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Food & Beverage
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February 14, 2025
Smithfield Fires Back At 'Improper' CLO Deposition Bid
Smithfield Foods Inc. urged North Carolina's Business Court not to let a Chubb unit depose the pork producer's legal chief, calling the insurer's motion from last week an "improper and untimely attempt to seek discovery that Ace could have pursued before the fact discovery deadline."
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February 14, 2025
State Lawmakers Eye Tighter Restrictions On Hemp Products
Legislators in multiple states have introduced legislation aimed at regulating or restricting the manufacture and sale of products containing intoxicating cannabinoids derived or synthesized from federally lawful hemp.
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February 14, 2025
Farm Asks Judge To 'Please' Add $5M Interest To $32M Verdict
A cannabis farm is asking a Michigan federal judge to "please, please" award $5 million in prejudgment interest on a $31.8 million verdict reached last month in a contract dispute with Curaleaf units, saying the companies have refused to cooperate in post-judgment talks to resolve the issue.
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February 14, 2025
Ben & Jerry's Says Owner Unilever Banned Anti-Trump Posts
Ben & Jerry's told a New York federal judge overseeing its litigation accusing parent company Unilever of breaching an agreement allowing the ice cream company to take political stances that Unilever has now banned it "from issuing any posts criticizing President Trump" pending further review.
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February 14, 2025
Judge Allows Grower's 4th Amendment Claim In Hemp Crop Suit
A California federal judge has partially reconsidered her prior order denying Kern County and its police officers' bid to dismiss claims by a hemp grower alleging they wrongly bulldozed 500 acres of crops, allowing the company's Fourth Amendment excessive destruction claim to proceed, but dismissing its due process claims.
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February 13, 2025
Fla. Judge Denies Drinks Co. Ex-CEO Bid To Ax Monster Liens
A Florida federal bankruptcy judge on Thursday declined to rule on a bid to dismiss all Monster Energy Company's claims and liens against the former CEO of the corporation that produces Bang Energy drinks, saying he lacks jurisdiction to resolve issues between two non-debtors.
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February 13, 2025
Wash. Justices Wary Of Pay Transparency Law Stances
Washington's highest court grilled attorneys on both sides of a debate over state pay transparency law on Thursday, with some justices suggesting the employer's stance put too much onus on workers while another expressed doubt the protections should extend to people who apply for jobs they have no chance to get.
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February 13, 2025
Packaging Co. To Pay $6.25M Over Shuttered NC Paper Mill
Food and beverage packaging company Pactiv Evergreen has agreed to pay $6.25 million to settle the state of North Carolina's lawsuit seeking to recoup $12 million in financial incentives to keep a local mill operating in the town of Canton, after suddenly closing its facility in 2023.
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February 13, 2025
NC Biz Court Bulletin: Defaulted Notes, EB-5 Investor Fraud
The North Carolina Business Court has been handed in the first half of February a receivership case involving a defaulted $17.5 million promissory note, a fraud suit by Chinese EB-5 investors and a request to depose the chief legal officer of Smithfield Foods Inc.
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February 13, 2025
2nd Circ. Trims Ex-NY County Official's Corruption Verdict
The Second Circuit on Thursday undid part of the bribery conviction of a former Long Island county official accused of accepting kickbacks in return for helping a restaurateur secure a loan, saying his role as Nassau County executive did not make him an "agent" of a local municipality.
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February 12, 2025
Calif. Panel Upends Bakery's Bias Suit Win Over Gay Wedding
A California appeals court on Tuesday reversed a California bakery's trial court victory in a discrimination lawsuit challenging its refusal to sell a wedding cake to a lesbian couple, finding that a wedding cake design standard the bakery had leaned on was facially discriminatory.
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February 12, 2025
Sea Salt Co. Sued Over Lead And Arsenic Levels
A salt company was hit with a proposed class action Tuesday in California federal court over allegations that its salt contains arsenic and lead, asserting that there is no safe level of lead.
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February 12, 2025
Insurer Says Gun Clause Blocks Deadly Shooting Coverage
An insurer has said a firearms exclusion in a Washington state sports pub's policy bars coverage in a pair of wrongful death lawsuits stemming from a shooting more than three years ago that left three people dead.
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February 12, 2025
Blind Vendors Fight Dismissal Of Military Retailer Dispute
Vendors challenging a military retailer's alleged violation of a law requiring federal agencies to prioritize businesses owned by the blind have pushed back at a magistrate judge's recommendation to toss their suit, saying they shouldn't be made to exhaust administrative remedies first.
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February 12, 2025
Poultry Producers Can't Dodge Bid-Rigging Claims In MDL
An Illinois federal judge trimmed on Tuesday some conspiracy claims from a massive antitrust case against chicken producers, including Pilgrim's Pride and over a dozen others, but kept intact other bid-rigging allegations, finding that a class of restaurants and other direct buyers plausibly alleged the companies increased prices in parallel.
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February 12, 2025
Albertsons To Face Reduced Claims Over Tech Theft
A Washington federal judge has cleared software company Replenium Inc. to pursue trade secret and promissory estoppel claims against Albertsons, finding it plausibly alleged the grocer misused confidential information from their software partnership to build a competing auto-replenishment platform.
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February 12, 2025
Tobacco Fee Couldn't Have Injured Worker, Campbell's Says
The Campbell's Co. urged a New Jersey federal court to toss a suit from a former worker alleging the company's tobacco-free wellness program is violating federal benefits law by making workers who use tobacco pay more for health insurance, arguing the ex-employee can't bring his claims because he never enrolled in the program.
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February 12, 2025
$180M Deals In Poultry Process Wage-Fixing Row Get First OK
A Maryland federal judge gave her blessing to several settlements totaling approximately $180 million in a suit accusing a slew of poultry companies of conspiring to keep wages low at their plants, greenlighting what the workers called "a historic recovery."
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February 12, 2025
Starbucks Accused Of Flouting Mass. Polygraph Hiring Law
Starbucks is ignoring a Massachusetts law requiring employers to inform job-seekers that the state doesn't allow the use of lie detector tests in employment decisions, according to a putative class action filed in state court.
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February 11, 2025
Logan Paul Co. Won't Fight Messi's Absence In Drink IP Suit
Logan Paul's company told a New York federal judge it won't object to Lionel Messi's absence in an upcoming settlement conference in a trademark dispute due to the soccer legend's unavailability, after Messi's counsel claimed Monday the demand for the athlete's attendance appears to be designed "solely to harass" him.
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February 11, 2025
FTC Says Small Stores Pay Southern Glazer's Up To 67% More
The Federal Trade Commission's price discrimination case against Southern Glazer's accuses the wine and spirits distributor of routinely charging small retailers up to 67% more for the same products as large chain stores, according to newly unsealed redactions.
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February 11, 2025
Factual Dispute Keeps Walmart BIPA Suit In Court, For Now
An Illinois jury will determine whether a driver for Walmart's grocery delivery platform Spark signed an arbitration agreement during his onboarding before a federal judge can decide whether his underlying biometric privacy claims should be redirected away from court, the judge said Tuesday.
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February 11, 2025
Proskauer-Led Rocktree Buys Atria, Secures $350M Financing
Infrastructure service provider Rocktree Logistics Group has agreed to buy a group of South American port services companies called Atria Soluciones Logisticas from private equity shop Southern Cross Group in a deal built by three law firms, and has secured $350 million in private credit financing in connection with the deal.
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February 11, 2025
Peet's Coffee, Splenda Maker Settle Sweetener TM Row
Peet's Coffee Inc. and Splenda maker Heartland Consumer Products LLC said Tuesday they have agreed to settle a trademark dispute over the coffee retailer's alleged use of Splenda labels to identify non-Splenda sweeteners, according to a one-page order in California federal court.
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February 11, 2025
Sen. Pushes USDA Nominee On Plan To Deal With Egg Prices
A Democratic senator from New Mexico has questioned Brooke Rollins, the U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary-designate, on her plan to address the rising cost of eggs driven by a highly contagious bird flu outbreak.
Expert Analysis
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Navigating The New Rise Of Greenwashing Litigation
As greenwashing lawsuits continue to gain momentum with a shift in focus to carbon-neutrality claims, businesses must exercise caution and ensure transparency in their environmental marketing practices, taking cues from recent legal challenges in the airline industry, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Constitutional Protections For Cannabis Companies Are Hazy
Cannabis businesses are subject to federal enforcement and tax, but often without the benefit of constitutional protections — and the entanglement of state and federal law and conflicting judicial opinions are creating confusion in the space, says Amber Lengacher at Purple Circle.
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Series
Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.
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Anticipating Disputes In Small Biz Partnerships And LLCs
In light of persistently high failures of small business partnerships and limited liability companies, mediator Frank Burke discusses proactive strategies for protecting and defining business rights and responsibilities, as well as reactive measures for owners.
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Opinion
Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Roundup
After Chevron
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 different rulemaking and litigation areas.
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Series
After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking
The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.
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Opinion
Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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How Cannabis Rescheduling May Affect Current Operators
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's proposal to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III provides relief in the form of federal policy from the stigma and burdens of Schedule I, but commercial cannabis operations will remain unchanged until the federal-state cannabis policy gap is remedied by Congress, say Meital Manzuri and Alexis Lazzeri at Manzuri Law.
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Series
Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer
The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.
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Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule
Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.
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A Look At Calif. Contract Considerations In Fiji Water Ruling
A California appellate court's recent decision in Carolina Beverage v. Fiji Water, that a party may not seek contractual recovery on the basis of constructive termination, offers a look at contract construction and other considerations on negotiating distribution agreements, says Michael Laszlo at Clark Hill.