Media

Cause of Action in the News:

SC Magazine – FTC to appeal LabMD dismissal ruling

The Federal Trade Commission has decided to appeal Chief Administrative Law Judge Michael Chappel’s ruling to dismiss the case against LabMD.  Cause of Action Executive Director Dan Epstein responded to the appeal, saying “Every unbiased decision-maker who has reviewed this case, including the FTC’s own Chief Administrative Law Judge, the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight & Government Reform Committee, and a U.S. District Court Judge, has found FTC’s claims against LabMD to be baseless, and its conduct inexplicable and even an ’embarrassment.’”

Politico – For their second act, Keystone killers tackle Exxon

Together with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Cause of Action has filed a complaint with the IRS against the Institute of Global Environment and Society.  The founder of IGES was one of the first to demand that those opposed to his point of view be charged with federal racketeering. Our complaint charges the founder, Jadagish Shukla, of using government given funds for personal gain. The institute is currently being investigated by the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith.

Daily Caller – Congress To Protect Worst Bureaucratic Outrage You’ve Never Heard About

The Email Privacy Act has gained steam in the House with bipartisan backing.  The act would protect internet providers from administrative subpoenas, which don’t require a judge’s approval before they are acted upon.  Cause of Action Executive Director Dan Epstein said that “Administrative subpoenas – which are compulsory requests for information – issued by an unelected bureaucrat – not a judge or jury – and which forces individuals and businesses to provide information that will be used against them in a civil enforcement or criminal referral action – are one of the greatest threats to American liberty today, largely because there has been no judicial or legislative attempt to limit their scope or power.”

In Other News:

Washington Examiner – State Dept. to overhaul email system to prevent Clinton repeat

In an attempt to prevent another Hillary Clinton email scandal the State Department has sent out a request for information on a new email management system to be put into place by the end of next year.  They are looking for a new system that will keep work and personal emails separate automatically.  It will also automatically save all official emails.  A federal watchdog determined that of the over 1 billion emails sent fewer than 65,000 were printed and saved.

Forbes – EPA Wants To Water Down Gasoline Supply With More Ethanol

The Environmental Protection Agency has decided to increase the amount of ethanol added to gasoline.  This decision comes with bipartisan opposition consisting of “environmentalists, oil companies, legislators (Republican and Democrat) and various industry groups who collectively want the RFS standard eliminated.”  The National Council of Chain Restaurants says that this new mandate will raise the price of food $3.2 billion a year.

Money Morning – What Happened to Government Transparency? All We See Is Illegal Stonewalling

Over the past five years, at least 20 inspectors general investigations have been obstructed in an affront to transparency. To make matters worse, the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel in July determined that the intended reading of “all records” does not in fact include “all records.”  Instead, a record deemed to contain “confidential” information can now be retained from the IG’s scope of investigation by the agency.  A New York University professor says that inspectors general have become “defanged” and that “[t]his is by far the most aggressive assault on the inspector general concept since the beginning.”

Cause of Action in the News:

Wall Street Journal – Hounded Out of Business by Regulators (The company LabMD finally won its six-year battle with the FTC, but vindication came too late.)

Cause of Action Executive Director Dan Epstein writes about LabMD’s six-year fight against the Federal Trade Commission. As he notes, “[s]ometimes winning is still losing,” and though we ultimately won, LabMD was forced to close in 2014 due to the “reputational damage and expense of a six-year federal investigation.”  Mr. Epstein points out, “winning against the federal government should never require losing so much.”

Law360 – FTC Loses LabMD Data Security Suit

Cause of Action has won a major victory over the Federal Trade Commission, handing out their first loss in a cybersecurity case. Cause of Action Executive Director Dan Epstein praised the ruling, saying “[t]his ruling confirms what our client, LabMD, has said all along, which is that the Federal Trade Commission’s case is meritless.”  Further, it “puts return address on bureaucratic abuses of power, and proves that sometimes the good guys win.”

National Review – Opening Brief Filed in Moonlight Fire Appeal

Cause of Action has filed an amicus brief in United States v. Sierra Pacific Industries, Inc., better known as the “Moonlight Fire” case.  The court had decided that the government only has a responsibility to find the truth and reveal the facts in criminal cases, not in civil cases, even when over $1 billion in fines and threats of financial ruin are on the line.  Cause of Action’s brief discusses how the government should always speak the truth, present all evidence (even evidence in favor of the defendant), and avoid financial bias.

Daily Caller – EXCLUSIVE: Top Hillary Aide Failed To Comply With State Dept ‘Separation Agreement’

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s top aide Huma Abedin may have set herself up for a lawsuit.  A “separation agreement” form was signed by Ms. Abedin, meaning that she should have turned over all work related documents after leaving the State Department. Instead, Ms. Abedin failed to turn over any documents and retained them on Mrs. Clinton’s private email server for over two years.

In Other News:

Fox News – Dem senator says EPA power plant regs based on failed Canadian project

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has spoken out against the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan.  He says forcing manufacturing plants that use coal to use an unproven technology to meet the high standards of the Clean Power Plan makes “no sense.”  Sen. Manchin said  “We’ve based our plans on what we should be doing in America to provide the energy people depend upon on a failed operation in Canada, and it’ll be another year or two years before they prove whether it can be done or not.”

NY Post – Hillary is ‘often confused,’ says trusted aide Huma in fresh emails

The latest batch of released Hillary Clinton emails reveal that top aide Huma Abedin made sure to let State Department staff know that Mrs. Clinton was “often confused” about her schedule.  In an email to another staffer, Mrs. Abedin emphasized that the staffer should go over the schedule with the former Secretary of State, saying “Very imp to do that. She’s often confused.”

Wall Street Journal Op-Ed: “LabMD finally won its six-year battle with the FTC, but vindication came too late.”

Sometimes winning is still losing. That is certainly true for companies that find themselves caught in the cross hairs of the federal government. Since 2013, my organization has defended one such company, the cancer-screening LabMD, against meritless allegations from the Federal Trade Commission. Last Friday, the FTC’s chief administrative-law judge dismissed the agency’s complaint. But it was too late. The reputational damage and expense of a six-year federal investigation forced LabMD to close last year.

While the Atlanta-based company was in business, its work required securely storing personal-health data and medical records in compliance with Health and Human Services Department regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, often known as HIPAA.

So it was alarming when, in May 2008, LabMD was contacted by Tiversa, a company that describes itself as a “world leader in P2P cyberintelligence,” alleging that it had found on the Internet a LabMD insurance-agent file containing the names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of about 9,000 patients. Oddly, Tiversa wouldn’t disclose where or how it discovered the file. But the company demanded a fee of $40,000 to mitigate the situation.

After leading its own thorough review that turned up no sign that any patient information had been exposed online, LabMD refused to pay. Little did it know that this would lead to a yearslong fight with the federal government that would bring down the company.

Continue reading the full story on WSJ.com

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