Food & Beverage

  • 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.

  • December 11, 2024

    Wyoming Defends Hemp Law At 10th Circ.

    Wyoming's hemp law, which imposes new restrictions on hemp-derived THC and bans products with more than 0.3% THC, should continue uninterrupted, the state told the Tenth Circuit, saying the statute is neither unconstitutional nor preempted by federal law.

  • December 11, 2024

    Dutch Duo Beats Insurer's Claims Of Poor Greenhouse Design

    Neither a Dutch greenhouse builder nor designer were responsible for the failure of a Michigan produce farm's $14.1 million greenhouse, a federal judge ruled, granting an early win to the pair in an insurer's subrogation suit seeking coverage for a storm loss.

Expert Analysis

  • NLRB One-Two Punch Curbs Employer Anti-Organizing Tools

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    The National Labor Relations Board’s recent decisions in Siren Retail and Amazon, limiting employer speech about the impact of unionization and outlawing captive audience meetings, severely curtail employers' arsenal of tools to combat an organizing campaign — though this may soon change under a new administration, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • What Trump's Next Term May Mean For Biz Immigration

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    Leonard D'Arrigo at Harris Beach discusses the employment-based immigration policies businesses can potentially expect during President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, based on policies enacted during his first administration, statements made during his campaign and proposals in Project 2025.

  • Defense Insights As PFAS Consumer Product Claims Rise

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    Amid the recent proliferation of lawsuits seeking damages for failure to disclose the presence of PFAS in consumer products, manufacturers, distributors and consumer product companies should follow the science and consider a significant flaw in many of the filings, say attorneys at Farella Braun.

  • Series

    Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.

  • Recent Listeria Outbreaks Hold Key Compliance Lessons

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    Listeria outbreaks in ready-to-eat foods from Boar's Head and other companies, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration responses to these outbreaks, should be closely evaluated from an overall compliance and risk management perspective by food manufacturers, retailers and industry investors, say attorneys at Kirkland.

  • 3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less

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    Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.

  • What Cos. Can Learn from Water Microplastics Class Actions

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    Class actions against companies whose bottled spring water allegedly contains microplastics, challenging claims such as "natural" and "100% spring water," seem to be drying up — but these cases serve as a good reminder to other businesses to review regulatory standards, and carefully vet plaintiff allegations at the outset, say attorneys at Keller and Heckman.

  • The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule

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    Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.

  • What's Next For The CFTC After The Election

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    While much of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's enforcement actions in line with its traditional priorities will continue as usual in the near term, postelection leadership changes at the CFTC and new congressional priorities may alter the commission's regulatory framework in 2025 and beyond — particularly its oversight of crypto, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • Why K-Cup Claims Landed Keurig In Hot Water With SEC

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent settlement with Keurig Dr. Pepper for making incomplete statements regarding the recyclability of K-cup pods highlights the importance of comprehensive corporate disclosures, particularly with respect to ESG matters, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • Legislation Most Likely To Pass In Lame Duck Session

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    As Congress begins its five-week post-election lame duck session, attorneys at Greenberg Traurig break down the legislative priorities and which proposals can be expected to pass.

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

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    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

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