Consumers' Research asked the U.S. Supreme Court to grant its cert petition challenging the FCC's method for determining the USF quarterly contribution factor, saying the case presents "an excellent vehicle for addressing the contours of nondelegation whose abuses highlight the dangers of delegated and politically unaccountable power." Docketed Friday (docket 23-743), the petition asked the court to review a Dec. 14 decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the Q4 2022 contribution factor (see 2312140058). Responses to the new petition are due Feb. 8.

The personally identifiable information (PII) of more than 1.3 million individuals was compromised due to a “critical flaw” in Citrix’s NetScaler software, alleged a class action Monday (docket 0:24-cv-60048) in U.S. District Court for Southern Florida in Fort Lauderdale. The suit names Citrix, its customer LoanCare and LoanCare parent company Fidelity National Financial (FNF).

NetChoice hailed Tuesday’s decision in Columbus, Ohio, granting its motion for a temporary restraining order to block Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) from enforcing the state’s Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act when it takes effect Jan. 15 (see 2401050055).

Eleven consumers sued HP Friday over the company’s requirement that customers of certain of its printers use only HP-branded replacement ink cartridges, said an 80-count antitrust and consumer fraud class action (docket 1:24-cv-00164) in U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois in Chicago. HP required consumers who had bought its printers to use its cartridges, rather than buy ones from competitors, through firmware updates it distributed electronically to all registered owners of certain printers in late 2022 and early 2023, said the complaint. The firmware update “effectively disabled the printer if the user installed a replacement ink cartridge that was not HP-branded,” it said. During the same period, HP raised prices on its print cartridges, the complaint said, and “in effect,” created a “monopoly in the aftermarket for replacement cartridges, permitting it to raise prices without fear of being undercut by competitors.” A full HP-branded replacement ink cartridge set can cost $100 for many models, while competitors’ cartridges “may cost half as much,” it said. Among plaintiffs’ 80 claims are unjust enrichment and violations of numerous state consumer protection laws, the Sherman Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the complaint said. They seek an injunction requiring HP to disable the firmware updates that precluded the use of non-HP-branded replacement ink cartridges; compensatory, statutory and punitive damages; prejudgment interest; and attorneys’ fees and legal costs, it said.

Congressional backers of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-3413/S-1669) are eyeing alternate routes to have it pass this year amid continued obstacles that stymied the measure in both chambers in 2023. The legislation would require a Transportation Department mandate for inclusion of AM radio technology in future vehicles. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, failed to get unanimous consent approval of S-1669 in December (see 2312060073) amid opposition from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. Senate Commerce advanced the measure in July (see 2307270063).

U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke for Southern New York denied the petition of former Amazon third-party seller Jiakeshu Technology to vacate an arbitration award in Amazon’s favor and granted Amazon’s cross-motion to confirm that award, said Clarke’s signed opinion and order Wednesday (docket 1:22-cv-10119). In light of Clarke's ruling, a clerk's judgment Wednesday decreed that the case is closed.

U.S. solar cell maker Auxin Solar and solar module designer Concept Clean Energy launched a lawsuit at the Court of International Trade on Dec. 29 to contest the Commerce Department's pause of antidumping and countervailing duties on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules from Southeast Asian found to be circumventing the AD/CVD orders on these products from China (Auxin Solar v. U.S., CIT # 23-00274).

U.S. solar cell maker Auxin Solar and solar module designer Concept Clean Energy launched a lawsuit at the Court of International Trade on Dec. 29 to contest the Commerce Department's pause of antidumping and countervailing duties on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules from Southeast Asian found to be circumventing the AD/CVD orders on these products from China (Auxin Solar v. U.S., CIT # 23-00274).

The district court’s decision in Hachette vs. Internet Archive, in favor of four publisher plaintiffs, “paints with far too broad a brush,” said a Dec. 22 corrected amicus brief (docket 23-1260) from HathiTrust, filed Thursday before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Appeals Court.

The Commerce Department clarified this week that companies can’t use Chips Act funding to invest in certain new semiconductor facilities in China and other countries of concern, saying some companies may have thought the rules blocked only certain investments in existing facilities.