Food & Beverage

  • March 19, 2026

    Brewery Founder Can't Knock Out $31M Logo Battle

    A Georgia federal judge sent to trial a long-running dispute over the ownership of Atlanta-based Sweetwater Brewing's leaping trout logo after ruling Thursday that she couldn't yet sort out "a case so centrally rooted in the conflicting testimony" of the designer and the brewery's former owner.

  • March 19, 2026

    Target Hit With False Ad Suit Over 'Sustainably Caught' Tuna

    Target's representations that its Good & Gather tuna products are "sustainably caught" are nothing but empty promises, as its suppliers use dangerous fishing practices that harm the marine ecosystem and kill endangered sea turtles, whales and dolphins, according to a proposed class action filed Wednesday in California federal court.

  • March 19, 2026

    Restaurateurs Say Partner's Past Imperils Liquor License

    The founders of a Pittsburgh restaurant say a third part-owner has jeopardized their business' liquor license by not telling them about his criminal convictions from more than a decade ago and his recent DUI arrests, and they asked a Pennsylvania state court to let them buy him out for a fraction of his original investment.

  • March 19, 2026

    Ex-Workers Ask 11th Circ. To Overturn ERISA Exhaustion Rule

    Former workers for a seafood company urged the full Eleventh Circuit to overturn precedent that led a three-judge panel to uphold dismissal of their suit alleging mismanagement of an employee stock ownership plan, arguing the court's strictest-in-the-nation standard on exhausting administrative remedies didn't align with federal benefits law.

  • March 18, 2026

    Del Monte Foods Gets OK To Take Votes On Ch. 11 Plan

    Del Monte secured a New Jersey bankruptcy judge's permission Wednesday to take creditors' votes on a Chapter 11 plan that would wind down its remaining business, about a month after the canned food company won approval of deals to sell its assets.

  • March 18, 2026

    ITC Orders $5M In Penalties For Illegal Chocolate Milk Imports

    The U.S. International Trade Commission has levied $5.3 million in penalties on four grocers that were found to have violated a ban on importing a chocolate malt drink mix.

  • March 18, 2026

    Pa. Utility Regulator Seeks $2.6M Fine Over Fatal Explosion

    The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission wants the gas company whose pipe leak allegedly caused the fatal 2023 explosion at the R.M. Palmer Co. chocolate factory in West Reading, Pennsylvania, to pay a $2.6 million civil fine, blaming the blast on the company's poor planning, inaccurate maps and failure to heed warnings that the plastic on its gas lines could degrade and fracture.

  • March 18, 2026

    Sushi Chef's Overtime Suit Is Fishy, Conn. Restaurant Says

    A Connecticut sushi restaurant has told a federal judge that it should win a chef's lawsuit alleging unpaid overtime, because he is a serial filer of baseless claims, working with his attorneys at Troy Law Group PLLC to try to secure unjustified payouts from multiple employers, and he was actually overpaid.

  • March 18, 2026

    Abbott Investors Ink $40M Deal Over Infant Formula Crisis

    Shareholders who brought a derivative suit over Abbott Laboratories' management of the 2022 infant formula crisis asked an Illinois judge on Tuesday to approve a settlement that includes $40 million in investments in food safety and corporate reforms, and $15.85 million in attorney fees.

  • March 18, 2026

    Publix Couldn't Foresee Active Shooter, Fla. Panel Says

    Publix Super Markets Inc. wasn't required to anticipate an active shooter at one of its Florida stores, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday, upholding a lower court decision tossing a lawsuit alleging the chain could have prevented the 2021 fatal shooting of a toddler and grandmother.

  • March 18, 2026

    What Happens In Vegas: LA Official Sues Over Ethics Fine

    Los Angeles City Councilman John Lee sued the city's ethics commission Tuesday in a California court, saying it wrongly levied a fine of over $138,000 against him on allegations that he participated in a debaucherous Las Vegas trip nine years ago that landed Mitch Englander, Lee's City Council predecessor and his boss at the time, in federal prison.

  • March 18, 2026

    Coke Bottler 401(k) Suit Put On Ice For High Court Ruling

    A Coca-Cola bottler can't dodge a proposed class action claiming its 401(k) plan was loaded with lackluster options, a Texas federal judge ruled, saying the company's dismissal bid must wait until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on the standards for claims of retirement investment underperformance.

  • March 18, 2026

    Wash. Tribes Dispute 'Inaccurate' Salmon Hatchery Fund Order

    Two Washington tribes are asking a federal court to reconsider a decision that denied their bid to side aside $22 million in salmon hatchery funding, arguing that despite National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration claims to the contrary, they've never said they're ineligible for the grant money.

  • March 18, 2026

    Food Cos. Get Another Shot At David Protein Antitrust Case

    A New York federal court is letting low-calorie food producers take another shot at their antitrust claims accusing protein bar-maker David Protein of refusing to sell them a fat replacement ingredient after purchasing the ingredient's only supplier.

  • March 17, 2026

    Idaho Tribe Looks To Void Approval Of $2B Gold Mine Project

    An Idaho tribe says the U.S. Forest Service violated bedrock environmental laws that provide first lines of defense for its rights in approving a $2 billion gold mining project within the Boise and Payette national forests, arguing it failed to consider any alternative methods for the endeavor.

  • March 17, 2026

    NJ Restaurant Beats Customer's Suit Over E. Coli Poisoning

    A New Jersey appellate panel on Tuesday upheld the dismissal of a suit over severe injuries suffered by a restaurant customer after eating an E. coli-contaminated salad, rejecting his attempt to categorize the case as a breach-of-contract claim.

  • March 17, 2026

    Tyson Must Face Bulk Of Meat Plant Worker's Wage Suit

    Tyson Foods Inc. must face most of a proposed class action accusing it of wage and hour violations at a Washington processing plant, after a federal judge on Tuesday found a worker plausibly alleged that meal break interruptions and automatic deductions resulted in unpaid wages.

  • March 17, 2026

    Bimbo Bakeries Can't Steer Driver Suit To Arbitration

    A Massachusetts federal magistrate judge won't ship to arbitration a pair of New England drivers' claims that Bimbo Bakeries USA misclassifies them as independent contractors, finding that the drivers are covered by an exception to the federal arbitration statute.

  • March 17, 2026

    2nd Circ. Kills Contempt Order In Starbucks False Ad Suit

    A New York federal judge overstepped in holding an attorney in contempt for filing what the lower court deemed a "meritless" false advertising lawsuit over the amount of potassium in a Starbucks coffee flavor, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday.

  • March 17, 2026

    Eatery's Ex-Manager Used Its Funds For Own Chain, Suit Says

    The former general manager of a Boston restaurant tapped its accounts for "well in excess of $1 million" to underwrite startup and operational costs for his own group of Greek eateries, according to a lawsuit filed in state court.

  • March 17, 2026

    Australian Trust Anchors $330M For Nuveen Retail Fund

    Investment manager Nuveen Real Estate said Tuesday that it has raised $330 million for a fund targeting grocery-anchored neighborhood retail properties with an anchor commitment from three Australian superannuation funds.

  • March 16, 2026

    OCC Calls For Preemption Of Ill. Swipe-Fee Law At 7th Circ.

    A top U.S. banking regulator is seconding the banking industry's call for the Seventh Circuit to block Illinois' tax and tip swipe-fee ban, arguing a lower-court judge missed the "forest for the trees" in ruling the state-law restrictions are enforceable against banks it oversees.

  • March 16, 2026

    Edible Arrangements Wins Sanctions, Beats Ex-COO's Claims

    A Georgia federal judge struck the answer filed by Edible Arrangements' former chief operating officer and his company as a sanction for bad faith discovery conduct, finding they hid key evidence about millions in vendor checks deposited into a personal account.

  • March 16, 2026

    Teamsters Push For Arbitration In Kraft Heinz Benefits Suit

    A Teamsters local contended that a dispute with Kraft Heinz Co. over a healthcare benefits grievance must be arbitrated because it falls within the scope of the parties' collective bargaining agreement, the union told a Delaware federal judge.

  • March 16, 2026

    SD Eliminates Ag Land Assessment, Tax Oversight Task Force

    South Dakota eliminated a task force that oversaw the assessment and taxation of agricultural land and required the state Department of Revenue to provide data relating to the valuation of such land to state legislative tax committees under a bill signed by the governor.

Expert Analysis

  • DOJ Enforcement Trends To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

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    Recent investigations, settlements and a declination to prosecute suggest that controlling the flow of goods into and out of the country, and redressing what the administration sees as reverse discrimination, are likely to be at the forefront of the U.S. Department of Justice's enforcement agenda the rest of this year, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Federal Regs Order May Spell Harsher FDCA Enforcement

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    A recent executive order aimed at reducing criminal prosecutions of those who unknowingly violate complex federal regulations may actually lead to more aggressive felony indictments under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, but companies and executives can mitigate risks by following several key principals, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Latest Influencer Marketing Class Actions Pinpoint 5 Themes

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    Several recent deceptive marketing class actions against both brands and influencers attempt to transform arguably routine business practices into a new focus area for consumer complaints, suggesting a coordinated approach to test what could become an increasingly popular area of litigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • How Trump's Trade Policies Are Shaping Foreign Investment

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    Five months into the Trump administration, investors are beginning to see the concrete effects of the president’s America First Investment Policy as it presents new opportunities for clearing transactions more quickly, while sustaining risk aversion related to Chinese trade and potentially creating different political risks, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • 4 Consumer Class Action Trends To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

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    The first half of 2025 has seen a surge of consumer class action trends related to online tools, websites and marketing messages, creating a new legal risk landscape for companies of all sizes, says Scott Shaffer at Olshan Frome.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • One Year On, Davidson Holds Lessons On 'Health Halo' Claims

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    A year after the Ninth Circuit's Davidson v. Sprout Foods decision — which raised the bar for so-called health halo claims — food and beverage companies can draw insights from its finding, subsequently expanded on by other courts, that plaintiffs must be specific when alleging fraud in healthfulness marketing, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Bill Leaves Renewable Cos. In Dark On Farmland Reporting

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    A U.S. Senate bill to update disclosure requirements for foreign control of U.S. farmland does not provide much-needed guidance on how to report renewable energy development on agricultural property, leaving significant compliance risks for project developers, say attorneys at Hodgson Russ.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

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    My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

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    The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

  • Series

    Performing As A Clown Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    To say that being a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has changed my legal career would truly be an understatement — by creating an opening to converse on a unique topic, it has allowed me to connect with clients, counsel and even judges on a deeper level, says Charles Tatelbaum at Tripp Scott.

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