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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…
Online Sellers Need to Beware of State Attorneys General
March 23, 2011
Online Sellers Need to Beware of State Attorneys General
By: Ifrah Law
The Pennsylvania Attorney General filed a consumer protection lawsuit last month against Zoommania, LLC, a Philadelphia-based Internet electronics store, for a bait-and-switch scheme the company allegedly employed in online sales and for its creation of new websites to avoid negative customer feedback resulting from the scheme. The complaint, which seeks restitution for consumers, alleges that the company’s websites would list inventory as being in stock,…
Does Google Need to Police Its Ads for Fraud?
March 21, 2011
Does Google Need to Police Its Ads for Fraud?
By: Ifrah Law
Do Google and other search engines have an obligation to screen their advertisers for those who may be perpetrating consumer fraud? Google has said in the past that its AdWords Content Policy will reject advertisements for sites that make false claims and that it investigates and removes any ads that violate Google’s internal policies, but a recent letter sent by a public interest group to…
FTC Cracks Down on Merchants’ Empty Promises
March 3, 2011
FTC Cracks Down on Merchants’ Empty Promises
By: Ifrah Law
On March 2, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission announced “Operation Empty Promises,” a multi-agency law enforcement initiative aimed at cracking down on misleading “work from home” and other business opportunity offers. The campaign includes more than 90 actions brought by various state and federal agencies in the past year, including the Department of Justice, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and state law enforcement agencies. It…
Chargebacks Can Be a Major Problem for Small Businesses
February 17, 2011
Chargebacks Can Be a Major Problem for Small Businesses
By: Ifrah Law
The Wall Street Journal has acknowledged the serious problem that chargebacks pose to businesses in an article posted on its website. Merchants pay a heavy price for these reverse credit card transactions, which cost them a lost sale, the lost product, and a fine imposed by the credit card company. What’s more, courts have equated chargebacks to merchant fraud, using merchants’ chargeback rates against them…
FTC Looks at Football Helmet Safety Claims
February 7, 2011
FTC Looks at Football Helmet Safety Claims
By: Ifrah Law
Helmet safety has caught the attention of the Federal Trade Commission, which is looking into marketing claims that some football helmets can help reduce concussions. Recent months have seen widespread publicity about concussions and other traumatic head and neck injuries suffered by football players, prompting the National Football League to step up enforcement of rules against illegal hits. Pressure on the FTC to investigate possibly…
