Food & Beverage

  • January 23, 2025

    Vape Maker Seeks Exit From Suit Over Delta-9 THC Levels

    An Illinois-based vape maker urged a federal judge to toss a lawsuit accusing it of fraudulently passing off illicit Delta-9 products as legal Delta-8 ones, saying the suit lacks fundamental details, such as which products were purchased and what laboratory tested them.

  • January 23, 2025

    Chinese, Thai And Vietnamese Paper Plates Hit With Duties

    The U.S. Department of Commerce will impose duties on paper plates from China, Vietnam and Thailand, finding those countries unfairly subsidized that product, giving them an unfair advantage in the U.S. market, according to a statement.

  • January 23, 2025

    Connecticut Lawmaker Files Cannabis Cafe Bill

    A Democratic Connecticut lawmaker on Wednesday introduced a bill to legalize Amsterdam-style cafes and restaurants where patrons can consume cannabis on-site.

  • January 23, 2025

    Walmart Strikes Deal To End Delivery Driver's Wage Suit

    Walmart reached a deal to resolve a former worker's lawsuit accusing the company of misclassifying its app-based delivery drivers as independent contractors and failing to provide them the guaranteed wages, breaks and benefits owed to employees, a filing in Washington federal court said.

  • January 23, 2025

    Turkey Buyers Get Classes Certified For Antitrust Claims

    An Illinois federal court certified two classes of buyers in a case accusing the country's largest turkey processors of working together to reduce supply and increase prices after refusing to exclude analysis from the buyers' experts.

  • January 23, 2025

    Starbucks Claims Ex-Exec Owes Company $830K

    Starbucks claimed in New Jersey federal court Wednesday that a former senior vice president has failed to pay back the pro rated portion of his $1 million signing bonus, saying the former employee owes $830,000.

  • January 23, 2025

    NY Federal Judge Urged To OK $149M Grain Exporter Award

    Corporate trustee services provider Madison Pacific Trust Ltd. asked a Manhattan federal judge to confirm a $149 million arbitration award that it won from the founders of a Ukrainian grain exporting conglomerate that allegedly failed to pay its debt.

  • January 23, 2025

    Trump's Pick To Lead EPA Advances In Senate

    President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cleared a Senate committee vote Thursday, setting up a vote in the full chamber for his confirmation.

  • January 22, 2025

    Kroger Faces EEOC Suit Over Cancer Disability Bias Claims

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Wednesday announced that it filed suit against The Kroger Co. in Georgia federal court for firing an employee who complained about alleged workplace discrimination stemming from a disability caused by breast cancer treatments.

  • January 22, 2025

    Wayne-Sanderson Flouting Wage-Fix Settlement, DOJ Says

    The Justice Department is accusing poultry giant Wayne-Sanderson Farms of shirking its obligations under a settlement resolving wage-suppression allegations, asking a Maryland federal court to put a freeze on any information sharing by the company through Agri Stats and to impose a multiyear extension on its 10-year consent decree.

  • January 22, 2025

    Campbell's Soup Store Racks Infringe Patents, Judge Says

    An Illinois federal judge found Wednesday that Campbell and grocery chains Kroger and Meijer directly infringed patents covering gravity-operated racks found in grocery aisles, but shot down the patent owner's bid for a win on the soup company's argument that the patents are invalid.

  • January 22, 2025

    8th Circ. Finds Monsanto PCB Case Can Stay In Federal Court

    The Eighth Circuit on Wednesday allowed General Electric Co. and others to keep in Missouri federal court a suit by Monsanto Co. seeking defense for suits against Monsanto over polychlorinated biphenyls, finding that the suit was removed to federal court on time.

  • January 22, 2025

    Wyden Urges National Standard For Hemp Regulation

    Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., rallied on Wednesday for his bill that would beef up regulation of products with hemp-derived cannabinoids in order to protect consumers, particularly children.

  • January 22, 2025

    Nationwide Unit Needn't Cover Self-Dealing Suit, Court Says

    A Nationwide unit doesn't owe coverage for a federal bankruptcy suit accusing two restaurateurs of engaging in self-dealing, a California federal court ruled, pointing to a policy exclusion barring coverage for wrongful acts that were noticed under a prior policy.

  • January 22, 2025

    Menendez Loses 2nd Bid For New Trial As Sentencing Nears

    A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday denied former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's latest motion for a new corruption trial a week before his sentencing, rejecting his claim that the jury could have been swayed by improperly redacted exhibits that were loaded onto a computer containing the evidence in the case.

  • January 22, 2025

    US, Vietnam Reach Deal To Settle Lengthy Fish Duty Dispute

    The U.S. and Vietnam have settled a dispute over American duties on Vietnam's frozen fish fillets that languished at the World Trade Organization for seven years, according to a WTO document circulated Tuesday.

  • January 21, 2025

    Stanley Tumbler Lead Contamination Suit Gets Shelved

    A Washington federal judge has tossed a proposed class action against the maker of the popular "Stanley" tumbler for selling it without disclosing that it contained lead, saying the claims failed due to overly vague allegations of harm, but allowed the consumers to revise their lawsuit.

  • January 21, 2025

    Mondelez Fights Candy-Flavored Energy Drink Label Claims

    Snack giant Mondelez and the company behind Ghost energy drinks argued Tuesday that they should not have to face a proposed class action claiming they illegally market candy-flavored Ghost drinks toward kids because the label wouldn't dupe reasonable consumers.

  • January 21, 2025

    Bacon Giant Smithfields Leads 3 IPOs Primed To Exceed $1B

    Bacon maker Smithfields Foods Inc. led a trio of companies unveiling price ranges for initial public offerings Tuesday that could raise $1.3 billion combined over the next week, with 10 law firms guiding the IPOs in various capacities.

  • January 21, 2025

    Stoel Rives Adds Tech, IP Partner From Stubbs Alderton

    Stoel Rives LLP has brought on the former chair of Stubbs Alderton & Markiles LLP's trademark and brand protection practice and its privacy and data security practice as a partner in Sacramento, California.

  • January 21, 2025

    Amazon Says New Ruling Can't Save Price-Gouging Suit

    Amazon is looking to end an updated proposed class action alleging price-gouging during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing the Washington Supreme Court's recent interpretation of a consumer protection law is not a green light for every plaintiff who bought any product on the platform in 2020, including non-essential goods.

  • January 21, 2025

    Fee Sanctions Upheld For 'Frivolous' Defamation Suit

    A Michigan appellate panel says a trial court did not err by sanctioning a Detroit-based cooking influencer for filing a "frivolous" defamation complaint over social media comments, with the panel agreeing the influencer's claims were "devoid of arguable legal merit."

  • January 21, 2025

    4 Of 8 From Alleged Bronx Beer Heist Squad In Plea Talks

    The leader of an eight-man crew accused of carrying out a brazen scheme to steal Mexican beer from trains and resell it in the Bronx is in plea talks along with three co-defendants, a New York federal judge heard Tuesday.

  • January 21, 2025

    TTAB Shuts Down USA Ham's Bid To Register Meat Mark

    The Venezuelan owner of meat company La Montserratina won its challenge to a U.S.-based company's bid to register the mark for its own products after the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board found the "applicant's copying capitalizes on" the South American company's reputation.

  • January 21, 2025

    Pactiv Evergreen's $6.7B Sale To Novolex Goes Unchallenged

    Food merchandising product maker Pactiv Evergreen on Tuesday revealed that the waiting period for its $6.7 billion merger with packaging products manufacturer Novolex has expired, clearing the path for the deal to close.

Expert Analysis

  • How Calif. Justices' Prop 22 Ruling Affects The Gig Industry

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    The California Supreme Court's recent upholding of Proposition 22 clarifies that Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other companies in the gig industry can legally classify their drivers as independent contractors, but it falls short of concluding some important regulatory battles in the state, says Mark Spring at CDF Labor.

  • How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act

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    In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.

  • Classwide Calculations May Get Price Premium Damages Wrong

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    In many consumer class actions, plaintiffs assert that they overpaid for a product because of a misrepresented or defective product feature, and that a single price premium estimate can be applied classwide — but failure to account for differences in price premiums across a putative class may lead to improper damage awards, say economists at Ankura Consulting.

  • Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?

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    A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • Insurance Lessons From 11th Circ. Ruling On Policy Grammar

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in ECB v. Chubb Insurance, holding that missing punctuation didn't change the clear meaning of a professional services policy, offers policyholder takeaways about the uncertainty that can arise when courts interpret insurance policy language based on obscure grammatical canons, say Hugh Lumpkin and Garrett Nemeroff at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.

  • Mercon Coffee Ch. 11 Ruling Shows Insider Releases' Limits

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    A New York bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Mercon Coffee’s Chapter 11 case highlights the stringent requirements for retention-related transfers to insiders, even in cases where no creditor has objected, say Robert Klyman and Scott Shelley at DLA Piper.

  • Illinois BIPA Reform Offers Welcome Relief To Businesses

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    Illinois' recent amendment to its Biometric Information Privacy Act limits the number of violations and damages a plaintiff can claim — a crucial step in shielding businesses from unintended legal consequences, including litigation risk and compliance costs, say attorneys at Taft.

  • Gilead Drug Ruling Creates Corporate Governance Dilemma

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    If upheld, a California state appellate court's decision — finding that Gilead is liable for delaying commercialization of a safer HIV drug to maximize profits on another drug — threatens to undermine long-standing rules of corporate law and exposes companies to liability for decisions based on sound business judgment, says Shireen Barday at Pallas.

  • Rebuttal

    Cancer Research Org. Is Right To Avoid Corporate Influence

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    While a previous Law360 guest article criticizes the International Agency for Research on Cancer's processes, its reliance on peer-reviewed literature is proper and its refusal to allow corporate influence is sound science, say Lance Oliver and Ridge Mazingo at Motley Rice.

  • How Courts' Differing Views On Standing Affect PFAS Claims

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    Two recent opinions from New York federal courts — in Lurenz v. Coca-Cola, and Winans v. Ornua Foods North America — illustrate how pivotal the differing views on standing held by different courts will be for product liability litigation involving per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, particularly consumer claims, say attorneys at Hollingsworth.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents

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    Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • Defamation Suit Tests Lanham Act's Reach With Influencers

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    Recently filed in the Northern District of Texas, Prime Hydration v. Garcia, alleging defamation and Lanham Act violations based on the defendant's social media statements about the beverage brand, allows Texas courts and the Fifth Circuit to take the lead in interpreting the act as it applies to influencers, says attorney Susan Jorgensen.

  • Addressing The Growing Hazards Of Mass Arbitration

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    Though retail companies typically include arbitration provisions in their terms of service, the recent trend of costly mass arbitrations filed by plaintiffs may cause businesses to rethink this conventional wisdom, say attorneys at BCLP.

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