Insights

On July 8, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Rule Concerning Subscriptions and Other Negative Option Plans, commonly known as the “Click-to-Cancel” rule. As detailed in a previous client alert, the rule was intended to regulate negative option plans[1]— such as subscriptions and automatic renewals — by imposing stringent requirements on businesses, including streamlined cancellation processes and enhanced disclosure obligations. The Eighth Circuit vacated the Click-to-Cancel rule because it found that the FTC had failed to comply with mandatory procedural requirements. As a result, the rule is no longer in effect, and businesses are not currently subject to its mandates.

On January 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division (Division) and U.S. Postal Service announced the first-ever payment under the antitrust whistleblower rewards program, awarding $1 million to an individual whose information led to a $3.28 million fine as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with EBLOCK Corporation, an online auction platform for used vehicles.

In GuideOne National Insurance Co. v. Systems 2000 Plumbing Service, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York addressed whether excess insurer GuideOne was required to provide coverage under a “follow form” excess policy based on mutual mistake or illusory coverage principles. The insured, Systems 2000, is a plumbing contractor that worked exclusively in residential apartment buildings. It held a $2 million primary general liability insurance policy with Travelers and a $4 million excess insurance policy with GuideOne, both of which were effective March 15, 2021. Eight days later, there was a fire in a Manhattan apartment building where Systems 2000 had been performing work. Systems 2000 made timely claims under both policies for coverage related to the fire.

On January 26, 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) circulated the Calendar Year (CY) 2027 Advance Notice to communicate proposed changes to Medicare Advantage (MA) capitation rates and Parts C and D payment policies.  The changes are expected to be finalized in April 2026 but may be delayed. The following is a summary of the most significant proposals, with further details below:

Seeking to protect their investments in the face of increased liability management exercises, lenders began signing “cooperation agreements,” which required the lenders to cooperate when negotiating to restructure existing debt or provide new debt to their shared borrower. These cooperation agreements protect lenders from “creditor-on-creditor violence” — when one lender (or a subset of lenders) renegotiates with a borrower to the benefit of the negotiating lender and the detriment of the others.

On January 13, 2026, Miami-based pharmaceutical wholesaler Atlantic Biologicals Corporation entered into a two-year DPA, admitting to conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances, including more than 14 million opioid doses to “pill mill” pharmacies in Texas at a markup. The DOJ and DEA underscored the company’s deliberate evasion of compliance checks and disregard for red flags signaling diversion.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced its annual updates to the thresholds and filing fees related to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the HSR Act). These dollar thresholds are indexed annually based on changes in the U.S. gross national product and the Consumer Price Index.

On January 8, 2026, the Trump Administration announced the creation of a new Division for National Fraud Enforcement within the Department of Justice (DOJ). The division will be led by a newly appointed Assistant Attorney General (AAG), pending Senate confirmation, who will report directly to both the President and Vice President and operate out of the White House. Such a reporting structure is unprecedented in the history of the DOJ.

On January 5, 2026, District of Colorado Magistrate Judge Cyrus Chung issued a recommendation that the district court grant a motion to quash a Department of Justice (DOJ) administrative subpoena that sought records about the provision of gender-related care by Children’s Hospital Colorado (Children’s) in In re: Department of Justice Administrative Subpoena No. 25-1431-030, U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, No. 1:25-mc-00063. The court concluded that the DOJ had failed to carry its “light” burden, noting that no other courts that had considered the more than 20 similar subpoenas issued by DOJ had ruled in the DOJ’s favor.  

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve and integrate into various aspects of legal practice, counsel and arbitral tribunals drawing up their Terms of Reference (TOR) establishing the terms of the dispute being referred to arbitration and also formulating their procedural orders should consider the implications of AI. This client alert highlights the importance of addressing AI in TOR negotiations and provides an overview of likely topics international arbitration practitioners can expect to treat in TORs and procedural orders.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed into law the most significant update to New York’s consumer protection law in 45 years — the Fostering Affordability and Integrity through Reasonable Business Practices Act, or FAIR Business Practices Act — expanding the scope of the state’s authority to now challenge unfair and abusive business practices. The measure, backed by New York Attorney General (“AG”) Letitia James and signed on December 19, 2025, amends New York’s General Business Law § 349, giving regulators new tools to protect consumers and promote fair marketplace practices.

On January 1, 2026 (“Effective Date”), the New York LLC Transparency Act ("New York Act”) is scheduled to take effect, introducing new disclosure requirements for limited liability companies (“LLCs”) formed or registered to do business in New York State.  The New York Act is expected to impose the type of broad beneficial ownership requirements the federal CTA and rules implementing it was designed to require, before the federal government’s decision to limit the scope of the CTA’s beneficial ownership reporting requirements to foreign companies and foreign beneficial owners.

Utah Attorney General Derek Brown (R) and North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson (D) have announced a nationwide bipartisan “AI Task Force,” in partnership with major AI developers (including OpenAI and Microsoft) and the Attorney General Alliance (AGA), a bipartisan nonprofit that serves as a forum for attorneys general around the United States to discuss and collaborate on policy and enforcement initiatives.

President Trump is preparing to sign an Executive Order that would seek to forestall state regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) by threatening federal lawsuits and the withholding of some federal funds. The draft, unsigned six-page Executive Order, “Eliminating State Law Obstruction of National AI Policy” (EO), the text of which has been circulating publicly since November 19, would declare it the policy of the Administration “to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance through a minimally burdensome, uniform national policy framework for AI.”

A decision in May from the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has extended the long-standing and well-publicized dispute over inventorship of use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology in eukaryotic cells. When final resolution comes, it will have important implications for users of this technology. Companies currently licensing CRISPR-Cas9 from one of the two groups claiming ownership rights to the fundamental patents covering this technology and those considering licenses or investment in users of the technology should review existing or proposed licenses to better prepare for the potential outcomes of the dispute.

On November 12, 2025, the Tax Court issued a reviewed opinion in Patel v. Commissioner holding in favor of the IRS that the taxpayers’ transaction lacked economic substance, and therefore the taxpayers were liable for penalties under the codified economic substance doctrine at the increased penalty rate, as well as accuracy-related penalties. The Court previously held in a separate opinion that the taxpayers’ purported captive transactions did not constitute insurance because they failed to distribute risk, and in the alternative, that the micro-captives did not act as an insurer commonly would. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs laid out their enforcement priorities during the 2025 ANA Masters of Advertising Law Conference, at which Crowell & Moring attorneys spoke on and attended various panels.

In recent months the executive branch has indicated a willingness to assert control over intellectual property funded by federal research dollars in novel ways. This could potentially include leveraging its march-in rights under the Bayh-Dole Act.

This news bulletin is provided by the International Trade Group of Crowell & Moring. If you have questions or need assistance on trade law matters, please contact Anand Sithian or Simeon Yerokun or any member of the International Trade Group.

On October 29, 2025, the attorneys general of Florida, Texas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Montana (the “State AGs”) jointly issued letters to three sustainability groups asserting that their plastics recycling initiatives may violate state and federal antitrust and consumer protection laws.