Hospitality

  • April 09, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Hotel, Restaurant Virus Losses Not Covered

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday said two groups of Washington state restaurants and hotels can't claim COVID-related business losses under their insurance policies because they failed to show they physically lost functional use of their properties as a result of the virus.

  • April 09, 2024

    Healthcare Co. Can't Sue Ex-Exec For Causing Canada Tax Hit

    A Colorado federal judge shot down a pharmacy automation company's suit alleging its former chief commercial officer cost it nearly CA$1.2 million ($907,000) in Canadian taxes by not telling his employer he had moved out of the country, saying the company hasn't shown it suffered any damage as a result.

  • April 09, 2024

    Hotel Owed Union Bargaining Over Renovation, DC Circ. Says

    A Hilton hotel in Alaska is on the hook for federal labor law violations after renovating rooms in a way that changed housekeepers' work conditions without sufficiently looping in the employees' union, the D.C. Circuit held Tuesday, enforcing a National Labor Relations Board decision.

  • April 09, 2024

    GM Rips 'Word Salad' Discovery Request, Fights Sanction Bid

    General Motors and its Detroit Renaissance Center told a Michigan federal judge Monday that guests of the center's Marriott hotel are unfairly demanding sanctions over allegedly unreasonable discovery requests, saying the businesses are making every effort to respond in a timely fashion to the "burdensome" interrogatories.

  • April 09, 2024

    Ex-DraftKings Exec Loses Bid For $310K In Atty Fees

    A California federal judge will not award the $310,000 in attorney fees a former DraftKings executive claims it cost to handle the ping-ponging of his lawsuit between federal and state court, ruling the removal at the behest of his ex-employer was "suspect" but not unreasonable.

  • April 08, 2024

    Red Robin Reaches $600K Deal To End EEOC Claims In Wash.

    Red Robin has agreed to pay $600,000 and bolster its anti-sexual harassment policies to end a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging a line cook in Washington state retaliated against female co-workers for objecting to his offensive comments, according to a proposed consent decree filed in federal court in Seattle.

  • April 08, 2024

    Mich. Judge Not Persuaded Wineries' Agritourism Is Speech

    A Michigan federal judge has found a local ban on wineries hosting weddings is not a commercial speech restriction despite the advertising potential of such events, again trimming a contentious zoning dispute ahead of trial. 

  • April 08, 2024

    Starbucks Drops TM Suit After Fake Websites Go Dark

    Starbucks has agreed to drop a trademark lawsuit claiming a pair of websites ripped off its "twin-tailed siren" logo and other brand material to sell fake franchise deals, saying in a recent Washington federal court filing that the allegedly unauthorized activity has stopped.

  • April 08, 2024

    Hormel Settling Pork Price-Fixing Claims For Over $11M

    Three plaintiff classes in the ongoing pork price-fixing litigation against Hormel Foods have reached preliminary settlements worth over $11 million with the company and are now asking the Minnesota federal judge overseeing the case to grant them initial approval.

  • April 08, 2024

    Atlantic City Hotels Say Gov't Backing Can't Save Pricing Suit

    Atlantic City casino-hotels continue to push a New Jersey federal judge to toss room rate price-fixing allegations they say get no help from a U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission intervening brief that argued algorithmic collusion is just as liable under antitrust law.

  • April 08, 2024

    Hotel Co. Comes Out On Top In Passover Fiasco Row 

    A bench trial over a "Passover celebration gone wrong" at a Pennsylvania hotel ended Friday largely in favor of the hotel operator, with $1,447.60 in contract damages for the caterer plaintiff offset by a $5,164.28 judgment in the hotel's favor for damages allegedly caused by guests who created plumbing issues.

  • April 08, 2024

    Royal Caribbean Settles Passenger's Suit Over Wife's Death

    Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and the husband of a passenger who died of congestive heart failure while on a Mediterranean cruise opted Friday to settle their dispute over whether the cruise company had provided adequate medical care, avoiding a trial set to start Monday.

  • April 08, 2024

    3 Firms Build $2.3B Hospitality Biz SPAC Merger

    Singapore-headquartered Hotel101 Global Pte Ltd., a hotel prop-tech operator pioneering a standardized "condotel" business model, announced Monday that it plans to go public through a merger with blank-check company JVSPAC Acquisition Corp. in a deal built by three firms that will give it an equity value of $2.3 billion post-closing.

  • April 05, 2024

    Wow Bao Says Customer Can't Prove Kiosk Data Collection

    Asian fast-food chain Wow Bao has urged an Illinois state court judge to grant it summary judgment in a biometric privacy suit targeting the company's self-serve kiosks, arguing it cannot be held liable for collecting or possessing data it never in fact had.

  • April 05, 2024

    Marriott Wants $5M Repair Work Bill Stayed Pending Appeal

    Marriott International asked a Colorado federal judge Friday to hold off on enforcing a $5 million judgment it was ordered to pay a construction company over mudslide repair work in Brazil while the hotel appeals the order, noting it has secured a surety bond with Liberty Mutual.

  • April 05, 2024

    Starbucks Tells Judge Union Dealings Aren't 'Mission Critical'

    Starbucks denied Friday that complying with federal labor law was "mission critical" to its business as it urged a Washington state judge to dismiss a shareholder suit accusing company leaders of union busting, which they say tanked Starbucks' reputation.

  • April 05, 2024

    NJ Smoking Law Violates Casino Workers' Rights, UAW Says

    A law preventing smoking in certain indoor workspaces violates New Jersey's Constitution by excluding casino workers, the United Auto Workers alleged Friday in a state court suit against the governor and state health department commissioner.

  • April 05, 2024

    Skadden-Led Cruise Operator Viking Files $100M IPO

    Private equity-backed cruise operator Viking Holdings Ltd. on Friday filed initial public offering plans with a preliminary fundraising estimate of $100 million, represented by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and underwriters' counsel Latham & Watkins LLP, hoping to sail into an IPO market that is more inviting lately.

  • April 05, 2024

    Chinese Insurer Awarded Nearly $15M Over Hotel Theft Suit

    A California federal judge awarded a Chinese insurer nearly $15 million in damages after a man accused of conspiring to fraudulently claim ownership of New York City's JW Marriott Essex House Hotel and other luxury properties failed to appear in the action.

  • April 04, 2024

    'No Madonna Fan' Expects Show At Ticket Time, Singer Says

    Madonna, Live Nation and the Barclays Center asked a New York federal judge to toss a lawsuit alleging fans were "lulled" into buying tickets for a show that started two hours late, saying no reasonable concertgoer — "and certainly no Madonna fan" — expects the headliner to begin at the ticketed time.

  • April 04, 2024

    Fla. Judge Won't Dismiss Suit Claiming Restaurant EB-5 Fraud

    A Florida state judge on Thursday declined to dismiss a lawsuit accusing a Miami restaurant group of mismanaging immigrant investors' funds, finding that the investors had successfully alleged fraud against the former manager of the investment company.

  • April 04, 2024

    Texts Were Intentionally Deleted In Hotel Suit, Investors Say

    Two investors have urged a Florida state court to impose severe penalties on the managers of a hotel enterprise after WhatsApp text messages in a $15 million lawsuit were allegedly deleted intentionally, saying the communications were critical to proving that their equity interests were wrongly taken from them.

  • April 04, 2024

    GRSM50 Accused Of Letting Detroit Hotel Hide Evidence

    Former workers at an upscale Detroit hotel suing over their firings urged a Michigan federal judge on Wednesday to sanction the club and disqualify its attorneys at Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP, alleging it is likely they helped withhold documents and try to intimidate witnesses.

  • April 03, 2024

    Trampoline Park Can't Arbitrate Injury Suit, Texas Panel Says

    A Texas appellate court has ruled a trampoline park operator can't force the parents of a child who broke their arm on its property to litigate personal injury claims since there is evidence the company never formed a contract with the family.

  • April 03, 2024

    Reba McEntire's Ex-Hubby Loses Bid To Cancel Farm Name TM

    The ex-husband of country star Reba McEntire has lost a bid to cancel the trademark "Starstruck Farm" after the man who bought the property kept the name, with a Tennessee federal judge finding that McEntire's former husband, Narvel Blackstock, has not met his burden regarding likelihood of confusion or bad faith to profit off the name.

Expert Analysis

  • Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid

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    As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.

  • The Issues Brewing Around Starbucks Labor Practice Cases

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    Starbucks is faced with fighting off another push for a nationwide injunction against firing any employees that support unionization, and there's a distinct possibility that the company and the National Labor Relations Board could be fighting the same fight over and over in various locations, says Janette Levey at Levey Law.

  • Investors With ESG Aims Should Heed Antitrust Reporting Rules

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    As investors globally are embracing environmental, social and governance investing, regulatory agencies have made clear that ESG initiatives are not immune from antitrust scrutiny, and investors cannot count on receiving special exemptions from the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act reporting requirements, say Jonathan Gleklen and Francesca Pisano at Arnold & Porter.

  • Perspectives

    Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice

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    Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.

  • Why Seminole Tribe Sports Betting Ruling Is A Net Positive

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    The D.C. Circuit Court’s recent ruling that a gambling compact between Florida and the Seminole Tribe is lawful even though it allows for online sports betting expands the tribe's offerings while maintaining exclusivity and is a win for individuals who wish to legally wager on sports within Florida, says Daniel McGinn at Dean Mead.

  • Courts Can Overturn Deficient State Regulations, Too

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    While suits challenging federal regulations have become commonplace, such cases against state agencies are virtually nonexistent, but many states have provisions that allow litigants to bring suit for regulations with inadequate cost-benefit analyses, says Reeve Bull at the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management.

  • Equinox Bias Verdict Shows Swift Employer Response Is Key

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    A nearly $11.3 million jury verdict against Equinox in New York federal court shows just how high the stakes are for employers dealing with harassment and discrimination in the workplace, and how important consistent investigation and discipline are when responding to individual internal complaints, says Jennifer Huelskamp at Porter Wright.

  • Tales From The Trenches Of Remote Depositions

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    As practitioners continue to conduct depositions remotely in the post-pandemic world, these virtual environments are rife with opportunities for improper behavior such as witness coaching, scripted testimony and a general lack of civility — but there are methods to prevent and combat these behaviors, say Jennifer Gibbs and Bennett Moss at Zelle.

  • ChatGPT Can't Predict The Future Of Antitrust And AI (Yet)

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    Though OpenAI's ChatGPT has made artificial intelligence a popular topic of conversation recently, the subject of AI and antitrust has been around for years, raising the question of what other competitive concerns might arise as the technology becomes more sophisticated and ubiquitous in our marketplace, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • Level Up Lawyers' Business Development With Gamification

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    With employee engagement at a 10-year low in the U.S., there are several gamification techniques marketing and business development teams at law firms can use to make generating new clients and matters more appealing to lawyers, says Heather McCullough at Society 54.

  • Mallory Ruling Leaves Personal Jurisdiction Deeply Unsettled

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    In Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court recently rolled back key aspects of its 2017 opinion in Daimler AG v. Bauman that limited personal jurisdiction, leaving as many questions for businesses as it answers, say John Cerreta and James Rotondo at Day Pitney.

  • 5 Ways Firms Can Rethink Office Design In A Hybrid World

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    As workplaces across the country adapt to flexible work, law firms must prioritize individuality, amenities and technology in office design, says Kristin Cerutti at Nelson Worldwide.

  • Opinion

    Bar Score Is Best Hiring Metric Post-Affirmative Action

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling striking down affirmative action admissions policies, law firms looking to foster diversity in hiring should view an applicant's Multistate Bar Examination score as the best metric of legal ability — over law school name or GPA, says attorney Alice Griffin.

  • How End Of Forced Arb. Is Affecting Sex Harassment Cases

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    A little over a year after the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault Act became effective, we have started seeing substantive interpretation of the EFAA, almost exclusively from the U.S. district courts in New York, and there are two key takeaways for employers, says Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.

  • 5 Strategies For Restructuring Underperforming CRE Loans

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    With commercial real estate industry conditions expected to deteriorate further in the coming months, market participants should consider a number of strategies to help resolve challenged investments, ranging from financial restructurings to project phasing, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

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