Food & Beverage

  • December 16, 2024

    Conn. Utility Says PFAS Class Claims Belong With Regulators

    Most of the claims in a proposed class action against a Connecticut water company that allegedly failed to protect customers against "forever chemicals" cannot proceed because they needed to be heard first by state regulators, the utility argued in seeking to trim the complaint.

  • December 16, 2024

    NBA Star's Restaurant Blamed For Drunk-Driving Deaths

    A Houston restaurant owned by NBA star James Harden overserved alcohol to a man who got behind the wheel and killed himself and six other people, including a former NFL player, according to petitions filed in Texas state court.

  • December 16, 2024

    Albertsons Says Kroger 'Squandered' $25B Merger Bid

    The Kroger Co. Inc. "willfully squandered" opportunities to complete a now-blocked $24.6 billion mega-merger with Albertsons Cos. Inc., according to an unsealed five-count lawsuit in Delaware's Court of Chancery potentially seeking billions in damages.

  • December 16, 2024

    Ecuador Banana Co. Prez Ordered To Jail Over $6.9M Award

    A Miami federal judge issued an arrest order for the president of an Ecuadorian banana company that ignored court orders to turn over financial information at the request of Chiquita Brands International, which is trying to enforce a $6.9 million arbitration award.

  • December 13, 2024

    Delivery Driver Earned Too Much To Sue Under Fed. Wage Law

    A delivery worker can't advance his suit claiming a Papa John's franchise violated the Fair Labor Standards act by inadequately paying for on-the-job expenses and vehicle wear and tear, with a Colorado federal judge ruling the worker lacked standing because his pay still topped the federal minimum wage.

  • December 13, 2024

    Publix Dodges Punitive Damages Claim In Store Injury Suit

    A Florida appeals court on Friday tossed a punitive damages claim in a suit accusing Publix of causing a vendor worker's injuries when a display full of soda cases fell over, saying such a claim requires sufficient allegations of gross negligence.

  • December 13, 2024

    NC Justices Topple Insurer Victory In COVID Coverage Battle

    The North Carolina Supreme Court handed policyholders a rare win Friday in their bid to get property insurance coverage for their pandemic-related business interruption losses, unanimously finding that the insuring phrase "direct physical loss" included the loss of use of property due to COVID-19 public health orders.

  • December 13, 2024

    'Copycat' Nantucket Wine Event Ordered To Issue Retraction

    A Massachusetts liquor distributor was ordered Friday by a federal judge to post a bold-type correction and issue press releases retracting claims that it had acquired and "re-branded" a long-running Nantucket wine and food festival.

  • December 13, 2024

    GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

    Albertsons and its general counsel claim Kroger did not try hard enough to keep their proposed merger from being blocked by the courts, and a new survey says tight budgets are forcing in-house counsel to increasingly turn to artificial intelligence tools for help.

  • December 13, 2024

    Menendez, 2 Co-Defendants Lose Bids For New Bribery Trial

    A Manhattan federal judge on Friday rejected bids by former Sen. Bob Menendez and two co-defendants for a new trial, ruling there is no manifest injustice after the ex-senator argued the government failed to offer any evidence of how he used his office's power to benefit any of the alleged bribe givers.

  • December 12, 2024

    'Housewives' Figure Touts Social Media Posts In Leniency Bid

    Former "Real Housewives of Atlanta" cast member Peter Anthony Thomas asked a North Carolina federal judge on Thursday to give him a prison sentence below federal guidelines for not paying $2.5 million in employment taxes, stating he has used his public platform to encourage his followers to pay their own taxes.

  • December 12, 2024

    9th Circ. Ruling Could Tank Gerber Baby Food False Ad Suit

    A California federal judge weighing whether to toss a Bay Area mother's proposed class action accusing Gerber of deceptively claiming health benefits on its labeling for pureed baby and toddler food pouch products said Thursday that a recent Ninth Circuit decision in a similar case against Sprout Foods might doom the fraud claims against Gerber.

  • December 12, 2024

    Coke Zero Sweetener Co. Asks Justices To Hear Patent Feud

    The company that developed the artificial sweetener used in Coke Zero wants to keep patents that were filed at the patent office after the drinks went on sale, telling the U.S. Supreme Court that Federal Circuit judges who thought otherwise were prioritizing their "own decisions over Congress's judgment."

  • December 12, 2024

    Koch Foods Demands $178K For 'Burdensome' Subpoena

    Koch Foods has become the latest nonparty to an antitrust fight between Tyson Foods and a poultry rendering company to try to recover a six-figure legal bill from the latter company, after Koch said it was forced to comply with a "broad and ambiguous subpoena" for its communications with Tyson.

  • December 12, 2024

    Restaurants Latest To Accuse Potato Cartel Of Price-Fixing

    A group of restaurants on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in Illinois federal court accusing the four largest potato processors of forming a cartel to fix the prices of French fries, tater tots and other frozen potato products, about a month after consumers brought the first such litigation.

  • December 12, 2024

    Biden Steel-Deal Block, Walgreens For Sale, And More Rumors

    President Biden is reportedly ready to block the U.S. Steel-Nippon merger on national security grounds, pharmacy giant Walgreens is exploring selling itself to private equity firm Sycamore, and cryptocurrency-related trading platform EToro is preparing an initial public offering.

  • December 12, 2024

    JPML Won't Send Infant Formula Suit Back To State Court

    The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has declined to remand a suit to California state court in an MDL over allegations that the Similac and Enfamil formulas for preterm babies have a higher propensity to cause necrotizing enterocolitis, rejecting the argument by plaintiffs that jurisdiction is lacking.

  • December 12, 2024

    Sam Adams Maker Using 'Draconian' Noncompete, Court Told

    A former Boston Beer Co. sales worker told a Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday that the Sam Adams brewer is aggressively enforcing noncompete agreements that don't comply with state law.

  • December 12, 2024

    Lemonade Vendor Drops Suit Against Brewers Affiliate

    A lemonade and nuts vendor dropped its lawsuit against a minor league affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers in Mississippi federal court that alleged the team caved in to pressure from the Coca-Cola Co. and abruptly terminated an agreement that allowed the merchant to sell its items at home games.

  • December 12, 2024

    Farmers Market Wraps Up Ex-Worker's Harassment Suit

    An Atlanta-area Sprouts Farmers Market has struck a deal with an ex-employee who said she was fired for calling out a co-worker's offensive comments about her sexuality, according to a filing in Georgia federal court.

  • December 12, 2024

    Blackstone Buying Tokyo Mixed-Use Building For $2.6B

    Blackstone said Thursday it has agreed to acquire a 2.4 million-square-foot mixed-use office building in central Tokyo from affiliates of Japanese hotel and railway group Seibu Holdings for $2.6 billion, in what the private equity giant called the largest-ever real estate investment by a foreign investor in Japan.

  • December 12, 2024

    FTC Dusts Off Price Bias Law In Booze Distributor Suit

    The Federal Trade Commission sued Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits LLC in California federal court on Thursday, dusting off a long-dormant price discrimination law with allegations that the country's largest alcohol distributor offered dramatic and unjustified discounts to large retailers that left smaller stores in the lurch.

  • December 11, 2024

    Flo Rida's Trial Win Against Celsius Largely Upheld On Appeal

    A Florida state appellate court Wednesday largely affirmed rapper Flo Rida's $83.6 million trial win against Celsius Holdings Inc., reversing only on the beverage company's contention that the trial court should have measured stock valuation at an alleged breach of contract date instead of at the time of trial.

  • December 11, 2024

    Grocery Store Rulings Back Enforcers' Merger Approach

    Federal and state enforcers scored key victories Tuesday with a pair of court rulings blocking the planned $24.6 billion merger between Kroger and Albertsons that largely adopted their allegations about the deal and rejected a proposal to unload nearly 600 stores to save it.

  • December 11, 2024

    Texas Sues 3M And DuPont Over Forever Chemicals

    Texas launched a suit against 3M and DuPont for "misrepresentations and key omissions" the companies made about so-called forever chemicals, telling a state court on Wednesday that the companies lied to the public about the harmful chemicals for over 50 years.

Expert Analysis

  • A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates

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    Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.

  • Series

    After Chevron: USDA Rules May Be Up In The Air

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    The Supreme Court's end of Chevron deference may cause more lawsuits against U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations, like the one redefining "unfair trade practices" under the Packers and Stockyards Act, or a new policy classifying salmonella as an adulterant in certain poultry products, says Bob Hibbert at Wiley.

  • Opinion

    States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions

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    Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • Navigating The New Rise Of Greenwashing Litigation

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    As greenwashing lawsuits continue to gain momentum with a shift in focus to carbon-neutrality claims, businesses must exercise caution and ensure transparency in their environmental marketing practices, taking cues from recent legal challenges in the airline industry, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Constitutional Protections For Cannabis Companies Are Hazy

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    Cannabis businesses are subject to federal enforcement and tax, but often without the benefit of constitutional protections — and the entanglement of state and federal law and conflicting judicial opinions are creating confusion in the space, says Amber Lengacher at Purple Circle.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Anticipating Disputes In Small Biz Partnerships And LLCs

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    In light of persistently high failures of small business partnerships and limited liability companies, mediator Frank Burke discusses proactive strategies for protecting and defining business rights and responsibilities, as well as reactive measures for owners.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

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