Insights

Washington – July 8, 2025: Crowell & Moring has secured summary judgment on behalf of longtime firm client CSX Transportation, Inc., prevailing in nearly 20 years of multi-district litigation known as In re Rail Freight Fuel Surcharge Antitrust Litigation. Crowell and three other leading firms representing prominent rail companies led a joint defense group in one of the longest-running and most complex antitrust litigations in U.S. history.

On December 17, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Illinois Attorney General (“AG”) announced a $140 million settlement with Grubhub to resolve charges involving an array of allegedly unlawful and deceptive business practices. Even though the FTC’s proposed final rule on junk fees (also announced on December 17, 2024) is limited to hotels, live events, and short-term rentals, this settlement demonstrates that the FTC will use its broad enforcement powers to pursue companies imposing junk fees online, and that both federal and state consumer protection regulators will formulate 2025 enforcement priorities with junk fees and click-to-cancel in mind. Indeed, this $140 million settlement, of which Grubhub will pay $25 million based on its demonstrated inability to pay the full amount, is the first of its kind in that it is a joint action by the FTC and state regulators to pursue both junk fees and click-to-cancel violations.