Consumer Protection

  • May 24, 2024

    BofA Inks $21M Deal With Over 1M Customers Over Wire Fees

    Bank of America customers on Friday urged a North Carolina federal judge to preliminarily approve their $21 million settlement to resolve claims the financial institution tacked $15 "junk fees" onto incoming wire transfers, saying the deal constitutes significant relief for over a million class members.

  • May 24, 2024

    Malware Backdoor Found In Software Used By Courtrooms

    Software created by a company that provides digital audiovisual technology to courtrooms, jails and other facilities contains a backdoor associated with malware that disguises itself as a normal update, analysts at a cybersecurity firm reported, warning that "users are at high risk and should take immediate action."

  • May 24, 2024

    Petition Watch: Forum Shopping, Monopolies & Gun Safety

    Law360 looks at four U.S. Supreme Court petitions filed in the past two weeks, including the FDA's request that the justices curb an increase in forum shopping at the Fifth Circuit, and two veterinarians who want the justices to allow plaintiffs to pursue antitrust claims for actions allegedly leading to the creation of a monopoly.

  • May 24, 2024

    PIMCO Says It Needs To Assess CFPB's Loan Service Deal

    Investment management giant PIMCO told a Pennsylvania federal judge on Friday that it needs more time to study a proposed $5 million settlement between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a Pennsylvania student loan servicer and multiple student loan trusts, saying its funds are invested in the trusts and may need to consent to the deal.

  • May 24, 2024

    SEC Says Crypto Firm's Challenge Is 'Fatally Premature'

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a Texas federal judge on Friday that a yet-to-launch crypto exchange's bid to bar any future enforcement action is "fatally premature" since the firm hasn't identified a final action to challenge.

  • May 24, 2024

    FCC Republican Knocks Plan To Require AI Ad Disclosures

    A Federal Communications Commission Republican is slamming a commission proposal aimed at limiting the use of artificial intelligence in political advertisements, saying the push is a politically motivated effort to stop Republicans from using AI.

  • May 24, 2024

    Bungie Cheat Code Sellers Hit With $63K Copyright Verdict

    A federal jury said Friday that people behind a video game cheat code owe Bungie about $63,000 for replicating a sci-fi shooter's code to make the cheat software and peddle it on the internet, capping off a nearly weeklong copyright trial in Seattle.

  • May 24, 2024

    E-Rate Growth Needed As Other Funds Wane, FCC Chief Says

    Calling the E-Rate program for subsidizing broadband in schools and libraries a "quiet powerhouse," the head of the Federal Communications Commission is looking to build support in Congress to expand it to cover off-campus learning after pandemic rescue funds dissipated.

  • May 24, 2024

    Biden's Judicial Impact And What's Left On The Wish List

    President Joe Biden secured confirmation of his 200th federal judge Wednesday and has transformed the judiciary by picking more women and people of color than any other president. But the upcoming election season could derail his hopes of confirming many more judges.

  • May 24, 2024

    White Sox Settle ADA Suit Over Season Tickets Policy

    The Chicago White Sox have settled a lawsuit alleging the Major League Baseball team violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to sell season tickets for wheelchair-accessible seats on its website.

  • May 24, 2024

    4th Circ. Urged To Keep Suit Against Credit Co. In Fed. Court

    A Maryland credit card customer pressed the Fourth Circuit to affirm a district court's decision to keep in federal court a proposed class action alleging subprime credit card company Mercury Financial did business without a license, arguing arbitration cannot be fairly enforced, and that Mercury is trying to raise new arguments on appeal.

  • May 24, 2024

    Software-Aided Price Fixing Under Antitrust Assault

    Claims that companies in the same industry are using software middlemen to fix prices are percolating in federal courts around the country, with cases targeting major operators in residential real estate, hospitality and health insurance, among other areas.

  • May 24, 2024

    Feds' Probe Into Waymo Self-Driving Car Finds More Incidents

    The U.S. auto safety regulator has said it found nine additional incidents of Waymo LLC autonomous vehicles exhibiting "unexpected driving behaviors" and has asked the company for more information as part of a new investigation.

  • May 24, 2024

    EPA Denies Ala. Coal Ash Management Program Application

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a final decision denying Alabama's application to run a federally approved permit program to manage coal ash landfills and impoundments, saying the state's permit program doesn't meet federal standards for protecting people and waterways.

  • May 24, 2024

    New Minnesota Law Removes Barriers To Public Broadband

    Public broadband advocates on Friday lauded Minnesota's enactment of a state law making it easier to deploy community broadband networks.

  • May 24, 2024

    FCC Probing Unauthorized Navigation Satellite Signals In US

    The Federal Communications Commission is continuing its investigation into U.S. phones receiving unauthorized Russian and Chinese navigation satellite signals, but FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel told lawmakers last week that she didn't have much more to share on the inquiry.

  • May 24, 2024

    Coinbase Says Crypto Securities Question Is Ripe For Review

    Crypto exchange Coinbase again urged a Manhattan federal judge to send to the Second Circuit the question of whether digital assets meet the definition of investment contracts, saying the question could "shape or distort a multitrillion-dollar industry."

  • May 24, 2024

    Alabama Judge Says Attys Subverted Plumbing Defect Deal

    In an effort to safeguard the due process rights of hundreds of homeowners, an Alabama federal judge has tossed out more than 300 settlement class "opt-outs" and partially reopened the objection period in a product liability suit, determining that outside attorneys repeatedly misled clients regarding the pending settlement, leading to the numerous exclusion requests.

  • May 24, 2024

    CFPB Will Ask DC Circ. To Rescue Rule Challenged By PayPal

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Friday it will appeal a Washington, D.C., federal judge's recent decision that sided with payments giant PayPal in its lawsuit challenging the agency's extension of certain prepaid card regulations to digital wallets.

  • May 24, 2024

    CFPB Seeks $20M Penalty For Inaccurate Loan Data

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has urged a Florida federal court to hit Freedom Mortgage with a $20 million civil penalty for allegedly submitting error-filled government mortgage loan data.

  • May 24, 2024

    Insurer Owes Coverage For School Defect Claim, Builder Says

    A general contractor told a Washington federal court it is entitled to coverage under a subcontractor's commercial general liability policy with a Liberty Mutual unit for defects and damage that a school district alleges was caused by the subcontractor while working on a school expansion project.

  • May 24, 2024

    DOJ's Live Nation-Ticketmaster Suit: What You Should Know

    The U.S. Department of Justice and a slew of state attorneys general filed a suit challenging the 2010 merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation. Here, catch up on Law360's coverage of the deal and those who have challenged it along the way – Taylor Swift fans, investors and regulators.

  • May 23, 2024

    CFPB's 1st Try At BNPL Regulation Could Set Stage For More

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new guidance that treats buy-now, pay-later firms more like credit card companies is drawing industry grumbles about "apples to oranges" comparisons, but consumer advocates say that applying additional credit card-esque rules would be the cherry on top.

  • May 23, 2024

    FTC Blasts Amazon's 'Unbelievable' Claims About Signal Use

    The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday again pressed a Washington federal court to force Amazon to hand over documents regarding the company's communication preservation practices, calling Amazon's claims that executives never used the encrypted app Signal to discuss business practices relevant to the antitrust fight "unbelievable."

  • May 23, 2024

    Bungie Cheat Code Sellers Dinged At Trial For Deleting Docs

    A Seattle federal judge overseeing a trial of Bungie's copyright claims against a group of cheat code sellers instructed jurors Thursday that the defendants intentionally destroyed evidence by deleting records they had a duty to preserve once they were aware of the game studio's claims.

Expert Analysis

  • Vagueness In Calif. Climate Law Makes Compliance Tricky

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    California's recently enacted Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act requires companies making claims of carbon neutrality, or significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions, to disclose information supporting those claims — but vague and conflicting language in the statute poses multiple problems for businesses, say John Rousakis and Chris Bowman at O'Melveny.

  • Series

    Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.

  • Breaking Down FDIC's New Advertising And Signage Rule

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    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s final rule on signage and advertising, coming on the heels of a campaign against nonbank businesses purporting to offer FDIC-insured deposit products, introduces important new requirements and clarifies existing regulations for both traditional depository institutions and novel digital platforms, say attorneys at Venable.

  • Potential Defendant Strategies Amid Calif. Privacy Questions

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    Although the current case law surrounding the California Consumer Privacy Act is in its infancy, courts have begun addressing important issues related to the notice-and-cure provisions of the statute, and these decisions show defendant-businesses would be wise to assert their notice rights early and repeatedly, say Viola Trebicka and Dan Humphrey at Quinn Emanuel.

  • How 2 CFPB Advisory Opinions Affect Reporting Agencies

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued two advisory opinions last month that demonstrate a continued commitment to address inaccuracies in background check reports and consumer file disclosures through broad interpretation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, expanding on a coordinated federal agency effort, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • A Close Look At The FCC's Revised SIM Card Fraud Rules

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    Carolyn Mahoney and John Seiver at Davis Wright break down recently proposed revisions to the Federal Communications Commission's customer proprietary network information and local number portability rules for wireless providers, discuss the revisions' implications on artificial intelligence regulation, and provide tips to prevent SIM swap and port-out fraud.

  • What Retailers Should Note In Calif. Web Tracking Suits

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    As retailers face a deluge of class actions alleging the use of conventional web analytic tools violate wiretapping and eavesdropping provisions of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, uncovering the path toward a narrow interpretation of the law will largely depend on how these cases proceed, say Matthew Pearson and Kareem Salem at BakerHostetler.

  • Del. Ruling Adds Momentum For Caremark Plaintiffs

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    The Delaware Supreme Court's recent opinion in Lebanon County Employees' Retirement Fund v. Collis could be viewed as expanding plaintiffs' ability to viably plead a Caremark claim against directors, so Delaware companies should be on heightened alert and focus on creating a record of board oversight, say attorneys at V&E.

  • Key Maritime Law Issues In 2024: Election-Year Unknowns

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    In the final installment of this three-part article reviewing the top challenges for the maritime industry this year, Sean Pribyl at Holland & Knight examines how the uncertainty surrounding the forthcoming U.S. election may affect the maritime sector — especially companies involved in offshore wind and deep-sea mining.

  • The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift

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    As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.

  • Key Maritime Law Issues In 2024: Environmental Challenges

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    In the second installment of this three-part article examining key concerns for the maritime sector this year, Sean Pribyl at Holland & Knight considers how the industry will be affected by environmental concerns — including the growing push for decarbonization, and regulatory scrutiny around greenwashing and ESG issues.

  • 5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money

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    As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.

  • Following Banking Regulators' Breadcrumbs To 2024 Priorities

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    Through blog posts, speeches, and formal guidance and regulations, prudential and other federal and state financial regulators laid out a road map last year pointing to compliance priorities that should be reflected in financial institutions' planning this year, say Laurel Loomis Rimon and Gina Shabana at Jenner & Block.

  • How Biotech Deals May Help Competition, Despite FTC View

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    The Federal Trade Commission's complaint against Sanofi's proposed partnership with Maze Therapeutics highlights increasing skepticism of so-called killer acquisitions, but a closer look reveals potentially legitimate reasons behind why entities might decide to delay or abandon the development of acquired products, say consultants at Analysis Group.

  • Key Maritime Law Issues In 2024: Geopolitics And Sanctions

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    Major challenges are on the horizon for the U.S. maritime sector in 2024, including geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea and ever-evolving sanctions targeting Iran and Russia — which may lead to higher shipping costs and greater compliance burdens for stakeholders, says Sean Pribyl at Holland & Knight.

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