Consumer Protection: Bates White

Overview

The significance of consumer protection in the private and public spheres is growing. Litigation is on the rise in areas such as consumer fraud, consumer financial protection, false advertising, privacy, product liability, and claims brought under the False Claims Act. Plaintiffs are increasingly pursuing class suits as well.

Our work in consumer protection spans a wide array of issues and industries. We work on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, applying expertise in a variety of disciplines including economics, marketing, finance, statistics, government investigations and enforcement, and class certification. Companies and enforcement agencies rely on our analyses, advice, and other support during investigations and litigation. They also rely on our advice about compliance relating to numerous specific consumer protection laws and regulations; class action litigation; analysis and effects of marketing models, including multilevel models; monitoring of settlement agreements; quantification of damages or other monetary awards; and fair lending issues.

Bates White experts have experience with various consumer protection laws, including the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Federal Tort Claims Act, the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, the Poison Prevention Packaging Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the California Consumer Protection Act, California's Proposition 65, the Lanham Act, and the Equal Credit and Opportunity Act.

SELECTED WORK

On behalf of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), authored an expert report in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Navient Corporation and Navient Solutions, Inc. The CFPB alleged that Navient steered borrowers experiencing financial hardship into costly payment relief instead of more beneficial long-term options.
Provided testimony on behalf of LendingClub in Federal Trade Commission v. LendingClub Corporation, regarding the estimation of economic consumer harm (if any) stemming from LendingClub’s loan disclosures.
Assisted with Synchrony Financial’s response to a Notice and Opportunity to Respond and Advise letter from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau concerning allegations that retail sales employees misrepresented the terms of deferred interest promotions offered on store-branded credit cards issued by Synchrony.
In a complaint alleging that The Weather Channel (TWC) mobile app misled users by failing to provide transparent details about how TWC used their location data, on behalf of TWC, analyzed the response of app users to various events, as well as TWC's disclosures and changes to permission prompts related to the use and sharing of location data.
Bates White has extensive experience analyzing multilevel marketing businesses, with a focus on nutrition, supplement, and cosmetic firms using this direct selling model.
- Assisted AdvoCare in responding to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation into the company’s multilevel marketing model; submitted a white paper to the FTC.
- Provided expert analysis and testimony on behalf of Herbalife International of America in relation to an FTC investigation into its multilevel marketing model. Presented to the FTC and state Attorney General.
In a matter alleging deceptive and misleading practices related to a consumer medical device, provided written and deposition testimony on behalf of defendant Alere in the company’s opposition to class certification. Provided opinions on issues relating to data analytics and economic damages methodologies.
Assisted counsel for a class of dealers seeking damages from Volkswagen due to deceptive practices related to allegedly "Clean Diesel" engines installed in certain vehicles.
In a class action matter, assisted counsel in pursuing claims against Fiat Chrysler America and Bosch arising from deceptive practices related to “EcoDiesel” engines installed in some Dodge Ram and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles.
Provided written and deposition testimony on sampling and damages on behalf of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in DOJ v. Quicken Loans, a matter in which the DOJ alleged that Quicken encouraged an underwriting process that led to employees falsely certifying compliance with underwriting requirements to reap benefits from Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages.
Provided verification of eligibility requirements and statistical sampling strategy to assist the Settlement Administrator with its monitorship of Education Management Corporation’s (EDMC) implementation of a debt forgiveness program, with a stated goal to ensure as rigorously as reasonably possible that all students entitled to receive forgiveness of their EDMC debts actually received the forgiveness.
On behalf of defendant Living Essentials, provided written, deposition, and trial testimony in three cases regarding allegations of false advertising and estimating to what extent, if any, the airing of an advertisement affected sales of defendants’ products.
In a matter alleging deceptive labeling and marketing of a product, provided written and deposition testimony on behalf of defendant Rodan + Fields in the company’s opposition to class certification in two matters, one in federal court and one in a state court. Provided opinions on issues relating to data analytics and economic damages methodologies.