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Laidlaw v. Organ was an 1817 Supreme Court case concerning an allegedly deceptive trade practice affecting a small business. You may be surprised to learn who argued that case and why it’s relevant 201 years later. Counsel for one of the businesses was a young Maryland attorney named Francis Scott Key. Yes, that Francis Scott Key. After the defense of Fort McHenry inspired him to pen The Star-Spangled Banner, he returned to his law practice and...

Lawyers who have been paying attention to such things might recall the predicted fallout from the decision in Akzo Chemicals Ltd v. European Commission, Case C-550/07-P (September 14, 2010). In Akzo, the ECJ held that internal communications between in-house counsel and their companies’ employees are not privileged in European competition law cases. Applying a 1980’s-era rule reserving attorney-client privilege to communications with outside...

There’s former Van Halen front man Sammy Hagar, NFL legend Slingin’ Sammy Baugh, and the incomparable Sammy Davis, Jr. All notable in their own right, but did they win back $586 million for defrauded consumers? We didn’t think so. That’s why we have another pick for the Sammy Hall of Fame. FTC attorney Karen Dodge and FTC Midwest Region team members Joannie Wei, Elizabeth Scott, and Doug McKenney were just honored with Samuel J. Heyman Service to...

Four companies just entered into proposed agreements with the FTC to settle charges that they made misrepresentations about their participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield. The cases reflect the FTC’s continuing commitment to enforcing the framework. Two of the complaints also focus on a Privacy Shield obligation that may be worth more of your company’s attention. Privacy Shield is a program that gives companies a way to transfer personal data...

For consumers who took out loans with online payday lender AMG, the company’s illegal tactics left many of them saying OMG. But finally there’s good news for AMG customers arriving in the form of $505 million in refund checks just mailed to people who borrowed money between January 2008 through January 2013. That’s the largest amount ever sent in a refund program run by the FTC. At the same time, we have two messages for companies: a law...

This week, we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opening of the first FTC regional office. According to the Commission’s 1918 Annual Report, the FTC first established three branch offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco in order to handle the agency’s growing workload. Right away, these offices were conducting investigations, writing reports, and contributing to the work of the agency. Over the years, the FTC has added...

This year eight major league baseball teams are celebrating milestone anniversaries – and so are the FTC’s regional offices. In 1918, the Commission opened the first three of its regional offices. Today, eight regional offices continue to knock it out the park on behalf of America’s consumers. So it’s only fitting that on this momentous day we acknowledge the regional offices’ century of pennant-winning performances. According to the Commission’s...

Thanks to a new federal law, free credit freezes and year-long fraud alerts are here, starting September 21st. What does that mean for your customers and employees? Free credit freezes Security freezes, also known as credit freezes, restrict access to a consumer’s credit file, making it harder for identity thieves to open new accounts in the consumer’s name. Starting September 21st, consumers can freeze and unfreeze their credit file for free...

“A guy walks into a bar . . . .” It’s a typical set-up for a stand-up comedian, but we never thought it would be the opener about a proposed FTC settlement involving unproven treatment claims for serious diseases. Texas-based A&O Enterprises, iV Bars, and owner Aaron Roberts sell and administer intravenous “cocktails” – bags containing mixtures of water, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids administered through an IV drip. Customers who visit an...

We’ll grudgingly give this to Innovative Paycheck Solutions and FakePayStubOnline.com. The California-based operation owned by Katrina Moore really did sell fake bank statements, W-2s, profit and loss statements, and “other income verification documents” – although we’re still trying to get our head around the oxymoronic advertising claim that the site sold “Authentic Fake Pay Stubs!” The site offered a host of customized options including...