Food & Beverage

  • April 05, 2024

    Texas Justices Reinstate Defense Verdict In Store Fall Suit

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday reversed a lower appellate court's decision to reinstate a slip-and-fall suit against an Albertsons LLC grocery store, saying that although certain instructions may have been erroneously given to the jury, the effect was harmless and not unfair.

  • April 05, 2024

    Jolie Seeks Abuse Evidence, Pitt Rips 'Pure Pretext' Defense

    Actress Angelina Jolie has asked a California state judge to force her estranged husband, Brad Pitt, to produce evidence of his alleged "history of physical abuse" in litigation over her sale of their French vineyard, while Pitt has filed his own evidentiary motion arguing Jolie's defense argument is "pure pretext."

  • April 05, 2024

    Neb. Beef Seller Says No Proof It Joined Wage-Fixing Scheme

    A Colorado federal judge gave a Nebraska beef wholesaler another chance to petition for dismissal from a class action accusing it of participating in a meat industry wage-fixing scheme, after the company filed a motion that didn't follow the court's page limit.

  • April 05, 2024

    Judge Lourie's Dissent Revives Debate Over FDA Safe Harbor

    U.S. Circuit Judge Alan Lourie has urged the Federal Circuit to reconsider its precedent over a safe harbor that allows infringement when companies are developing products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and many attorneys agreed with him that the appeals court has been improperly expanding the safe harbor for decades.

  • 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

    Beverage Giant Sued Under Illinois Genetic Privacy Law

    Reyes Holdings, the largest beer distributor in the United States, has been sued in Illinois state court by a proposed class of job applicants who claim their genetic privacy rights were violated when they were required to submit to physical exams and inquiries about their family medical history as a condition of employment at the beverage distributor or its subsidiaries.

  • April 05, 2024

    Food Co. Shells Out $1.5M To End 401(k) Mismanagement Suit

    A California food manufacturer will pay $1.5 million to end a proposed class action alleging it loaded a $323 million employee 401(k) plan with excessive fees and costly, underperforming investment options, according to settlement details unveiled in federal court Friday.

  • April 05, 2024

    Off The Bench: ACC Drama, Football Firing Suits Intensify

    In this week's Off The Bench, Florida State University cannot escape an ACC lawsuit that may enforce a nine-figure penalty against the school if it should leave the conference, while both Northwestern University and the Arizona Cardinals face more legal headaches over their decisions to fire key personnel.

  • 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

    Arby's, Sonic, Dunkin Settle Mystery Shopper IP Claims

    A Texas federal judge has stayed all deadlines in Fall Line Patents LLC's suit that accuses Arby's Restaurant Group Inc., Sonic Franchising LLC and Dunkin Brands Inc. of infringing its mystery shopper patent with their respective mobile applications, after the parties filed a joint bid saying they have settled their claims in principle.

  • April 04, 2024

    Domino's Franchise Shorted Mileage, Pa. Delivery Driver Says

    The owners of a group of Domino's Pizza franchises have been hit with a putative collective action in Pennsylvania federal court from an ex-delivery driver claiming drivers at their stores are paid less than minimum wage because of their "flawed" policy of reimbursing mileage expenses.

  • April 04, 2024

    8 Bronx Men Charged In Brazen 'Wild West' Beer Train Heists

    Eight men are charged with looting thousands of dollars' worth of beer from railyards and distribution sites throughout the Northeast in what prosecutors described as a "Wild West"-like crime spree over a two-year period in which the suspected ringleader is believed to have scouted members on Instagram touting promises of making "100k+ in a month."

  • April 04, 2024

    Judge Axes Experts In Chiquita MDL, With More On The Way

    A Florida federal judge presiding over a long-running multidistrict litigation against Chiquita Brands rejected expert witnesses offered by both Chiquita and plaintiffs who accuse the banana grower of financially supporting a defunct Colombian paramilitary group that allegedly killed their relatives.

  • April 04, 2024

    Wash. AG Defends Authority To Block Kroger-Albertsons Deal

    The Washington Attorney General's Office has told a state court that a local consumer protection law allows it to bring actions challenging anti-competitive mergers and urged the court to reject contentions from Kroger and Albertsons that the state lacks authority to block a nationwide deal.

  • April 04, 2024

    Great Lakes Fishing Pact Tramples Treaty Rights, Tribe Says

    The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians is asking the Sixth Circuit to undo a Great Lakes fishing decree between it and four other tribes and the state of Michigan, arguing the decree was entered without its consent and imposes upon its treaty rights.

  • April 03, 2024

    China, Australia Make Deal To End Wine Duty Spat

    Australia has dropped its World Trade Organization case against China after Beijing agreed to end hefty tariffs on wine imports from Down Under, a notice circulated to the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body confirmed Wednesday.

  • April 03, 2024

    Insurer Says Rail Co. Must Pay In $400K Spoiled Chicken Suit

    Over $400,000 worth of frozen chicken thighs rotted on the move to Oregon, and an insurer who covered the putrid loss told a South Carolina federal court that the rail company responsible should pay for the screw-up.

  • April 03, 2024

    Anheuser-Busch 'Choking Off' Beer Supply, Distributor Says

    A New York beer distributor accused Anheuser-Busch InBev of slowly cutting off its supply using force that could only be exerted by such a "corporate behemoth," according to a suit filed in Manhattan federal court.

  • April 03, 2024

    Beekeeper Groups Seek Fees From EPA After 9th Circ. Appeal

    Attorneys for beekeeper groups in an appeal over a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision on insecticides have asked the Ninth Circuit to award nearly $750,000 in legal fees after a ruling that hammered the EPA but left the agency's decision intact.

  • April 03, 2024

    Chiquita Says $6.9M Win Being Held Up By Banana Exporter

    Chiquita Brands told a Florida federal court that an Ecuadorian banana exporter deserves to be fined for skirting court orders requiring the exporter to hand over financial information needed to execute a $6.9 million international arbitral award to Chiquita.

  • April 03, 2024

    1-800-Flowers Seeks $4.3M In Fees After Rival's IP Suit Failed

    After dispatching a trademark infringement lawsuit from Edible Arrangements last month, rival retailer 1-800-Flowers.com told a Georgia federal judge on Tuesday it should be entitled to up to $4.3 million attorney fees for being forced to defend against the "anemic" and "oppressive" litigation.

  • April 03, 2024

    Blue Bell Creameries Panel Seeks Del. Derivative Suit Revival

    Citing a failure to reach a mediated settlement, a Blue Bell Creameries Inc. board panel has moved to reactivate a long-sidelined Delaware Court of Chancery derivative suit seeking to hold the ice cream company's past directors and officers accountable for deadly food-safety oversight failures in 2015.

  • April 02, 2024

    Amazon Driver Took, Shared Pics of Actor's Home, Suit Says

    Actor Deon Cole sued Amazon in California state court alleging that one of its delivery drivers took photos of the inside of his home and shared them in a group chat while dropping off groceries, saying Amazon negligently and recklessly hired the driver.

  • April 02, 2024

    Black Farmers Say USDA Biased Against Minority Borrowers

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture has continued its practice of discriminating against farmers of color by disproportionately denying or slow-walking loans and imposing unfair terms based on applicants' race, according to a proposed class action filed in Washington, D.C., federal court.

  • April 02, 2024

    2 More Poultry Cos. Settle Wage-Fixing Suit

    Poultry processing workers sought preliminary approval Monday for deals with Case Foods Inc. and Mountaire Farms totaling $22 million that would make the companies the 10th and 11th wage-fixing defendants to settle out of a broader Maryland federal court case where total payouts reach $217.25 million.

Expert Analysis

  • The Corporate Disclosure Tug-Of-War's Free Speech Issues

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    The continuing conflict over corporate disclosure requirements — highlighted by a lawsuit against Missouri's anti-ESG rules — has important implications not just for investors and regulated entities but also for broader questions about the scope of the First Amendment, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.

  • A Refresher On Alcohol Sponsorships Before The Super Bowl

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    As millions of people will see in Super Bowl commercials Sunday, celebrity sponsorships continue to be a valuable tool for alcohol beverage marketers — and those looking to better target audiences must understand how regulation of the alcohol industry affects these deals, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Opinion

    Food Safety Bill Needed To Protect Kids From Heavy Metals

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    The recent announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that hundreds of children may have been exposed to unsafe lead levels in applesauce highlights the continuing failure by Congress to pass legislation that would require baby food manufacturers to ensure safer levels of heavy metals in their products, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.

  • What Brands Must Know For Calif. Recycle Label Compliance

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    A brand that stamps nonrecyclable packaging with the chasing arrows symbol could face liability under California's new law on labeling recyclable material, so brand owners should keep an eye on the state's pending survey process to identify which materials meet the criteria before requirements go into effect, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout

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    While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • Zimbabwe Ruling Bolsters UK's Draw As Arbitration Enforcer

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    An English court's recent decision in Border Timbers v. Zimbabwe, finding that state immunity was irrelevant to registering an arbitration award, emphasizes the U.K.'s reputation as a creditor-friendly destination for award enforcement, say Jon Felce and Tulsi Bhatia at Cooke Young.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Brazil

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    Environmental, social and governance issues have increasingly translated into new legislation in Brazil since 2020, and in the wake of these recently enacted regulations, we are likely to see a growing number of legal disputes in the largest South American country related to ESG issues such as greenwashing if companies are not prepared to adequately adapt and comply, say attorneys at Mattos Filho.

  • Vagueness In Calif. Climate Law Makes Compliance Tricky

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    California's recently enacted Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act requires companies making claims of carbon neutrality, or significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions, to disclose information supporting those claims — but vague and conflicting language in the statute poses multiple problems for businesses, say John Rousakis and Chris Bowman at O'Melveny.

  • Series

    Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.

  • Harmonizing Agricultural And Clean Energy Goals

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    Congress' extension of the Farm Bill offers a chance to more thoroughly consider innovation and investments that could transform the competition between farmers and solar developers into synergistic agrivoltaic systems, which use land for both agriculture and solar energy generation, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • What's At Stake In High Court NLRB Injunction Case

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    William Baker at Wigdor examines the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to hear Starbucks v. McKinney — where it will consider a long-standing circuit split over the standard for evaluating National Labor Relations Board injunction bids — and explains why the justices’ eventual decision, either way, is unlikely to be a significant blow to labor.

  • The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift

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    As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.

  • 5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money

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    As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.

  • Series

    Playing Competitive Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing competitive tennis has highlighted why prioritizing exercise and stress relief, maintaining perspective under pressure, and supporting colleagues in pursuit of a common goal are all key aspects of championing a successful legal career, says Madhumita Datta at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52

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    Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ramy Djerassi discusses how Super Bowl 52, in which the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots, provides an apt metaphor for alternative dispute resolution processes in commercial business cases.

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