On March 20, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a declaratory ruling with respect to the emergency purposes exception of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)....more
Federal district courts in Florida continue to be at odds over whether a class plaintiff who claims to have suffered a past injury based on a defendant’s violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act...more
2018 Food Industry Decisions with Bite -
Food for Thought is a review of significant court decisions affecting the food, beverage, dietary supplements and personal care products industry. Although many cases in this...more
4/11/2019
/ All Natural ,
Ascertainable Class ,
Baby Products ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Bristol-Myers Squibb ,
Class Action ,
CLRA ,
Dietary Supplements ,
False Advertising ,
Food Labeling ,
Food Safety ,
Food Supply ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Magnuson-Moss Act ,
Misleading Statements ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Starbucks ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL) ,
Venue
The ramifications of the Supreme Court’s decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, San Francisco Cty., 137 S. Ct. 1773 (2017), remain unsettled. ...more
The virtual currency Bitcoin has gained notoriety and intrigued entrepreneurs, finance magnates and governments. Lauded and criticized for its ability to offer relatively fast, inexpensive and nearly anonymous transactions,...more
In a recent unpublished opinion, the Eleventh Circuit issued a decision that should serve as a warning to insurers to be sure to resolve all issues before dismissing a coverage action, particularly when involved in the...more
Regulators Demand Third-Party Risk Management -
While third-party risk management has been a required component of an effective enterprise risk management program for many years, the topic is receiving elevated attention...more
4/18/2017
/ Article III ,
Clean Shares ,
Elder Abuse ,
Exploitation ,
Fiduciary Exception ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Life Insurance ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
Reinsurance ,
Sales Commissions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Settlement Cycles ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Third Party Funding ,
Third-Party Risk ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL) ,
Variable Annuities ,
Vulnerable Victims
The United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins on May 16, 2016. At the time, the degree to which the decision was a punt was somewhat underreported. The five-judge majority opinion actually...more
- Fed Takes First Steps Toward Setting Capital Requirements for Some Insurers
- New Wave of COI Rate Increase Lawsuits Hits the Industry
- STOLI Policies Cancelled, Insurers Retain Premium
-...more
8/29/2016
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Capital Requirements ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Death Master Files ,
Domain Names ,
Electronic Data Transmissions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Florida ,
Insurance Industry ,
Life Insurance ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
National Technical Information Service (NTIS) ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
STOLI ,
Unclaimed Property
IN THE SPOTLIGHT -
- SEC Sanctions Unregistered EB-5 Investments Broker
SECURITIES -
- FINRA to Assess Member Firms’ Culture
- SEC Seeks Fund Responses to Distribution-In-Guise Guidance...more
7/26/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Arbitration ,
Banking Sector ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Breach ,
Debt Buyers ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EB-5 ,
Electronic Data Transmissions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
FFIEC ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Investment ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Immigrant Investor Program ,
Individual Accountability ,
Inpatient Billing ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment ,
Job Creation ,
Payday Loans ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Student Loans ,
Two-Midnight Rule ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
On May 16, the Supreme Court issued its Spokeo v. Robins decision. Spokeo was a closely-watched case, as it had the potential to substantially limit federal court jurisdiction in cases where plaintiffs sued for violations of...more
On May 16, 2016, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Spokeo v. Robins. This had been a closely watched case, as it had the potential to substantially limit federal court jurisdiction in cases where plaintiffs sued for...more
IN THE SPOTLIGHT -
The CFPB Takes First Enforcement Action Related to Data Security Practices.
LIFE INSURANCE -
Class Certified in Unique Fixed Indexed Annuity Case.
Alleged Misrepresentations to DFS Warrant...more
5/6/2016
/ Auto Insurance ,
Automotive Loans ,
Bad Faith ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivatives ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FCC ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Junk Bonds ,
Life Insurance ,
RESPA ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SLUSA ,
Stark Law ,
TCPA ,
TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID) ,
Uninsured and Under-Insured Motorists ,
Waivers
In Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, a decision released in January, a majority of the United States Supreme Court held that an unaccepted Rule 68 offer of judgment by a defendant cannot moot a putative class action....more
On March 18, United States District Judge Ursula Ungaro of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered an order against a Hong Kong-based company that was improperly distributing prohibited...more
On February 3, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision affirming summary judgment in favor of the defendant on a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) claim in Baird v. Sabre, Inc.,...more
Several significant amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure took effect Tuesday. They are probably the most wide-ranging set of changes to the rules in more than 20 years. Here are the key...more
On September 24, Southern District of Florida District Court Judge James I. Cohn issued an opinion affirming an order approving the settlement of a debtor’s breach of fiduciary duty, corporate waste, and mismanagement claims...more
9/25/2015
/ Bankruptcy Court ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Officers ,
D&O Insurance ,
Debtors ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Insurance Industry ,
Mismanagement ,
Securities Litigation
On August 21, the Cincinnati-based United States Court of Appeal for the Sixth Circuit issued its ruling in Hill v. Homeward Residential, Inc., 2015 WL 4978464 (6th Cir. August 21, 2015), and affirmed a jury verdict...more
8/28/2015
/ Appeals ,
Borrowers ,
Cell Phones ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt Collection ,
Delinquent Borrowers ,
FCC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Hobbs Act ,
Lenders ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Right to Privacy ,
TCPA
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, sitting as a full panel, has ruled that law enforcement may acquire historical cell site data information (i.e., past location information) from wireless telecommunications...more
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
· Is your Company Ready to Comply with Encryption of Individually Identifiable Health Information?
LIFE INSURANCE
· STOLI Schemers Must Make Good on Damages Caused
· At the State Level, Is a Fixed-Index...more
4/10/2015
Serving a Rule 68 offer of judgment for maximum individual statutory damages before the filing of a class certification motion was once a common strategy used to moot putative class actions alleging claims for violations of...more
In This Issue:
- IN THE SPOTLIGHT
..Crisis Management: Five Steps to Take Before Providing That Comment
- LIFE INSURANCE
..Third Circuit Limits ERISA Fiduciary Liability to those with Ultimate...more
1/16/2015
/ Automotive Loans ,
CFTC ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Complaint System ,
Data Breach ,
Divorce ,
Driverless Cars ,
FCC ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Insurance Industry ,
Life Insurance ,
Money Market Funds ,
Mortgages ,
NAIC ,
Private Equity Funds ,
STOLI ,
Unsolicited Faxes
In what promises to have significant implications for litigation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision issued by Judge Robert Scola of the Southern...more
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) prohibits non-emergency calls to cell phones using automatic telephone dialing systems or prerecorded voice messages absent the called party’s prior express consent. Text messages...more