Tag Archives: Consumer Protection

What do businesses need to know about proposed changes to UK competition and consumer laws?

By Ross Mackenzie, Marjorie Holmes, Emma Weeden and Vaibhav Adlakha on Posted in Antitrust Enforcement Agencies
On 20 July 2021 the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published a consultation, which proposes a number of potentially far-reaching changes to competition and consumer law and policy. The proposed reforms set out in the consultation, Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy: Driving growth and delivering competitive markets that work for consumers (the Consultation), … Continue Reading

Supreme Court decision weakens FTC’s enforcement authority

By Edward Schwartz, Gerard Stegmaier, John P. Feldman, Courtney E. Fisher and Danielle Stewart on Posted in Antitrust Enforcement Agencies, Consumer Protection
On April 22, 2021, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that § 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act does not permit the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to seek, or a court to award, equitable monetary relief (e.g., restitution or disgorgement). This decision denies the FTC one of its most important enforcement tools, one … Continue Reading

Recent cases highlight limitations in price-gouging enforcement

By John P. Feldman, Michelle A. Mantine, Toam Rubinstein and Danielle Stewart on Posted in Antitrust Compliance, Antitrust Enforcement Agencies, Consumer Protection, Government Investigations
Since the start of the global pandemic, state attorneys general continue to actively pursue price-gouging investigations against individuals and entities, but courts seem to be taking a different, more business-friendly approach. Recent case developments and law amendments highlight the fact that price-gouging laws are subject to limitations. Our team explores these issues in our latest … Continue Reading

A client resource guide to navigating global price gouging laws

By Max Seuster, Isabelle Rahman, Christian Filippitsch, Geert Goeteyn, Marc Lévy, Natasha Tardif, Lucile Chneiweiss, Dr. Corinna Kammerer, Tilman Siebert, Dr. Michaela Westrup, Dora Wang, Cindy Shen, Marjorie Holmes, Ross Mackenzie, Emma Weeden, Vaibhav Adlakha, Michelle A. Mantine, Jennifer Driscoll, Victoria Sanford and Danielle Stewart on Posted in Antitrust Enforcement Agencies, Consumer Protection
With reports of excessive pricing on the rise around the globe, it is critical that companies understand the price gouging rules and regulations and their enforcement in each country where they do business. Our team has compiled a global price gouging resource guide to help our clients navigate the differing approaches taken by governments and regulatory … Continue Reading

U.S. price gouging during COVID-19: A changing landscape

By Danielle Stewart, Michelle A. Mantine and Jennifer Driscoll on Posted in Antitrust Compliance, Consumer Protection
Our U.S. team members recently joined Reed Smith’s Countering the Crisis podcast to provide an overview of the U.S. laws around price gouging in light of COVID-19. The episode addresses various ways to spot and report alleged price gouging, as well as ways to protect against price gouging claims. Our team also shares their thoughts … Continue Reading

What are the risks when increasing prices in times of COVID-19?

By Ross Mackenzie, Michelle A. Mantine, Dora Wang and Max Seuster on Posted in Antitrust Enforcement Agencies, Consumer Protection, Government Investigations
When COVID-19 swept the globe and disrupted the production and distribution of goods, it gave way to some companies taking advantage of consumers by significantly increasing prices.  As governments across the world have started taking action against unfair or excessive prices, we examine the global enforcement trends in this space and offer practical advice to … Continue Reading

CMA announces first investigations into COVID-19 price abuse

By Ross Mackenzie, Marjorie Holmes, Emma Weeden and Vaibhav Adlakha on Posted in Antitrust Enforcement Agencies
At a glance First formal action against price gouging in the UK Case will be a test of the fitness of the current legal framework to tackle price gouging Approach to establishing dominance and excessive pricing in the COVID-19 context will impact future enforcement in the UK and possibly in other jurisdictions Amongst the initial … Continue Reading

EU implements new regulation of trading practices; boosts transparency and fairness

By Tilman Siebert, Dr. Michaela Westrup and Dr. Corinna Kammerer on Posted in Consumer Protection
By way of an EU regulation adopted by the Council and European Parliament, the European Commission, European Parliament, and Council of the European Union reached an agreement on February 14, 2019 to implement new rules designed to ensure a fair, transparent and predictable business environment to both end consumers and entrepreneurs using third party online … Continue Reading

DOJ identifies potential antitrust risks associated with “no-poach” agreements

By Edward Schwartz, Michelle A. Mantine and Jennifer Thompson on Posted in Antitrust Enforcement Agencies, Consumer Protection
Recently, the DOJ has shined a spotlight on the potential antitrust risks associated with employers’ use of “no-poach” agreements, in which companies agree not to hire or solicit each other’s employees. Interestingly, in February of this year, the DOJ filed Statements of Interest in several civil antitrust cases brought against franchisors, taking the position that … Continue Reading

Groundbreaking cases shape UK collective actions

By Marjorie Holmes, Charles Hewetson, Kerri Bridges and Emily Daniels on Posted in Antitrust Litigation, Consumer Protection
This year marks four years since significant statutory reforms regenerated the UK’s collective actions arena. Following a rocky start to this new regime, it appears that 2019 may finally bring some clarity to potential claimants navigating the first hurdle of competition class actions: the Collective Proceedings Order application. In this client alert, our London Competition … Continue Reading

German FCO identifies potential consumer rights violations in recent investigation of comparison websites

By Tilman Siebert, Dr. Michaela Westrup and Dr. Corinna Kammerer on Posted in Cartel Enforcement, Consumer Protection
On 11 April 2019, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) released the final report on its sector inquiry into comparison websites. The FCO’s report identifies areas of concern in various industries, including energy, telecommunications, insurance, finance and travel, which are particularly relevant for consumers. The findings indicate that in some cases consumers are being misled, … Continue Reading
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