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Food & Beverage
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August 12, 2024
Fed. Circ. Says Co. Can't Patent Coke Zero's Secret Sweetener
A Federal Circuit panel found Monday that the company that developed the artificial sweetener used in Coke Zero can't patent its formula after it has already touched the lips of customers even if they kept the recipe secret, something that's consistent with "precedent going back to the 1800s."
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August 12, 2024
Cannabis Drink Cos. Drop Challenge To Iowa THC Law
After failing to temporarily block an Iowa law that imposed new restrictions on hemp-derived THC consumables, two manufactures of cannabis-infused drinks have decided to drop their lawsuit seeking to upend the statute, according to a notice filed in federal court.
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August 12, 2024
Beyond Meat Escapes Investor Suit Over Production Woes
A California federal judge has tossed a proposed class action accusing vegan burger manufacturer Beyond Meat of securities fraud, saying investors will need to be more specific about what the company's CEO knew at the time he touted the company's allegedly faltering partnerships with fast-food restaurants like McDonald's.
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August 12, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Multimillion-dollar share conversions, power struggles in a classic rock band, a good deal for fandom collectibles, and a pindown by two heavyweights were all part of the spectacle in Delaware's Court of Chancery last week. New cases involved pharmaceutical companies, cannabis, drones and liquid-gas exports. In case you missed it, here's the latest from the Chancery Court.
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August 09, 2024
The Long Road To Legalizing Pot In Florida And South Dakota
Voters in Florida and South Dakota will have the opportunity this Election Day to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and over, and while the two efforts vary in their particulars, they both follow years of work by legalizers to craft a proposal that could gain court approval.
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August 09, 2024
Domino's Drivers' Attys Urge Court To Reject Sanctions Bid
Attorneys for Domino's Pizza delivery drivers alleging the company doesn't properly reimburse for mileage expenses have implored a Michigan federal judge not to sanction them, saying they weren't aware of arbitration agreements the company alleges should preclude the action until Domino's produced them.
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August 09, 2024
DC Circ. Says Animal Group Can't File Perdue False Ad Suit
The Animal Legal Defense Fund doesn't have standing to sue the U.S. Department of Agriculture over labels the agency approved for Perdue poultry products that the advocacy group says mislead customers into believing the animals have access to the outdoors, the D.C. Circuit ruled Friday.
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August 09, 2024
Kraft-Heinz Investor Can't Revive Del. Insider Trading Suit
Attorneys for a Kraft Heinz stockholder lost a bid to convince Delaware's Court of Chancery that new evidence justified reopening a dismissed suit alleging that company insiders with ties to a controlling investor, Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital Inc., sold $1.2 billion worth of shares on nonpublic information.
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August 09, 2024
Fishery Says DOL's Refusal To Testify Should End Wage Suit
A Mississippi fishery is urging a federal judge to dismiss the U.S. Department of Labor's suit alleging the company interfered in the agency's wage investigation, saying the acting labor secretary's refusal to testify warrants ending the case.
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August 09, 2024
Liberty Mutual Must Face Eatery's Suit Over Injury Claim
The Connecticut state appeals court on Friday revived a restaurant's lawsuit against Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. stemming from a workers' compensation claim, ruling that an administrative board that initially sided with the insurer lacked jurisdiction over the matter.
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August 09, 2024
Wash. AG Says Kroger Refusing To Delay Merger For Ruling
The Washington Attorney General's Office told a state court that Kroger will not agree to put off closing its planned merger with Albertsons until after a final ruling in the state's merger challenge, but the companies say they've already agreed not to finalize the deal until litigation plays out in another state.
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August 09, 2024
Mich. Pot Co. Alleges IP Atty, Wife Are Ruining Its Reputation
Efforts by a Montana intellectual property attorney and his wife to hit back after losing money in an alleged investment scam have missed the mark by targeting a Michigan cannabis company that was also ripped off, the company claimed Wednesday.
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August 08, 2024
Calif. Justices Side With Hartford Unit In Virus Coverage Fight
The California Supreme Court on Thursday reversed an appellate court's finding that a virus endorsement rendered a restaurant's policy illusory in a coverage dispute with a Hartford entity over pandemic-related losses, instead ruling that the endorsement clearly provides coverage "only if the virus results from certain specified causes of loss."
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August 08, 2024
Instacart Shopper's Costco Injury Suit Sent To Arbitration
A Maryland federal judge has sent to arbitration a suit seeking to hold Costco liable for an Instacart shopper's slip-and-fall injuries, saying the warehouse club chain is a third-party retailer that falls under the arbitration clause in the grocery delivery company's independent contractor agreement.
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August 08, 2024
Dairy Farm Investor Fights For €77.5M Claim Against Serbia
A dairy farm investor is arguing that an arbitral award wrongly ordered Serbia to pay him €14.5 million ($15.8 million) instead of the €77.5 million he sought after his shares in the company were expropriated, saying the tribunal failed to provide any reasoning for its damages calculation.
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August 08, 2024
Amazon Must Face Pandemic Price-Gouging Claims In Wash.
Washington's high court said on Thursday that Amazon can be sued under the state's Consumer Protection Act over alleged price-gouging early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but stopped short of agreeing with customers that the law bars specific markup percentages.
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August 08, 2024
Green Groups Seek Ban On Imports From Unsafe Fisheries
Environmental groups urged the U.S. Court of International Trade to order NOAA Fisheries to ban imports from fisheries that use equipment dangerous to marine life, saying Thursday that the imports continue to enter the domestic market despite lawmakers mandating a prohibition years ago.
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August 08, 2024
50 Cent Beats Liquor Consultant's 'Ridiculous' Wiretap Claim
A frustrated New York state judge on Thursday tossed a former Beam Suntory Inc. sales contractor's reworked wiretapping allegations against rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in a $3 million embezzlement dispute, calling the claims "ridiculous" and an "obvious" delay tactic.
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August 07, 2024
5th Circ. Pushes DOL On Salary Thresholds For OT Eligibility
A Fifth Circuit panel told the government during oral arguments Wednesday that the Labor Department needed to provide more substantial reasoning as to how it determines workers' overtime eligibility, saying that just because it has set salary thresholds for nearly a century doesn't mean it gets carte blanche.
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August 07, 2024
10th Circ. Won't Undo Atty Fees In $1.5B Syngenta Corn Deal
The Tenth Circuit on Wednesday backed a Kansas federal judge's allocations of attorney fees to three law firms representing individual claimants in multidistrict litigation over Syngenta's genetically modified corn that was resolved by a $1.5 billion class settlement, finding that the firms' arguments strayed from the issue at hand.
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August 07, 2024
Hemp Cos. Owner Says Cousin Ripped Off Formula, Trademarks
The owner of Florida-based CBD and hemp companies White Lab LLC and GS Distribution LLC is suing a company owned by his cousin, saying the cousin has failed to pay up on a distribution agreement and is now trying to steal the trademarks to one of White Lab's product lines.
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August 07, 2024
Bank Dropped From Suit Over Alleged $100M Ponzi Scheme
Washington-based First Fed Bank and its brass have been dropped from a lawsuit claiming they aided a $100 million Ponzi scheme to defraud would-be investors in a water-vending machine company.
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August 07, 2024
Servers Seek Default In Foxwoods Restaurant Wage Case
A class of servers who claim their tips were shorted by Sugar Factory, a restaurant at the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation's Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, are seeking a default entry against a company behind the eatery.
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August 07, 2024
'The Eggs Are Fresh From A Farm': Kroger Fries False Ad Suit
Kroger defeated a proposed class action accusing it of misleading customers into thinking its "farm fresh eggs" came from free-roaming hens on grassy fields, despite coming from caged hens, after an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday the term "means precisely what it says: the eggs are fresh from a farm."
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August 07, 2024
Chick-Fil-A Franchisee Settles Fired Trans Worker's Bias Suit
A Chick-fil-A franchisee and a transgender former employee have settled her sexual harassment suit alleging she was told she should be grateful that a colleague was hitting on her and eventually fired after complaining about the harassment she faced.
Expert Analysis
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
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.
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Series
After Chevron: USDA Rules May Be Up In The Air
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.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
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.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
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.
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Navigating The New Rise Of Greenwashing Litigation
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.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
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.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
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.
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Constitutional Protections For Cannabis Companies Are Hazy
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.
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Series
Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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.
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Anticipating Disputes In Small Biz Partnerships And LLCs
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.
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Opinion
Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
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.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
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.
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Roundup
After Chevron
In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.
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Series
After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking
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.