Ryan Mrazik

Firm/Organization: Perkins Coie LLP
Blogs: Consumer Protection Review, White Collar Briefly, Virtual Currency Report

Latest Articles

bad review
You see it and your heart sinks: a one-star review with negative feedback for your business on an online review site. You think it’s unlawful and want it taken down. What do you do? The California Supreme Court recently considered a case showing what not to do. In Hassell v. Bird, Ava Bird left one-star reviews for her lawyer, Dawn Hassell, on Yelp. Ms. Hassell wanted the reviews taken down so she sued Ms.…
Cy pres remedies … are a growing feature of class action settlements. … In a suitable case, this Court may need to clarify the limits of the use of such remedies.” Marek v. Lane, 134 S. Ct. 8, 9 (2013) (Roberts, C.J., respecting denial of certiorari). In Marek, the U.S. Supreme Court denied cert in a case questioning the propriety of a cy pres award in a class action settlement. But Chief Justice Roberts suggested…
Since 2010, the SEC has abided by the Sixth Circuit’s decision in United States v. Warshak, and has not subpoenaed emails of an individual from third party service providers.   That changed, however, when the SEC decided to test the law by filing a recent action against Yahoo to force compliance with a subpoena for the emails of an individual. In Warshak, the court held that the use of something less than a warrant, such…
In a press release this week, the Royal Bank of India (RBI) echoed recent comments from European regulators about the risks associated with virtual currencies and also said it is “presently examining the issues associated with the usage, holding and trading or [virtual currencies] under the extant legal and regulatory framework of the country,” suggesting that the press release is not the last word on this issue from the RBI.…
With this weeks’ news out of Denmark, European regulators continue to clarify their positions on Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Two themes are emerging. First, regulators are warning consumers to proceed with caution, given the perceived risks posed by virtual currencies. Second, at least three European countries have now said that virtual currency does not fall within the regulatory definition of currency or money, and that it is instead an asset, meaning that gains from…