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Consumer Protection
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July 18, 2025
Social Media MDL Judge Could Bifurcate Bellwether Trials
A California federal judge presiding over multidistrict litigation by school districts and personal injury plaintiffs claiming social media is addictive said Friday she'll likely bifurcate bellwether trials into two phases, with the judge presiding over the second phase, if plaintiffs seek any relief "that may be injunctive in nature."
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July 18, 2025
EU Says Vivendi Controlled Lagardère During Deal Review
European enforcers have accused French media conglomerate Vivendi of exercising control over Lagardère's editorial operations and personnel decisions before and during a review of its acquisition.
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July 18, 2025
Safeway Can't Arbitrate False Ad Wine Discount Suit
Safeway can't force customers to arbitrate their proposed false advertising class action alleging it markets bogus, limited-time offers of discounts on wine for its rewards members, after a California federal judge ruled that there's no evidence they agreed to arbitrate their disputes or had notice of Safeway's arbitration terms.Â
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July 18, 2025
T-Mobile Wants Wash. AG's Data Breach Claims Tossed
T-Mobile is calling its promises to protect its subscribers' privacy "puffery" in a bid to get out of a Washington state lawsuit over a 2021 cyberattack, saying its commitments to "safeguards" and to "do the right thing" with users' data couldn't have misled consumers because they were completely unspecific.
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July 18, 2025
Colo. Sues Businessman Over Small Biz Fee Scheme
The state of Colorado sued a Florida businessman and his two companies Thursday in state court, saying they spent years running a scheme targeting small business owners, sending nearly 200,000 forms trying to solicit large fees for services that are actually free.
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July 18, 2025
FTC Nixes Exxon-Pioneer, Chevron-Hess Board Ban Deals
The Biden-era Federal Trade Commission settlements clearing Exxon's purchase of Pioneer and Chevron's acquisition of Hess are no more, after the now Republican-controlled agency said there was no need to condition acquisition approvals on banning the CEOs of Pioneer and Hess from the boards of the combined companies.
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July 18, 2025
Albertsons Spam Text Plaintiff Gets Chance To Revise Suit
A Washington federal judge on Friday threw out a proposed class action accusing Albertsons of sending consumers unsolicited text advertisements, yet she gave the plaintiff a shot at filing a new version of the lawsuit with a screenshot and more specifics to back his claims.
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July 18, 2025
Tread Carefully On Truth-In-Billing Rules, FCC Told
The Federal Communications Commission says its slamming and truth-in-billing rules are outdated and has targeted them for cuts, but consumer and civil rights groups are urging the agency to be cautious in order to "ensure these changes do not come at the expense of core consumer protections."
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July 18, 2025
Sony Judge Finds 'Glaring' Issues In PlayStation Deal, Motion
A California federal judge found "glaring shortcomings" in a $7.85 million deal Sony Interactive Entertainment struck to resolve antitrust claims over downloadable game card prices, saying that settlement credits are "generally disfavored," and the preliminary approval motion lacked information on what might have been won at trial.
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July 18, 2025
Cannabis And The Courts: A Midyear Litigation Review
In the first half of 2025, lawsuits taking aim at state hemp restrictions, putative residency criteria in cannabis licensure programs and the federal policy that keeps users and convicted sellers of pot from lawfully owning guns were all briefed in multiple appellate courts across the country.
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July 18, 2025
Cannabis Edibles Maker Accused Of Hiding Prop. 65 Warnings
A California resident is suing a Los Angeles cannabis-infused edibles maker, claiming its peel-back product labels deliberately hide the state-required Proposition 65 warning at the time of purchase, in the second private enforcement action filed by the plaintiff this year.
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July 18, 2025
Zillow Says Compass Can't Get Block On 'Zillow Ban'
Zillow sought to flip the script Thursday on Compass's antitrust allegations targeting new standards limiting home listing eligibility for pre-marketed properties, telling a New York federal judge not to preliminarily block the rules because they're just an effort to use "transparency" to "mitigate the damaging effects of hidden listings."
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July 18, 2025
Acreage And Verano Seek Dismissal Of THC Potency Suits
Cannabis giants Acreage and Verano this week urged Illinois federal judges to dismiss a pair of putative consumer class actions alleging the companies sold products with unlawfully high levels of the psychoactive cannabinoid THC.
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July 18, 2025
2nd Circ. Shields Official From NRA's Free Speech Suit Again
A Second Circuit panel has said National Rifle Association's First Amendment lawsuit cannot survive a motion to dismiss because the former New York official accused of pressuring financial institutions to cut ties with the organization has qualified immunity.
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July 18, 2025
Telecoms Urge FCC To Modernize Networks To Fight Robocalls
A major telecom trade group is urging the Federal Communications Commission to allow for industry-driven solutions to the problem of robocalls, saying the agency's current proposal to mandate specific technical standards for caller ID authentication have vulnerabilities that criminals could exploit.
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July 18, 2025
Armstrong Teasdale Adds Former CLO As A Litigator In Miami
A former chief legal officer at professional services company Indelible has joined Armstrong Teasdale LLP as a litigation counsel in Miami.
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July 17, 2025
FDA Signs Off On Juul E-Cig Products After 5-Year Review
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday gave Juul the green light to market five e-cigarette products, although the FDA noted that the long-awaited authorization "does not mean these tobacco products are safe, nor are they FDA-approved."
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July 17, 2025
FDA Warns Firms Over Illegal Kratom Product Marketing
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned seven companies — including a California company facing a proposed class action — that they are illegally marketing products containing a potent kratom-derived compound, in letters that indicate intensified federal scrutiny of the opioid-like supplement.
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July 17, 2025
Facebook Whistleblower Calls Meta Discovery A Smear Job
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen on Thursday urged a California federal magistrate judge to limit Meta's discovery in multidistrict litigation over claims that social media is addictive and harmful to children's mental health, saying many of their requests are irrelevant and merely seek to smear her name.
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July 17, 2025
Google Gets AGs' Ad Tech Trial Delayed In Texas
A Texas federal judge Thursday delayed an upcoming jury trial in antitrust litigation brought by a Texas-led coalition of attorneys general targeting Google's advertising placement technology business until there's a final judgment in a similar case led by the U.S. Department of Justice in Virginia.
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July 17, 2025
Tesla Driver In Fatal Crash Regularly Ignored Autopilot Alerts
The Tesla driver who killed a woman in a crash in Florida Keys had regularly ignored warnings from the autopilot software to engage with the vehicle and would stop the car to reset the autopilot rather than drive without, a vehicle accident reconstruction expert told jurors Thursday.
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July 17, 2025
'Troubling': Dems Press sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Over Nixed Navy Federal Order
U.S. Senate Democrats are demanding answers from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over its decision to cancel a $95 million enforcement order against Navy Federal Credit Union, slamming the "abrupt reversal" as a betrayal of military families.
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July 17, 2025
3 Crypto Bills Pass House, With Stablecoins Headed To Trump
The House of Representatives on Thursday agreed to send a bill to regulate stable-value tokens to the president's desk, in addition to advancing proposals to regulate crypto markets and ban the government from exploring the issuance of a digital dollar onto the Senate.
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July 17, 2025
Public Advocates Voice Concern At FCC Regulation Cut Plan
Nearly two dozen public interest groups told the Federal Communications Commission's leader Thursday they are worried about an FCC plan to cut rules from its books using staff authority as a way to get around public notice and comment.
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July 17, 2025
Fla. High Court Revives UF Student's COVID-19 Suit
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday revived a University of Florida student's lawsuit over cancellation of on-campus services during the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling that sovereign immunity does not automatically block the student's breach-of-contract claims.
Expert Analysis
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State, Fed Junk Fee Enforcement Shows No Signs Of Slowing
The Federal Trade Commission’s potent new rule targeting drip pricing, in addition to the growing patchwork of state consumer protection laws, suggest that enforcement and litigation targeting junk fees will likely continue to expand, says Etia Rottman Frand at Darrow AI.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care
Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.
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New Laws Show How States Are Checking AI Developers
Recent state consumer protection legislation shows Utah, Colorado and Texas are primed to impose controls on artificial intelligence, and exemplifies the states' unwillingness to accord strong deference to developers and deployers of AI tools, say attorneys at Polsinelli.
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What Expanding Merchant Code Regs Mean For Processors
Arkansas and South Dakota recently joined a host of other states that restrict payment processors' usage of merchant category codes with laws that include noteworthy prohibitions against maintaining registries of firearms owners, with ramifications for multistate payment systems, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'
The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.
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Latest Influencer Marketing Class Actions Pinpoint 5 Themes
Several recent deceptive marketing class actions against both brands and influencers attempt to transform arguably routine business practices into a new focus area for consumer complaints, suggesting a coordinated approach to test what could become an increasingly popular area of litigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Dupes Boom Spurs IP Risks, Opportunities For Investors
The rising popularity of dupe products has created a dynamic marketplace where both dupes-based businesses and established branded companies can thrive, but investors must consider a host of legal implications, especially when the dupes straddle a fine line between imitation and intellectual property infringement, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Canadian Suit Offers Disclosure Lesson For US Cannabis Cos.
A Canadian class action asserting that Aurora Cannabis failed to warn consumers about the risk of developing cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome may spawn copycat filings in the U.S., and is a cautionary tale for cannabis and hemp industries to prioritize risk disclosure, says Ian Stewart at Wilson Elser.
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A Look At Trump Admin's Shifting Strategies To Curtail sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½
The Trump administration has so far carried out its goal of minimizing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's authority and footprint via an individualized approach comprising rule rollbacks, litigation moves and administrative tools, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Evading DOJ Crosshairs As Data Security Open Season Starts
As the U.S. Department of Justice begins enforcing its new data security program — aimed at preventing foreign adversaries from accessing government-related and personal sensitive data — U.S. companies will need to understand the program’s contours and potential pitfalls to avoid potential civil liability or criminal scrutiny, say attorneys at Cohen & Gresser.
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Series
My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer
Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.
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A Look At DOJ's Dropped Case Against Early Crypto Operator
The prosecution of an early crypto exchange operator over alleged unlicensed money transmission was recently dropped in Indiana federal court, showcasing that the U.S. Justice Department may be limiting the types of enforcement cases it will bring against digital asset firms, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.
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4 Consumer Class Action Trends To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025
The first half of 2025 has seen a surge of consumer class action trends related to online tools, websites and marketing messages, creating a new legal risk landscape for companies of all sizes, says Scott Shaffer at Olshan Frome.
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8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work
Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.
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3 Cautionary Tales For Cos. Using Facial Recognition Tech
Whether a business intends to develop its own facial recognition applications or contract with another company to use such services, three recent case studies should be kept in mind to help lower the risk of litigation or regulatory enforcement, says Adam Nyenhuis at Hilgers Graben.