Food & Beverage

  • July 15, 2025

    FTC Says Merger Penalty Deal In The Works With 7-Eleven

    The Federal Trade Commission is inching closer to a settlement with 7-Eleven in its suit seeking to slap the convenience store chain with a $77.5 million penalty for violating a settlement that it inked with the agency in order to get a merger approved back in 2018.

  • July 15, 2025

    Abbott Brass Ignoring Call For Formula Plant Probe, Suit Says

    An Abbot shareholder has launched a derivative lawsuit in Illiniois state court accusing the company's leaders of improperly sitting on her demand to investigate a baby formula shortage caused by safety and regulatory violations that she said executives and officers hid from the public.

  • July 15, 2025

    NC Brewery Accused Of 'Secret' Talks Amid Partnership Rift

    A live music operator accused a brewery during a hearing Tuesday of conducting secret negotiations with competitors and frustrating discovery efforts in a lawsuit over their failed partnership to form an entertainment venue in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.

  • July 15, 2025

    Texas Cities Cite Gov't Immunity In Farmers' PFAS Suit

    Governmental entities led by Fort Worth submitted a brief to a Texas federal court Tuesday supporting their immunity in managing wastewater operations in connection with a proposed class action from farmers who claim their lands were contaminated by toxic chemicals.

  • July 15, 2025

    11th Circ. Backs $50K Verdict In Ex-Koch Nurse's Assault Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday let stand a $50,000 verdict in favor of a former Koch Foods nurse against two human resource managers at a food plant whom she accused of assault and battery, saying jurors reached a viable conclusion.

  • July 15, 2025

    Fizz Social Loses Bid To Block Instacart's 'Fizz' Drink App

    A California federal judge has denied social media platform Fizz Social Corp.'s bid for a preliminary injunction in its trademark infringement and anti-cybersquatting lawsuit accusing Instacart and Partiful of ripping off its "FIZZ" mark to launch a rival "Fizz" beverage-delivery app that targets the so-called Gen Z demographic.

  • July 15, 2025

    Frito-Lay Settles Flamin' Hot Cheetos Defamation Suit

    Frito-Lay Inc. and a former employee have reached a settlement Monday in his suit claiming he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos and had his livelihood destroyed when the company disavowed his story, according to a Monday filing in California federal court.

  • July 14, 2025

    Inspire Brands Hires Ex-Yum! Brands Exec As Its CLO

    Inspire Brands, the company that owns franchises such restaurant chains as Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin' and Jimmy John's, announced Monday that it has hired a former long-time executive with fast-food giant Yum! Brands as its new chief legal and administrative officer.

  • July 14, 2025

    Tender Greens Estate Defends Structured Dismissal Of Ch. 11

    The estate of One Table Restaurant Brands LLC, the former operator of casual restaurant chain Tender Greens and Mexican eatery Tocaya, defended its bid to dismiss its Chapter 11 case after the U.S. Trustee's Office said it would violate bankruptcy rules.

  • July 14, 2025

    DC Circ. Says Biden DOL Didn't Improperly Issue H-2A Rule

    The D.C. Circuit has said the Biden administration did not flout notice and comment rulemaking procedures when it issued a rule in 2022 revising the H-2A visa worker program because it pulled the Trump administration's 2021 version of the rule before it became final.

  • July 14, 2025

    Law Student Burned At Mass. Frat Party Sues Everclear Maker

    A Boston University exchange student who suffered third degree burns after 190-proof Everclear was poured near open fire at a fraternity party that created an explosive fireball sued the product's manufacturer in Massachusetts federal court Sunday, arguing it dangerously markets the product for wide range of uses near flammable sources.

  • July 14, 2025

    NC Bakery Accused Of Denying Workers Overtime Pay

    A Durham, North Carolina-based bakery is being accused of paying its employees a flat hourly rate regardless of how many hours they worked in violation of labor law, according to a proposed collective action filed in North Carolina federal court.

  • July 14, 2025

    NY Leveraged Finance Pros Leave Latham For Paul Hastings

    A pair of Latham & Watkins LLP attorneys who represent banks and other financial institutions in complex multibillion-dollar leveraged finance transactions have joined Paul Hastings LLP as partners in New York, the firm announced Monday.

  • July 11, 2025

    Wine Exec Extradited From UK Denies $99M Fraud Scheme

    One of two executives of a United Kingdom wine company was extradited to the U.S. and pled not guilty on Friday in Brooklyn federal court to charges that he conned investors into making loans using wine collections as collateral, cheating them out of $99 million.

  • July 11, 2025

    Courts Face Early Push To Expand Justices' Injunction Ruling

    In the two weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court curtailed federal judges' ability to issue universal injunctions, Trump administration attorneys have begun pushing to expand the decision's limits to other forms of relief used in regulatory challenges and class actions. So far, judges don't appear receptive to those efforts. 

  • July 11, 2025

    Cannabis Industry Group Praises Hemp Ban In Spending Bill

    A cannabis industry trade group has applauded a U.S. Senate committee's adoption of language in a federal appropriations bill that would ban consumable hemp-derived products with THC, while hemp industry stakeholders are seeking to use a one-year delay to amend a policy they say would kill the market.

  • July 11, 2025

    3rd Circ. Nixes Rehire Of Welch's Worker In Harassment Fight

    The Third Circuit on Friday vacated an order instructing Welch's to rehire a worker who was accused of using gender-based slurs toward a co-worker, saying an arbitrator needed to clarify whether she'd determined that sexual harassment occurred.

  • July 11, 2025

    PepsiCo Challenges $2.1M Tax Penalty In Ill. Supreme Court

    Illinois' justices should overturn lower court decisions allowing $2.1 million in penalties on PepsiCo for categorizing Frito-Lay expatriates' compensation as foreign payroll, a categorization that excluded Frito-Lay's profits from PepsiCo's state income tax calculations, the food and beverage giant said in a petition.

  • July 11, 2025

    The Biggest TM Rulings Of 2025: A Midyear Report

    Justices overturned a trademark award of more than $40 million in a long-running case in which lower courts put a company's affiliates on the hook for the amount, and a pair of precedential decisions from the Federal Circuit provided guidance on whether colors can be protected trade dress. Here is Law360's list of the biggest trademark decisions so far this year.

  • July 11, 2025

    Stanley Mug Maker Seeks To Dodge Class Suit Over Lid Recall

    The Seattle-based company behind the popular Stanley-brand tumbler is urging a Washington federal judge to throw out a proposed class action from consumers who alleged the company's travel mug is defective, criticizing the plaintiffs' counsel for "sprinting to the courthouse" even though the manufacturer offered replacement lids during a voluntary recall.

  • July 11, 2025

    Taxation With Representation: Davis Polk, Kirkland, Cassels

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Merck buys U.K. drugmaker Verona Pharma, CoreWeave acquires fellow data center company Core Scientific, Royal Gold acquires Sandstorm Gold and Horizon Copper, and Italian food company Ferrero buys WK Kellogg.

  • July 11, 2025

    Smoke Shop's Default Lifted In Toys R Us Dilution Suit

    A Connecticut federal judge on Friday set aside a default entry against a New Haven e-cigarette and cannabis accessories store accused of tarnishing Toys R Us trademarks, mooting a pending motion for judgment after the defendants retained counsel who appeared in the case.

  • July 11, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen HS2 hit with a defamation claim by two ex-employees who blew the whistle on alleged under-reporting of costs, Craig Wright and nChain face legal action brought by its former chief financial officer over a fraud scheme, and pro-footballer Axel Tuanzebe bring a clinical negligence claim against his former club Manchester United F.C. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • July 10, 2025

    9th Circ. Sides With Civil Aid Attys In H-2A Farm Docs Dispute

    A Ninth Circuit panel said Thursday that a lower court overstepped its authority by restricting a civil legal aid organization from using for advocacy purposes information that was gathered during discovery in a class of seasonal farmworkers' now-settled forced labor case against a Washington fruit grower.

  • July 10, 2025

    9th Circ. Upholds Converse's Win In Website Chat Wiretap Suit

    The Ninth Circuit has refused to revive a proposed class action accusing Converse Inc. of allowing a third-party vendor to intercept website visitors' chats, finding that there was "no evidence" that the sneaker maker had violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Expect From 'Make America Healthy Again' Actions

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    The Make America Healthy Again Commission recently established by President Donald Trump and chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will potentially bring energy and attention to important public health topics, and stakeholders should be aware of pathways for sharing their input and proactively informing proceedings, says Nicholas Manetto at Faegre Drinker.

  • How Law Firms Can Counteract The Loneliness Epidemic

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    The legal industry is facing an urgent epidemic of loneliness, affecting lawyer well-being, productivity, retention and profitability, and law firm leaders should take concrete steps to encourage the development of genuine workplace connections, says Michelle Gomez at Littler and Gwen Mellor Romans at Herald Talent.

  • 5 Keys To Building Stronger Attorney-Client Relationships

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    Attorneys are often focused on being seen as the expert, but bonding with clients and prospects by sharing a few key personal details provides the basis for a caring, trusted and profoundly deeper business relationship, says Deb Feder at Feder Development.

  • Series

    Racing Corvettes Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I use when racing Corvettes have enhanced my legal practice in several ways, because driving, like practicing law, requires precision, awareness and a good set of brakes — complete with the wisdom to know how and when to use them, says Kat Mateo at Olshan Frome.

  • Opinion

    Attorneys Must Act Now To Protect Judicial Independence

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    Given the Trump administration's recent moves threatening the independence of the judiciary, including efforts to impeach judges who ruled against executive actions, lawyers must protect the rule of law and resist attempts to dilute the judicial branch’s authority, says attorney Bhavleen Sabharwal.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Reading The Tea Leaves On Mexico, Canada And China Tariffs

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    It's still unclear whether the delay in the imposition of U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports will result in negotiated resolutions or a full-on trade war, but the outcome may hinge on continuing negotiations and the Trump administration's possible plans for tariff revenues, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work

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    Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.

  • Series

    Competitive Weightlifting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The parallels between the core principles required for competitive weightlifting and practicing law have helped me to excel in both endeavors, with each holding important lessons about discipline, dedication, drive and failure, says Damien Bielli at VF Law.

  • NC COVID Ruling May Have Greater Coverage Implications

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    While the North Carolina Supreme Court's recent finding in favor of policyholders in a suit for business interruption coverage due to COVID-19 comes too late for most insureds to benefit, it should nonetheless have coverage implications far beyond COVID-19 claims, say attorneys at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • Opinion

    DOJ's Visa Suit Shows Pitfalls Of Regulating Innovative Tech

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    A policy of allowing free-market mechanisms to operate without undue interference remains the most effective way to foster innovation, and the U.S. Department of Justice's 2024 case against Visa illustrates the drawbacks of regulating innovative technology, says attorney Thomas Willcox.

  • Nippon Order Tests Gov't Control Over Foreign Investments

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    The U.S. government is primarily interested in restraining foreign transactions involving countries of concern, but former President Joe Biden’s January order blocking the merger of Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel shows that all foreign direct investments are under the federal government’s microscope, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Opinion

    Inconsistent Injury-In-Fact Rules Hinder Federal Practice

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    A recent Third Circuit decision, contradicting a previous ruling about whether consumers of contaminated products have suffered an injury in fact, illustrates the deep confusion this U.S. Supreme Court standard creates among federal judges and practitioners, who deserve a simpler method of determining which cases have federal standing, says Eric Dwoskin at Dwoskin Wasdin.

  • In-House Counsel Pointers For Preserving Atty-Client Privilege

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    Several recent rulings illustrate the challenges in-house counsel can face when attempting to preserve attorney-client privilege, but a few best practices can help safeguard communications and effectively assert the privilege in an increasingly scrutinized corporate environment, says Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics.

  • What's Next For State Regulation Of Hemp Cannabinoids

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    Based on two recent federal court cases that indisputably fortify broad state authority to regulate intoxicating hemp cannabinoid products, 2025 will feature continued aggressive state regulation of such products as industry stakeholders wait for Congress to release its plans for the next five-year Farm Bill, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

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