The court held that spending time and money to send a second verification request is included in the type of harm Congress sought to avoid in the FDCPA. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois erred when it concluded a consumer failed to demonstrate she suffered an injury in fact sufficient to support her standing to bring suit, held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The appellate court found that the consumer adequat...
The federal government’s “voluntary partnership” model to shore up the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure has left dangerous gaps and has been implemented unevenly by various sector risk managem...
“Title VII does not offer boorish employers a free pass to discriminate against their employees specifically on account of gender just because they have tolerated pervasive but indiscriminate profanity as well.” Addressing for the first time the specific issue of music-as-harassment—and guided by its own precedent and as well as that of its sister circuits—the Ninth Circuit recognized “‘sexually graphic, violently misogynistic music’ as one form of harassment that can pollute a workplace and…
Gensler: “any financial instrument—crypto too—meeting the SEC v. Howey ‘investment contract’ definition may be a security.” SEC Chair Gary Gensler discussed cryptocurrencies at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange & Fintech Conference on June 8th 2023, emphasizing, among other things, that the 1933 Securities Act, the 1934 Securities Exchange Act, and the 1946 Supreme Court decision in SEC v. Howey , defined a “security” so loosely as an “investment contract” so that through the ages it could…
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R.) has signed into law a bill creating a “Digital Bill of Rights” for consumers, making Florida the latest state to enact consumer data privacy legislation. The new law affords consumers certain rights regarding how their personal information is collected online, but also focuses on protecting children online, transparency, and prohibiting “unfair” and “government-led” censorship online. “Floridians should have the right to control their own personal data,” Gov.…
Fifth Circuit’s decision is vacated and remanded, with clarity from the Court about the meaning of identity theft. On Thursday, June 8, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated a decision of the Fifth Circuit and found that the use of patient information when committing health care fraud did not also constitute identity theft. Medicaid was unquestionably defrauded when it was billed at a higher rate than legally allowed, based on the professional’s education, the Court noted. But in strong…
The Fed, FDIC, and OCC issued the finalized interagency guidance to assist banking organizations in identifying and addressing risks associated with third-party relationships. The Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced they have issued final interagency guidance on managing risks associated with third-party relationships (OCC Bulletin 2023-17 , FIL-29-2023 ). Proposed in July of 2021 (see Banking and Finance Law…
Use of “a trademark as a trademark”—i.e. , as a source identifier—fell within “the heartland of trademark law” and was not entitled to special First Amendment protection, even if the use was purportedly “expressive.” The maker of a dog toy with a design that parodied distillery Jack Daniel’s trademarks and trade dress will have to face trademark infringement claims and is not protected by a court-made doctrine that limits the scope of trademark protection in cases involving creative…
Deputy Assistant A.G. Kumar spoke regarding the antitrust division’s criminal enforcement efforts. In a keynote speech delivered at the 2023 Global Competition Live: Cartels Conference, recently held in Washington D.C., Deputy Assistant Attorney General Manish Kumar outlined the Department of Justice Antitrust Division's competition enforcement priorities and highlights thus far for 2023. Kumar underscored the Division's focus on preventing anticompetitive mergers and acquisitions, as well as…
The fact that an expert conducted basic product testing that was unable to recreate the candle explosion was an issue of the weight of the expert’s testimony. In a products liability action against Walmart, Inc., the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Tennessee denied Walmart’s motion to exclude expert testimony. The court held that although the product testing the expert based his opinions on may have been basic, it met the industry standards for such testing and was therefore…
The former lieutenant alleged that the Illinois State Police wrongly designated him “not in good standing” when he retired. An Illinois State Police director and two other state officials were entitled to summary judgment against a retired police lieutenant’s claim that they deprived him of a liberty interest in future employment—in violation of his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights—by designating him “not in good standing” upon his retirement based on a mistaken belief that he was the…
The 2-step certification process utilized in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective actions dates back to 1987 when the standard was articulated by the court in Lusardi v. Xerox Corp . 118 F.R.D. 351 (D.N.J. 1987). Commonly kn...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify that, as of April 1, 2023, USCIS will accept the self-identified gender marker for individuals requesting immi...
The proposed amendments would do away with the distinction between compliance failures that directly affect the financial statements and those that have only an indirect effect. Amendments proposed by the PCAOB would increase audi...
The SEC asserts that from June 2013 to February 2022, an investment adviser made more than 300 unauthorized disbursements from two customers' accounts to make payments on his personal credit cards. The SEC announced it had charged...
On April 17, the Vietnamese government issued a personal data protection decree establishing the country’s first comprehensive privacy and data protection law (CPR, April 18 ). Experts Loan Le and Paul Baker from International Eco...
To combat parties that are “ignoring established law” to exploit the so-called “lead generator loophole” in the FCC’s robocall and robotext rules, a coalition of attorneys general from 27 states and the District of Columbia have u...
Various abortion bans went into effect after the Dobbs decision. Since the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade , the floodgates of state abortion legislation have opened as the Biden Administration simultaneously attempts to m...
Iowa code provides that when a conflict between two provisions is irreconcilable, the more-specific rule governs over the more-general provision. The Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision upholding the Iowa Depar...
The agency said it was “gathering information and comments to inform the development of an annual survey to understand consumer trust in banking and bank supervision that the agency plans to develop and implement.” The Office of t...
The Federal Trade Commission’s annual report highlights the agency’s enforcement actions related to TILA, CLA, EFTA and their implementing regulations—including actions pertaining to automobile purchases and financing, payday lend...
On remand, the district court must evaluate the actual benefit provided to the class and base reasonable attorney fees on that benefit. Holding that an award of attorney fees to class action counsel under the Copyright Act must be...
The photographs in the real estate studio’s database were considered individually for statutory damages purposes The owner of a database of real estate photographs that prevailed in a copyright infringement lawsuit was entitled to...
Claims by an eye health supplement maker against a competitor looked good for most elements of false advertising, but then stalled when analysis reached injury element. A federal district court in Tampa has decided multiple motion...
The case involved consumer claims that cold medicine labeled as “non-drowsy” in fact caused drowsiness. Despite U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit silence on the question, the federal district court in Chicago concluded...
The decedent’s parents failed to show the manufacturer owed a duty of care to consumers or that its conduct in creating the steel plates was negligent. In an action brought against a steel manufacturer by parents whose son was kil...
A roundup of agency notices published in the Federal Register . INCONSEQUENTIAL NONCOMPLIANCE PETITIONS—MOTOR VEHICLES: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has granted a petition for a determination of incon...