In the first quarter of 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued two Consumer Financial Protection Circulars, putting remittance transfer providers, digital comparison-shopping tools operators, and lead...more
On May 8, 2024, the California Attorney General’s Office released much needed and highly anticipated guidance on steps companies in California will need to take to ensure compliance with SB 478, California’s prohibition on...more
If you’ve been focused on only the high-level statements from the CFPB, you might already expect Rohit Chopra to fashion himself and the agency as “pro-consumer.” Consistent with that approach, the agency just signaled its...more
On January 29, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a circular (the “Circular”) detailing what it considers deceptive financial services marketing practices under the Consumer Financial Protection...more
Sometimes you hear grumbling that Leap Day shouldn’t mean an extra day of work – but not at the CFPB. The agency celebrated Feb. 29 this year by issuing guidance regarding “steering.”...more
On February 29, the CFPB issued a circular warning digital comparison-shopping websites and lead generators that practices that steer customers to certain financial products or services based on compensation received from...more
The use of factual/counterfactual comparisons—that is, estimating the difference between what actually happened and what would have happened absent an event—is a fundamental tool in the economists’ work box in the context of...more
On October 11, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission announced a new proposed rule to prohibit “junk fees,” which the FTC states are hidden and bogus fees that can harm consumers and undercut honest businesses. FTC...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ended a more than decadelong hiatus since the last formal guidance regarding Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act on Feb. 7 by issuing its advisory opinion aimed at...more
On February 7, the CFPB issued an Advisory Opinion to address the applicability of RESPA section 8 to operators of certain digital technology platforms that enable consumers to comparison shop for mortgages and other real...more
The Transparency in Coverage Final Rules issued in 2020 require most non-grandfathered insurers and group health plan sponsors to make publicly available online three machine-readable data files with health care pricing...more
Summary: For Health Plans, Machine-Readable Files, containing in-network provider charges and out-of-network allowed amounts and billed charges, must be posted on a public website by July 1, 2022....more
The effective date is fast approaching for certain provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (“CAA”) and related regulations, and the Transparency in Coverage Rule. You can access previous articles written...more
The old adage “you can’t get where you’re going unless you know where you are” has never seemed more true than when applied to the current mélange of healthcare transparency guidance. Fortunately, a fading relic from...more
Group health plan sponsors soon will face daunting new disclosure and transparency requirements under multiple laws including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the No Surprises Act (the Act) and the Consolidated Appropriations...more
Health plans and issuers racing to implement overlapping price transparency and disclosure requirements in response to the Transparency in Coverage final rule (TiC Final Rule) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021...more
This week’s Update provides additional information (and perspectives) on Tripadvisor’s new subscription program (Tripadvisor Plus), parity updates from South Korea and the latest on Fareportal’s antitrust claims against...more
The myriad health and welfare plan requirements in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 include those for a group or individual health plan to maintain a cost comparison tool and an accurate and up-to-date network...more
While price gouging is often discussed in the context of existing products, new products and services may be covered as well. As a result, businesses looking to introduce new products during a price gouging emergency can seek...more
This week’s Update contains a number of stories on the growing significance of metasearch, particularly as properties compete for the attention of even fewer travelers. However, we begin this week’s Update with a story on...more
This week’s Update features a number of stories on growing online travel platforms – including the launch of an entirely new travel application and the possible resurrection of an old familiar travel application....more
On July 29, 2019, Chancellor Andre G. Bouchard of the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed a stockholder derivative action asserting breaches of fiduciary duty claims against the directors of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. for...more
The e-commerce sector inquiry and inconsistent national case law and enforcement practice have illustrated the need for clarifications and/or reform regarding e-commerce restrictions. Even after the ECJ's Coty judgment, a...more