing Suits
Forty-three state attorneys general on Tuesday said there has been a $700 million nationwide settlement and a consent judgment has been reached with Johnson & Johnson that ends claims it misled consumers about the safety of its talc products.
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June 11, 2024
Wilson Elser Attys Officially Exit Airline Suit After Filing Gaffe
A Texas state judge has approved American Airlines' request for the departure of its Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP legal team that blamed a young child for a then-flight attendant's alleged covert bathroom recording, a week after the same lawyers were replaced from a similar suit in North Carolina federal court.
Expert Analysis
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Birkin Bag Case Carries Competition Lessons For Retailers
A recently proposed antitrust class action alleging that Hermès violated federal and California law when selling its iconic Birkin and Kelly handbags highlights some issues that other brands and retailers should consider, particularly given a prevailing landscape that seems to prioritize antitrust scrutiny, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Expect Tougher Bank Exams 1 Year After Spring 2023 Failures
With federal banking agencies still implementing harsher examinations with swifter escalations a year after the spring 2023 bank failures, banks can gain insight into changing expectations by monitoring how the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are coordinating and updating their exam policies, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic
Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Breaking Down EPA's Rule On PFAS In Drinking Water
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized the first enforceable federal drinking water regulation for PFAS, which, along with reporting and compliance requirements for regulated entities, will have a number of indirect effects, including increased cleanup costs and the possible expansion of existing Superfund sites, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.
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The Drawbacks Of Banking Regulators' Merger Review Plans
Recent proposals for bank merger review criteria by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. share common pitfalls: increased likelihood of delays, uncertainties, and new hurdles to transactions that could impede the long-term safety and soundness of the banks involved, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Opinion
The FTC's Noncompete Rule Is Likely Dead On Arrival
The Federal Trade Commission's April 23 noncompete ban ignores the consequences to the employees it claims to help — but the rule is unlikely to go into effect provided the ideological makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court remains the same, say Erik Weibust and Stuart Gerson at Epstein Becker.
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'Beauty From Within' Trend Poses Regulatory Risks For Cos.
Companies capitalizing on the current trend in oral supplements touting cosmetic benefits must note that a product claim that would be acceptable for an externally applied cosmetic may draw much stronger scrutiny from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration when applied to a supplement, say Natalie Rainer and Katherine Staba at K&L Gates.
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How Cos. Can Prep For New Calif. Privacy Regulations
The California Privacy Protection Agency has been very active in the first quarter of 2024 and continues to exercise its rulemaking authority with proposed draft regulations, so retailers should prepare for California Consumer Privacy Act enforcement and figure out how best to comply, say attorneys at Dentons.
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9th Circ. Arbitration Ruling Could Have Int'l Implications
In Patrick v. Running Warehouse, the Ninth Circuit's recent matter-of-fact invocation of an unusual California rule in a domestic arbitration context raises choice of law questions, and could make California law a strategic option for some international arbitration parties, says Jerry Roth at FedArb.
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Series
Being An Equestrian Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Beyond getting experience thinking on my feet and tackling stressful situations, the skills I've gained from horseback riding have considerable overlap with the skills used to practice law, particularly in terms of team building, continuing education, and making an effort to reset and recharge, says Kerry Irwin at Moore & Van Allen.
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Teach Your Party Representative The Art Of Nonverbal Cues
As illustrated by recent reports about President Donald Trump’s nonverbal communication in court, jurors notice what’s happening at counsel table, which may color their perceptions of the case as a whole, so trial attorneys should teach party representatives to self-monitor their nonverbal behaviors, says Clint Townson at Townson Consulting.
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Bracing For The CFPB's War On Mortgage Fees
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau homes in on the legality of certain residential mortgage fees, the industry should consult the bureau's steady stream of consumer lending guidance for hints on its priorities, say Nanci Weissgold and Melissa Malpass at Alston & Bird.
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DOJ Consent Orders Chart Road Map For Lending Compliance
Two recent consent orders issued by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its efforts to fight mortgage lending discrimination highlight issues that pose fair lending compliance risks, and should be carefully studied by banks to avoid enforcement actions, says Memrie Fortenberry at Jones Walker.
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Considering CGL Defense For Social Media Addiction Claims
A recent lawsuit filed in California state court against Meta seeks damages from technology companies for the costs of treating children allegedly suffering from social media addiction, but the prospects of defense coverage under commercial general liability insurance policies for a potential new wave of claims look promising, say Craig Hirsch and Tae Andrews at Pasich.