Food & Beverage

  • June 13, 2024

    Hemp Co. Sues SD Gov. Over New Cannabinoid Law

    A South Dakota hemp company on Thursday filed a federal lawsuit against the state's governor and attorney general over a new law due to take effect next month that would ban the processing of hemp derivatives into intoxicating products.

  • June 13, 2024

    Brewpub Reaches $115K Deal To Exit EEOC Retaliation Suit

    A restaurant and brewery agreed Thursday to pay $115,000 to resolve a lawsuit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing it of firing a Black cook for flagging verbal abuse of Black and Hispanic employees in the workplace, according to a filing in Georgia federal court.

  • June 13, 2024

    4th Circ. Revives Bacardi Fight Over Expired TM Renewal

    The Fourth Circuit on Thursday revived Bacardi's lawsuit challenging the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's decision to renew an expired trademark registration for Havana Club rum, finding such registration renewals can be reviewed by the courts.

  • June 13, 2024

    Tribes Fight BC's Consultation Policy On Aboriginal Rights

    Indigenous nations along British Columbia's U.S. border want a say in projects they claim will threaten the environment and their quality of life after the Canadian province announced plans earlier this year to develop a policy to clarify how tribes located outside the country are consulted on such endeavors.

  • June 13, 2024

    Starbucks Must Share Hot-Drink Training Info In Burn Suit

    Starbucks must turn over information on how it trains employees to handle hot drinks at drive-throughs and on recent complaints received in the Detroit area, a Michigan federal judge said Thursday after finding the information is relevant to a customer's suit alleging she was severely burned when a lid popped off her hot tea cup.

  • June 13, 2024

    Perdue Wants Copycat Wage Suit Tossed or Transferred

    Perdue Foods asked a Maryland federal judge Thursday to throw out or transfer to Georgia a chicken grower's suit alleging independent contractor misclassification, saying the claims are identical to another suit in that state the named plaintiff was involved with.

  • June 13, 2024

    Mass. High Court Approves Tipped Wage Ballot Measure

    Massachusetts' highest court on Thursday gave its blessing to a November ballot question asking voters to increase the state's minimum wage for tipped workers, finding that pairing the measure with a provision to allow tip pooling is part of an overall public policy goal to boost wages for all service industry employees.

  • June 13, 2024

    Brazilian Food Chain Co. SouthRock Files Ch. 15 In Texas

    SouthRock Capital Ltda., a Brazilian private equity company that operates international food service brands including Starbucks and TGI Friday, filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in Texas, blaming its insolvency on the COVID-19 pandemic and volatility in Brazil's economy.

  • June 13, 2024

    Supreme Court Tightens NLRB Injunction Test

    The U.S. Supreme Court made it tougher for the National Labor Relations Board to win injunctions against employers Thursday in a case involving Starbucks, directing courts to strictly apply a four-factor test when the board sues to stem alleged unfair labor practices.

  • June 12, 2024

    NFL Exec Denies League Fixed Sunday Ticket Price At Trial

    One of the NFL's top executives denied on the witness stand Wednesday in a California federal courtroom that the league dictated the cost of the DirecTV Sunday Ticket package, pushing back when an attorney for subscribers bringing multibillion-dollar antitrust claims suggested some internal emails are evidence the league fixed the price.

  • June 12, 2024

    Oil Cos. Ignore Precedent In Climate Change Row, Tribes Say

    Two Washington tribes seeking to remand their consolidated cases against several oil industry giants to state court say the defendants' arguments of complete preemption in their efforts to keep the climate change litigation in the federal circuit misconstrues precedent, including claims to vindicate aboriginal title.

  • June 12, 2024

    Something Fishy With Conagra's '100% Whole Fish,' Suit Says

    Customers alleged in Illinois federal court Tuesday that Conagra misled them by marketing its popular Van de Kamp's and Mrs. Paul's frozen fish products as "100% whole fish," despite artificially adding weight to those fish with an industrial filler and extra water.

  • June 12, 2024

    $18.8M Theft Coverage Suit Must Be Heard In State Court

    A Texas federal judge ruled that a lawsuit brought against an insurer over $18.8 million in theft and vandalism at a Georgia shopping center belongs in state court, refusing to create diversity by removing a plaintiff. 

  • June 12, 2024

    Conn. Eatery Owners Threatened To Kill Ex-Worker, DOL Says

    A Connecticut restaurant group and its leaders ordered workers to lie to federal investigators during a wage and hour probe and threatened to kill an ex-worker for helping the U.S. Department of Labor, the agency said in a complaint filed in federal court.

  • June 12, 2024

    Ex-Wendy's Worker Drops Suit Over Breast-Pumping Space

    A former Wendy's employee who accused the company and multiple related entities of failing to provide proper private space for workers to pump breast milk despite federal labor laws requiring them to do so has permanently dropped her claims from Ohio federal court.

  • June 12, 2024

    Massachusetts Pot Shop To Take Union Fight To 1st Circ.

    A Massachusetts cannabis retailer found to have engaged in union busting is appealing a district court order that directed it to bargain with a United Food and Commercial Workers local and to offer to rehire two fired union supporters.

  • June 12, 2024

    Magistrate Endorses Axing OT Suit But Allowing 2nd Chance

    A federal magistrate judge advised tossing an unpaid overtime lawsuit against a California cold storage company that specializes in packing agricultural goods, but said the worker should have an opportunity to flesh out their claims.

  • June 11, 2024

    NFL Sunday Ticket Monopoly Cost Fans $7B, Expert Testifies

    An economist testifying as an expert for the plaintiffs in a California federal trial over multibillion-dollar antitrust claims brought against the NFL by DirecTV Sunday Ticket subscribers said Tuesday that subscribers suffered over $7 billion in damages from DirecTV's alleged monopoly on the television package.

  • June 11, 2024

    Attys For Restaurant Software Investors Ring Up $2.25M Fee

    Attorneys representing investors in a suit against restaurant software company Olo Inc. will receive $2.25 million for brokering settlement of class action claims alleging the company touted an ill-fated partnership with sandwich chain Subway as an example of its success.

  • June 11, 2024

    DOL's H-2A Protections Rule Flouts Labor Law, GOP AGs Say

    The U.S. Department of Labor's final rule including protections for foreign farmworkers within the H-2A visa program doesn't comport with federal labor law, a group of Republican attorneys general claimed in Georgia federal court, saying the rule doesn't give the same rights to U.S. citizen workers.

  • June 11, 2024

    Granulated Sugar Price-Fixing Cases Centralized In Minn.

    A collection of price-fixing suits against some of the country's biggest refined sugar manufacturers is being consolidated in Minnesota federal court, with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation choosing the venue over federal courts in New York.

  • June 11, 2024

    Skechers Supplier Banned For Alleged Forced Labor Ties

    Federal authorities announced on Tuesday three new additions — including a shoemaker linked to the sneaker brand Skechers — to their blacklist of companies purportedly linked to systematic oppression of Uyghurs and other minority groups in China.

  • June 11, 2024

    Restaurant Owner Seeks $414K For Deductible Overpayment

    The owner of two Florida restaurants is seeking reimbursement of over $400,000, telling a federal district court Tuesday that it overpaid a claim deductible for damage stemming from Hurricane Ian after its insurer misapplied the appropriate endorsement.

  • June 11, 2024

    Charity Founder Charged With Embezzling $2.5M, Evading Tax

    The founder of a New York City charity embezzled $2.5 million in donations meant for low-income families and then failed to report the earnings to the Internal Revenue Service or pay tax on them, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday in New York federal court.

  • June 11, 2024

    Pepsi Bottling Partner Hit With Pollutant Lawsuit In Mass.

    A Massachusetts environmental advocacy group has followed through on plans to sue a bottler of Pepsi products over alleged violations of the Clean Water Act, but a lawyer for the Conservation Law Foundation says the organization is "optimistic" it will be able to resolve the issue.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: South Korea

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    Numerous ESG trends have materialized in South Korea in the past three years, with impacts ranging from greenwashing prevention and carbon neutrality measures to workplace harassment and board diversity initiatives, say Chang Wook Min and Hyun Chan Jung at Jipyong.

  • Employer Takeaways From 2nd Circ. Equal Pay Ruling

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    The Second Circuit 's recent decision in Eisenhauer v. Culinary Institute of America reversed a long-held understanding of the Equal Pay Act, ultimately making it easier for employers to defend against equal pay claims brought under federal law, but it is not a clear escape hatch for employers, say Thelma Akpan and Katelyn McCombs at Littler.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Rite Aid's Reasons For Ch. 11 Go Beyond Opioid Suits

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    Despite opioid-related lawsuits being the perceived reason that pushed Rite Aid into bankruptcy, the company's recent Chapter 11 filing reveals its tenuous position in the pharmaceutical retail market, and only time will tell whether bankruptcy will right-size the company, says Daniel Gielchinsky at DGIM Law.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • How Fla. Bankruptcy Ruling May Affect Equity Owners

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    A Florida bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Vital Pharmaceuticals — which rejected the Third Circuit’s Majestic Star decision that determined a bankrupt corporation’s flow-through status was not protected by the automatic stay — may significantly affect how equity owners can mitigate the impact of flow-through structures in bankruptcy, say Eric Behl-Remijan and Natasha Hwangpo at Ropes & Gray.

  • M&A Ruling Buoys Loss Calculation Method, R&W Insurance

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    The recent Southern District of New York decision in Taylor Precision Products v. Larimer affirms the use of EBITDA as a basis to quantify loss, highlighting the potential shortcomings of a traditional seller indemnity compared to representation and warranty insurance, say Mark Schwartz at Lockton, and William O’Neil and Gretchen Scavo at Winston & Strawn.

  • How Consumer Complaints Can Help Companies

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    As seen most recently in Zoom's terms of service controversy, consumer complaints — despite initially seeming troubling for companies — can offer businesses the opportunity to identify, tackle and resolve budding challenges before those challenges escalate into larger issues, say Meghan Stoppel and Hannah Cornett at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Opinion

    Life Sciences Regulators Must Write Cloud-Specific Guidance

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    As cloud services continue to revolutionize the life sciences industry's ability to conduct regulated activities, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulators should update their data management policies to clearly support and encourage use of cloud technology, say Nate Brown and Marlee Gallant at Akin.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

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    Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Analyzing The Legal Ripples Of The EPA's PFAS Regulation

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    As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency makes major moves on its pledge to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the developing body of PFAS regulation will lead to an increase in litigation, and personal injury and product liability claims, say attorneys at Gordon & Rees.

  • The Growing Need For FLSA Private Settlement Rule Clarity

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    A Pennsylvania district court's recent ruling in Walker v. Marathon Petroleum echoes an interesting and growing trend of jurists questioning the need for — and legality of — judicial approval of private Fair Labor Standards Act settlements, which provides more options for parties to efficiently resolve their claims, says Rachael Coe at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: The UK

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    Following Brexit, the U.K. has adopted a different approach to regulating environmental, social and governance factors from the European Union — an approach that focuses on climate disclosures by U.K.-regulated entities, while steering clear of the more ambitious objectives pursued by the EU, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Boeing Opinion Strikes Blow Against Overpayment Theory

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    The Fifth Circuit's decision in Earl v. Boeing Co. casts doubt on consumers' standing to bring claims of overpayment for products later revealed to have defects — and suggests that it's more likely that those products would have been removed from the market, driving up the price of alternatives, say attorneys at Bush Seyferth.

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