On Thursday, March 27, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division announced the launch of a new Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force to identify and eliminate anticompetitive state and federal laws and...more
More than four years after an industry trade association first filed its challenge to a November 2020 ballot initiative in Massachusetts, a federal judge issued an order in Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Campbell...more
2/12/2025
/ Automotive Industry ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Manufacturers ,
Motor Vehicles ,
OEM ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Right-To-Access ,
Telematics ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On Friday, January 31, 2025, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (“Auto Innovators”), a trade association representing manufacturers in the auto industry, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Maine seeking to enjoin...more
2/4/2025
/ Automotive Industry ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Motor Vehicles ,
OEM ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Right to Repair ,
State Attorneys General ,
Telematics
OEMs may finally get some clarity in the next couple of months about their obligations under Massachusetts and Maine right to repair laws requiring them to provide owners and independent repair facilities access to mechanical...more
1/10/2025
/ Automotive Industry ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Manufacturers ,
Motor Vehicles ,
New Legislation ,
NHTSA ,
Right to Repair ,
State Attorneys General ,
Telematics
On Thursday, December 19, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Illinois Attorney General announced a massive $20 million settlement with Leader Automotive Group, the operator of 10 dealerships in and around...more
12/24/2024
/ Automotive Industry ,
Car Dealerships ,
CARS Rule ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Section 5 ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Automotive Right to Repair Working Group convened by the Maine Attorney General will review proposed legislation that would substantially amend provisions of the Maine Right to Repair Law concerning access to mechanical...more
On Tuesday, November 26, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released a staff report examining the duration of software support commitments by manufacturers of 184 connected devices, ranging from “smart” phones to...more
12/5/2024
/ Automotive Industry ,
Connected Items ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Information Technology ,
Innovative Technology ,
Magnuson-Moss Act ,
Motor Vehicles ,
OEM ,
Section 5 ,
Smart Devices ,
Telematics ,
Warranties
On Wednesday, October 23, 2024, FCA US LLC, the manufacturer of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram vehicles, among others, put the final nail in the coffin of claims by consumers that “destination charges” for the delivery of...more
10/28/2024
/ Actual Delivery ,
Automotive Industry ,
Car Dealerships ,
Consumer Fraud ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Fees ,
Manufacturers ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Motor Vehicles ,
OEM ,
Putative Class Actions
On October 4, 2024, Asbury Automotive Group, a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest automobile dealer groups in the United States, sued the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enjoin as unconstitutional the FTC’s...more
10/15/2024
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Article III ,
Automotive Industry ,
Car Dealerships ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Due Diligence ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Jury Trial ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Seventh Amendment ,
Standing
The Maine Attorney General’s Office recently announced that it has convened an 11-person working group of industry stakeholders to develop recommendations for legislation to establish an entity with rulemaking and enforcement...more
The administrative challenge brought by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) and another trade association against the Combating Auto Retail Scams (“CARS”) Trade Regulation Rule, issued last year by the Federal...more
8/22/2024
/ Automotive Industry ,
Automotive Loans ,
Car Dealerships ,
CARS Rule ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On Thursday, August 15, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Arizona Attorney General announced a $2.6 million settlement to resolve claims that Coulter Motor Company used deceptive online advertising to lure...more
8/20/2024
/ Automotive Industry ,
Automotive Loans ,
Car Dealerships ,
CARS Rule ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Consumer Fraud ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
A federal court in Wisconsin recently granted a motion to dismiss all claims in a putative multi-district class action against motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson, asserting claims that the OEM’s warranty violated the...more
Trade associations representing independent repair facilities have become strong advocates for expanding right to repair laws to increase member access to vehicle telematics data. These efforts have created uncertainty for...more
On Friday, December 22, 2023, FCA US LLC, the manufacturer of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram vehicles, among others, scored the latest in a series of victories for automakers over claims by consumers that “destination charges”...more
1/8/2024
/ Actual Delivery ,
Automotive Industry ,
Car Dealerships ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Manufacturers ,
Motor Vehicles ,
OEM ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Retail Market ,
Service Charges ,
Supply Chain
After more than a year of review, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on December 12, 2023 launched its much-anticipated final rule targeting misleading advertising and sales tactics by new car dealers. First proposed in the...more
12/14/2023
/ Advertising ,
Auto Lease ,
Automotive Industry ,
Car Dealerships ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hidden Fees ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retail Sales
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade association representing U.S. automakers and other manufacturers, announced on July 11, 2023 that it had entered into an agreement with trade associations representing...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently joined a majority of other courts in holding that the Graves Amendment, 49 U.S.C. § 30106 – which generally protects rental car companies from being held vicariously...more
In a June 13, 2023 filing in the Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Campbell case pending in Massachusetts federal court, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave notice that it had sent a letter to...more
On June 1, 2023, the Massachusetts Attorney General published the Massachusetts Vehicle Telematics System Notice that new car dealers in Massachusetts must now provide to purchasers of model year 2022 or later vehicles if...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continues to focus on the automotive and related industries, with the FTC announcing on March 24, 2023 that it had entered into an agreement settling claims against operators of a...more
Newly-elected Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell gave notice this week that effective June 1, 2023 her office intends to begin enforcing amendments to the state’s Right to Repair Law. The amendments,...more
The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a putative consumer class action challenging a manufacturer’s “destination charge” as an undisclosed and deceptive “vessel for profit” in violation of California and New...more
In a January 11, 2023 op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, President Joe Biden urged “Democrats and Republicans to come together to pass strong bipartisan legislation to hold Big Tech accountable.” He warned that the...more
1/24/2023
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Automotive Industry ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Data Collection ,
Data Management ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received dozens of submissions from dealer trade associations, other industry participants, and members of Congress opposing the FTC’s proposed rules for dealers in connection with the...more