The CFPB is extending the comment periods for two proposed rulemakings under Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). On March 5, the Bureau extended the comment period for its proposed rule on data brokers and consumer reports. Similarly, on March 7, the CFPB announced an extension for its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on identity theft and coerced debt.
Continue Reading CFPB Extends Comment Periods for Two Proposed Regulation V Rules
On February 20, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted the FTC a preliminary injunction against a small business financing company.
Continue Reading FTC Granted Injunction in Small Business Lending Case
On March 3, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced new regulations, issued under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, aimed at curbing “junk fees” by requiring businesses to disclose total prices upfront and provide clear information about additional charges. The regulations, set to take effect September 2, 2025, seek to prevent deceptive pricing practices and enhance consumer transparency.
Continue Reading Massachusetts AG Issues New Regulations Targeting Junk Fees
The CFPB has recently dismissed two more enforcement actions—one against a major credit reporting agency and another against a lease-to-own financing provider. Both lawsuits involved allegations of abusive, unfair, and deceptive acts and practices.
On March 7, the OCC issued Interpretive Letter 1183 and an accompanying statement affirming prior guidance regarding whether national banks and federal savings associations may engage in cryptocurrency-related activities, including (i) providing custody services for depositors’ crypto assets, (ii) holding stablecoin “reserves,” (iii) facilitating stablecoin payments, and (iv) performing payment verification activities on blockchain networks. Importantly, the letter also rescinded the OCC’s Interpretive Letter 1179, which required banks to obtain written supervisory non-objection before engaging in these cryptocurrency activities.
Continue Reading OCC Clarifies Banks’ Role in Cryptocurrency Activities
On March 10, 2025, the CFPB informed the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas that it will proceed with litigation against a short-term installment lender and its subsidiary for alleged violations of the Military Lending Act (MLA). The lawsuit alleges that the lender violated the MLA and a 2013 administrative consent order by issuing loans to military service members with interest rates exceeding the MLA’s 36% cap, included mandatory arbitration provisions in loan contracts, and failed to provide required disclosures. The CFPB further asserts that these practices continued despite a prior CFPB enforcement order against the lender’s predecessor.
Continue Reading CFPB Moves Forward with Military Lending Act Enforcement Against Installment Lender
The CFPB is facing pushback from the U.S. Senate over two final rules issued under the Biden administration: one expanding oversight of nonbank digital payment providers and another limiting the reporting of medical debt. Both efforts invoke the Congressional Review Act (CRA), a legislative mechanism that allows Congress to roll back recently finalized federal regulations.
Continue Reading GOP Senators Moving to Invoke the Congressional Review Act Over Biden-Era Rules
On March 4, the California DFPI finalized regulations under the Debt Collection Licensing Act (DCLA). The final regulations, which take effect July 1, 2025, clarify key licensing and reporting requirements.
Continue Reading DFPI Finalizes Debt Collection Licensing Regulations, Effective July 1
In Restem, LLC v. Jadi Cell, LLC, No. 2023-2054 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 13, 2025), the Federal Circuit upheld the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decision holding that U.S. Patent No. 9,803,176 (“the ’176 patent”) was not inherently anticipated by a prior art process, because the prior art process did not inevitably result in the claimed cell marker expression profile.
Continue Reading Federal Circuit Clarifies Anticipation Analysis for Product-By-Process Claims
The litigator’s adage “it’s easy to plead, it’s hard to prove” once again came true in the long-running False Claims Act (FCA) case targeting Medicare Advantage (“MA”) plans operated by UnitedHealth (United). Eight years after the complaint was filed, a Special Master recommended granting United’s motion for summary judgment. U.S. ex rel. Poehling v. UnitedHealth Group, Inc., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40921 (CD CA). Both the litigation and the Special Master’s report contain valuable insights for all FCA defendants, and especially for those matters involving allegations related to diagnosis coding.
On March 6, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell held that Gwynne Wilcox, a former member of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) was “illegally” fired from her job.[1] The court ordered the Board’s current chair to restore her access to the Board and let her serve out the remainder of her five-year term. The Trump administration promptly appealed the decision and is seeking an immediate stay from a federal appeals court.[2] However, in the meantime, Wilcox’s return will give the Board three active members. Thus, for now, it appears that the Board again has a statutory quorum under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or the “Act”) and can resume operating as normal.
Many expect that deal activity will increase in 2025. As we approach the end of the first quarter, it is helpful to keep in mind privacy and data security issues that can potentially derail a deal. We discussed this in a webinar last week, where we highlighted issues from the buyer’s perspective. We recap the highlights here:
Two bills recently introduced in New York’s legislature could have a major impact on New York employers seeking to enter into employment-related agreements with employees.
Continue Reading New York Legislature’s Proposed Amendments Would Impact Employment Agreements
Right of erasure (or “right to be forgotten”) has been selected by the European Data Protection Board as its priority enforcement topic for 2025. This work is being done under the “Coordinated Enforcement Framework” or “CEF.” The EDPB created the CEF in 2022 as a way to streamline and coordinate enforcement across EU data protection authorities. Past topics have included the right of access, and the role of data protection officers in organizations.
Continue Reading Forget It!: EDPB Announces Focus on Right to Erasure in 2025
When was the last time you thought about “data on file” (“DOF”)? Probably not recently, but last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) posted an untitled letter (the “Letter”)[1] that was issued on February 3, 2025 to Edenbridge DBA Dexcel (“Dexcel”) over allegedly misleading promotional materials for the multiple myeloma drug Hemady® (dexamethasone) involving—you guessed it—a DOF reference. This marks OPDP’s first untitled letter of the year and the first under the new administration. The letter is relatively uninventive in terms of enforcement angles—leading with a garden-variety failure to present “any” safety information—but it does serve as a reminder that FDA can and will ask for DOF references, especially those that substantiate Consistent with FDA-Required Labeling (“CFL”) promotional materials. And of course, despite all the news about regulatory cuts affecting FDA, OPDP still appears alive and well.
On March 5, 2025, SuperValu, Inc. (SuperValu), a grocery store chain that operates in-store pharmacies, was cleared of liability by a Central District of Illinois federal jury—finally quashing whistleblower claims that the company improperly over-billed the government and violated the False Claims Act (FCA). This jury verdict came after a long 14-year battle, which included a Supreme Court reversal of lower court decisions on the FCA’s scienter standard.
Continue Reading SuperValu Wins False Claims Act Case with a “No Harm, No Foul” Jury Verdict