Tenth Circuit Rejects Administrative Feasibility Requirement Under Rule 23

Today, the Tenth Circuit issued a divided opinion in Dunn v. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, a consumer class action brought against the manufacturers of Natural American Spirit (NAS) cigarettes. The consumers allege that they were misled into believing that the company’s cigarettes were less harmful than those produced by other companies. On interlocutory review of […]

Chris Peterson named Director of NJ Division of Consumer Affairs

The announcement is here and Consumer Finance Monitor has a report here. Chris is a longtime consumer law professor at the University of Utah. Most recently, he has been working on the forthcoming sixth edition of our consumer law casebook, scheduled for publication in time for Spring 2027 classes (the link is to the fifth […]

Third Circuit Reinstates Algorithmic Hotel Pricing Antitrust Case

Three consumers who stay at casino-hotels in Atlantic City brought a class action against some of those hotels and their algorithmic software provider, alleging a conspiracy to fix prices in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The district court dismissed the case, but today the Third Circuit reversed and reinstated the complaint. In reaching its […]

Consumer Finance Monitor reports Vought to continue at CFPB as senior advisor pending Johnson’s confirmation

Here. The report–by Alan S. Kaplinsky, Richard J. Andreano, Jr., John L. Culhane, Jr. & Adam Maarec—is based in turn on a report by Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller. In their view, this “make[s] practical and legal sense” because it “help[s] avoid a leadership vacuum.” Vought’s acting director term is to expire August 1 and in the likely event that Johnson […]

Seventh Circuit Rejects FDCA Preemption Argument re “Sugar Free” Claims

Yogurt company Chobani sold a product it labeled as “sugar free,” even though the yogurt includes four grams per serving of allulose– a naturally occurring sweetener. Consumers sued Chobani for doing so under state consumer protection laws, but an Illinois district court held those claims were preempted by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act–relying […]

TCPA regulators accepted large gifts from entities they regulate

So reports Corey G. Johnson of Pro Publica in FCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar Deals. That article focuses on the FCC’s regulation of the entertainment industry but the FCC also implements and interprets the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (which is not to say that the deals in question […]

Is the Trump administration using disparate impact litigation while attacking it?

So suggests an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, The Demise of Disparate-Impact Liability, which carries the subhed The Education Department’s decision to eliminate a civil-rights enforcement tool strikes some as hypocritical. Here’s an excerpt:  [C]ritics say the administration is relying on the kind of statistical evidence used in disparate-impact cases to crack down on […]

Brief comment period for FTC’s AI policy statement ends soon

The Federal Trade Commission published a policy statement on artificial intelligence in the Federal Register on July 7. Public comments are due July 31. Formally, the policy statement addresses application of section 5 of the FTC Act “to companies that market AI systems.” Section 5 prohibits unfair and deceptive practices in the marketplace. Every state […]

CFPB Director-Nominee refuses to commit to notifying Congress about White House calls to aid donors

Well, the Senate Banking Committee’s hearing on the nominee for CFPB director was ridiculously short. Senators got only five minutes to ask questions of three nominees for different agencies. How strange that people complain about the CFPB’s lack of accountability and then spend far less time publicly vetting the nominee to lead the Bureau than, […]