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The SEC Signs on to Arbitration
FEATURED
September 29, 2025
The SEC Signs on to Arbitration
By: George Calhoun
Early last week, on September 17, 2025, the SEC announced that it will no longer consider the presence of a mandatory arbitration provision in a company’s charter or bylaws when deciding whether to accelerate the effectiveness of a registration statement. This policy shift will permit companies to include arbitration clauses in their governing documents to require securities litigants (including class action plaintiffs) to pursue their claims in arbitration proceedings rather than court cases. The decision leaves open how arbitration provisions might apply in direct actions versus derivative actions. Nonetheless, this could result in a significant reduction in private securities litigation. The SEC focused its decision on the recent trend in U.S. Supreme Court precedent concerning the Federal Arbitration Act and…
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Cal. High Court Softens Draconian Arbitration Fee Rule
August 19, 2025
Cal. High Court Softens Draconian Arbitration Fee Rule
By: Robert Ward
California law has often tested just how much room the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) leaves for states to regulate consumer arbitration agreements. Last week, in Hohenshelt v. Superior Court,[1] the California Supreme Court determined that at least one claimant-favoring provision of the California Arbitration Act (CAA), California Code of Civil Procedure § 1281.98 comes close to, but does not cross, that line. At the same…
Ready, Set, Go: More States Adopt Privacy Laws
July 30, 2025
Ready, Set, Go: More States Adopt Privacy Laws
By: Nicole Kardell
Note the below chart was updated on July 24, 2025 to reflect recent developments. The number of U.S. states that have adopted privacy laws grows regularly. Fortunately, there seems to be quite a bit of crossover, at least when it comes to thresholds that companies must meet in order to trigger compliance requirements. We provide below a chart that summarizes these thresholds by state, including…
With $22.5 Million Google Settlement, FTC Sends a Clear Message
August 20, 2012
With $22.5 Million Google Settlement, FTC Sends a Clear Message
By: Michelle Cohen
On August 9, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission announced that Google has agreed to pay a $22.5 million penalty to settle the FTC’s charges that it violated a consent order regarding consumer privacy. This is the largest civil penalty that the FTC has ever exacted for a violation of one of the agency’s orders, and it has understandably garnered a great deal of attention. Specifically,…
Employers: Don’t Ask Job Applicants for Their Passwords (at Least in Illinois)
August 8, 2012
Employers: Don’t Ask Job Applicants for Their Passwords (at Least in Illinois)
By: Michelle Cohen
On August 1, 2012, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill into law (HB 3782) that prohibits employers from requesting or requiring employees or prospective employees to provide their Facebook or other social networking website passwords. With the new law, effective on January 1, 2013, Illinois becomes the second state (Maryland was the first) to bar employers from seeking social network passwords. Employers are still…
‘Your Baby Can Read,’ Targeted for Dubious Ads, Closes Its Doors
July 25, 2012
‘Your Baby Can Read,’ Targeted for Dubious Ads, Closes Its Doors
By: Ifrah Law
After nearly a decade of persuading hundreds of thousands of parents that their babies were geniuses, the popular company, Your Baby Can Read, is shutting its doors. Its demise is the result of an FTC investigation prompted by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood advocacy group, which challenged claims by the company that newborns have the ability to absorb reading and spelling skills when they…
CFPB’s First Case: Consent Order Against Capital One for Deceptive Marketing
July 20, 2012
CFPB’s First Case: Consent Order Against Capital One for Deceptive Marketing
By: Michelle Cohen
The barely year-old Consumer Financial Protection Bureau came out of the gate this week with its first enforcement action. Capital One has the dubious honor of being CFPB’s premier target under the bureau’s authority to take action against entities that it believes engage in unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices in the offering of consumer financial products and services. Congress created the CFPB as part of…
In Time for Bikini Season, Kardashians Face Lawsuit Over Endorsement of Diet Aids
July 6, 2012
In Time for Bikini Season, Kardashians Face Lawsuit Over Endorsement of Diet Aids
By: Nicole Kardell
Kim Kardashian, the reality star, is accustomed to the public eye, but now she faces a lawsuit that may not bring her good publicity at all. Along with her sisters Khloe and Kourtney, Kim has been named as a defendant earlier this year in a class action over QuickTrim, a dietary supplement that they have been promoting. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court…
