Retail & E-Commerce

  • October 28, 2024

    Philip Morris Nicotine Pouch Suit Not About Labels, Court Told

    A lawsuit accusing Philip Morris International of misleading customers of its ZYN nicotine pouches asserts claims under business practices and false advertising statutes, but not the federal labeling law the tobacco giant is invoking in its dismissal bid, the suing consumer told a Connecticut federal court. 

  • October 28, 2024

    $4M Settlement Over NBA-Themed NFTs Gets Final OK

    A New York federal judge on Monday granted final approval to a $4 million settlement between the firm behind NBA-focused non-fungible tokens and a class of purchasers who accused the digital assets company of selling the tokens as unregistered securities, and awarded roughly a third of the settlement fund in attorney fees.

  • October 28, 2024

    Calif. Court OKs $1.2M Award In Polo Club TM Fight

    A California federal judge has said a Santa Barbara County-based polo club is entitled to $1.2 million in fees, costs and interest as part of a trademark dispute over a "Beverly Hills Polo Club" logo following arbitration.

  • October 28, 2024

    FTC, DOJ Tell 9th Circ. Google Wrong On Play Store Fixes

    Federal antitrust enforcers told the Ninth Circuit there should be consequences after a jury found Google monopolized the Android app distribution market, as Google pushes to keep a court order paused in the antitrust case being brought by Epic Games.

  • October 28, 2024

    Amazon, Google Accuse Website Of Selling Fake Reviews

    Amazon and Google filed parallel lawsuits Monday in federal court against the entities behind a website they say facilitates fake product and business reviews, saying in an announcement that the two tech giants teamed up to "take action against bad actors attempting to deceive customers."

  • October 28, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Amazon Auto-Renewal Suit Is Too Late

    The Ninth Circuit said Monday that a proposed class action accusing Amazon of duping Prime subscribers into paying for memberships in its audiobook seller, Audible, was filed after a three-year statute of limitations under New York law had expired.

  • October 28, 2024

    Ind. Tax Board Cuts Target Store's Assessment By $500K

    An Indiana Target's property tax assessment should be lowered by roughly $500,000 for three tax years, the state Board of Tax Review said, finding the retailer's income capitalization approach to the valuation persuasive.

  • October 28, 2024

    J. Crew Asks Court To Ratify Ex-GC's Arbitration Loss

    J. Crew is asking a New York federal judge to confirm an arbitrator's ruling from earlier this month that found it hadn't fired its former legal chief, Maria DiLorenzo, in retaliation for her complaints about colleagues' discriminatory comments about her hearing loss.

  • October 28, 2024

    Attys Seek $48M Fees For Hooking $152M In Tuna Fixing Deals

    Lawyers for a class of consumers that sued three of the largest tuna producers accusing them of conspiring to fix tinned fish prices asked a California federal court to approve nearly $50 million in legal costs after a settlement this summer ended nearly nine years of multidistrict litigation.

  • October 25, 2024

    Alibaba Agrees To $433.5M Deal In Nearly 4-Year Investor Suit

    Alibaba Group has agreed to shell out $433.5 million to resolve a proposed class of investors' allegations it made misstatements about its exclusivity practices and the planned $34 billion initial public offering of a fintech affiliate, the Chinese e-commerce company said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday.

  • October 25, 2024

    Apple-Google Pact Plaintiff Stuck With 9th Circ. Appeal

    A Ninth Circuit panel has refused to let a training school send its case accusing Google of paying Apple to refrain from developing its own search engine back to district court in light of a recent D.C. federal judge's decision that Google monopolizes the search market.

  • October 25, 2024

    Jury Mostly Sides With Woodland Tools On False Ad Claims

    A Wisconsin federal jury has largely found in favor of gardening toolmaker Woodland Tools on allegations that competitor Fiskars Brands made false claims about the design origin and cutting power of Fiskars products including pruners and shears.

  • October 25, 2024

    At Home Settles Suit Over 'Luxury' Sheets' Thread Count

    Home decor chain At Home has escaped a proposed class action accusing it of exaggerating the thread count of its high-end sheet sets, after the lead plaintiffs withdrew their complaint in Illinois federal court.

  • October 25, 2024

    Judge Won't Rethink $750K For P&G Worker's Ex-Girlfriend

    A Pennsylvania judge won't reconsider her decision to let the estranged ex-girlfriend of a deceased Procter & Gamble employee claim more than $754,000 he had in an investment account, ruling that the employee's estate hadn't cited any new evidence or changes in law to overcome the beneficiary form he'd left untouched since the late 1980s.

  • October 25, 2024

    Pink Is Too Close To Purple, National Gypsum Judge Says

    Drywall manufacturer National Gypsum has convinced a Chicago federal judge that new shades of pink used by a company that makes shower wall niches broke the terms of an injunction that was issued after a jury sided with National Gypsum in a legal dispute over the use of the color purple in construction materials.

  • October 25, 2024

    Ex-Abercrombie CEO Pleads Not Guilty, Gets $10M Home Bail

    Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries pled not guilty on Friday to charges of operating a sex trafficking and prostitution ring that preyed on male models, and was released to home confinement on a $10 million bond.

  • October 25, 2024

    Amazon Presses Drivers To Hand Over Docs, Info In Wage Suit

    Amazon said that 17 named plaintiffs in an eight-year suit accusing the online retail giant of misclassifying drivers as independent contractors failed to meet discovery demands, urging a Washington federal judge to order them to fulfill the requests within 10 days.

  • October 25, 2024

    Ex-Worker Says Circle K Failed To Provide OT, Breaks

    Convenience store company Circle K failed to pay workers overtime wages and provide them with meal and rest periods, the workers alleged Friday in California state court.

  • October 25, 2024

    Paris Apparel Co. Valued At €505M As Permira Takes Stake

    Private equity giant Permira is taking a significant minority stake in Parisian outdoor-inspired lifestyle brand K-Way from Italian apparel giant BasicNet in an agreement that values K-Way at an enterprise value of €505 million ($545.3 million), the parties announced in a Friday statement.

  • October 25, 2024

    Big Lots Inc. Gets OK For Oct. 30 Ch. 11 Asset Auction

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge Friday approved discount retailer Big Lots Inc.'s plans to put itself on the block next week after hearing the provider of the baseline bid for the sale had secured the financing for its $760 million offer.

  • October 25, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen the Competition and Markets Authority take action against a mattress retailer after it was caught pressuring its customers with misleading discounts, Lenovo and Motorola target ZTE Corporation with a patents claim, Lloyds Bank hit by another claim relating to the collapse of Arena Television and U.K. tax authority HMRC sued by the director of an electronics company that evaded millions of pounds in VAT. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • October 25, 2024

    North Carolina Merchandiser Settles FLSA Suit Over OT Pay

    A field service representative and the retail support provider he sued claiming unpaid overtime told a North Carolina federal court that they settled a Fair Labor Standards Act collective suit.

  • October 24, 2024

    Colo. Says Grocers' Execs Get Paid, No Matter The Fallout

    Colorado told a state judge Thursday that consumers bear the risk in a proposed $24.6 billion merger between Kroger Co. and Albertsons, arguing grocery executives will still get their multimillion-dollar payouts even if prices go up or stores close.

  • October 24, 2024

    2nd Circ. Largely OKs Gun Control Law After High Court Order

    The Second Circuit on Thursday stood by its previous decision that largely vacated an order enjoining several of New York's gun restrictions, saying a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling the high court told it to consider on remand had "little direct bearing" on its prior conclusions.

  • October 24, 2024

    FINRA Says Its Regs Apply To Metaverse, Seeks Comments

    Broker-dealers and other firms that are weighing incorporating the metaverse into their business operations should be mindful of how Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules apply to such activities and reach out with any concerns about regulatory ambiguities, the regulator said Thursday.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys

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    The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.

  • A Class Action Trend Tests Limit Of Courts' Equity Powers

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    A troubling trend has developed in federal class action litigation as some counsel and judges attempt to push injunctive relief classes under Rule 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure beyond the traditional limits of federal courts' equitable powers, say attorneys at Jones Day.

  • A Look At How De Minimis Import Rules May Soon Change

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    The planned implementation of executive actions focused on the de minimis rule as it applies to shipments means companies should use this interval to evaluate the potential applicability and impact of Section 301, Section 201 or Section 232 duties on their products, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Antitrust Issues To Watch Amid Google Ad Tech Trial

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    Regardless of the outcome of the U.S. Department of Justice's advertising technology antitrust suit against Google in Virginia federal court, matters ranging from market definition to unified pricing will likely have far-reaching implications for the digital advertising industry, competition and innovation, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • What To Know About Latest Calif. Auto-Renewal Law Update

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    While businesses have about nine months to prepare before the recently passed amendment to California's automatic renewal law takes effect, it’s not too early to begin working on compliance efforts, including sign-up flow reviews, record retention updates and marketing language revisions, say Gonzalo Mon and Beth Chun at Kelley Drye.

  • How Lucia, Jarkesy Could Affect Grocery Merger Challenge

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    While the Federal Trade Commission is taking a dual federal court and administrative tribunal approach to block Kroger's merger with Alberstons, Kroger's long-shot unconstitutionality claims could potentially lead to a reevaluation of the FTC's reliance on administrative processes in complex merger cases, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • How To Avoid Liability When Using Cookie Consent Managers

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    As companies attempt to comply with consumer protection laws by implementing cookie consent managers on their websites, they must be wary of separate legal risks that can stem from implementing or using these tools incorrectly, says Ian Cohen at LOKKER.

  • Basel Endgame Rules: A Change Is Coming

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    The Federal Reserve Board's recently announced recalibration of the Basel endgame proposal begins a critical chapter in the evolution of not only the safety and soundness of U.S. banks, but also of banks' abilities to lend and support American businesses and consumers, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Series

    Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.

  • Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

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    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • How Labeling And Testing May Help Reduce PFAS Litigation

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    As regulators take steps to reduce consumers’ exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as forever chemicals, companies can take a proactive approach to mitigating litigation risks not only by labeling their products transparently, but also by complying with testing and marketing standards, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Behind 3rd Circ. Ruling On College Athletes' FLSA Eligibility

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    The Third Circuit's decision that college athletes are not precluded from bringing a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act raises key questions about the practical consequences of treating collegiate athletes as employees, such as Title IX equal pay claims and potential eligibility for all employment benefits, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Commerce Proposal Could Ease Trade Remedy Administration

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    Recently proposed international trade enforcement regulations could help the U.S. Department of Commerce more easily administer antidumping and countervailing duty remedies, in turn maximizing relief to American companies adversely affected by unfair trade, says Natan Tubman at Buchanan Ingersoll.

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