Food & Beverage

  • March 21, 2024

    Kroger's 'Smoked Gouda' Is Indeed Wood-Smoked, Judge Says

    Kroger Co. has defeated a proposed class action alleging deceptive labeling on its "smoked gouda," as an Illinois federal judge granted summary judgment Wednesday in an order referencing a declaration from the source company's president that the cheese goes through a wood-smoking process.

  • March 21, 2024

    FTC Says Retailers Used Pandemic To Boost Profits, Power

    The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday that some grocery retailers appear to have used their market power to avoid supply disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic and that grocery prices remain high because companies used rising costs as an opportunity to boost profits.

  • March 21, 2024

    Feds, Green Groups Say Campbell's Is Polluting Lake Erie

    The United States and two environmental groups brought separate complaints on the same day accusing a Campbell's subsidiary of violating the Clean Water Act by polluting Lake Erie and the Maumee River with wastewater from its northwestern Ohio canning facility.

  • March 20, 2024

    Calif. Firm Takes On AI, Dating Apps And 'Dopamine Culture'

    A Valentine’s Day class action against dating platform MatchGroup was just the latest in a series of ambitious fights the Malibu-based boutique Clarkson Law Firm PC has picked with Big Tech and beyond, hoping to more broadly protect consumers from addictive and harmful business practices.

  • March 20, 2024

    Hemp Co. Wins Bid To Reverse 'Irrational' UK Gov't CBD Ban

    A hemp company has won its bid in a London court for permission to challenge the U.K. government's decision to ban imports of its cannabis-derived products based on a trace of a controlled chemical.

  • March 20, 2024

    How The Supreme Court Could Narrow Chevron

    After hours of oral argument in a closely watched administrative law case, it appeared that some U.S. Supreme Court justices could be open to limiting the opportunities for lower courts to defer to federal agencies' legal interpretations in disputes over rulemaking — and legal experts said there are a number of ways they could do it.

  • March 20, 2024

    Breaking Down Each State's Climate Priority Policies

    Forty-five states have now completed climate action plans outlining how they'll advance federal climate goals through policy and programs in coming years, with most focusing at least in part on real estate development as a way to reduce emissions.

  • March 20, 2024

    Law360 Announces The Members Of Its 2024 Editorial Boards

    Law360 is pleased to announce the formation of its 2024 Editorial Advisory Boards.

  • March 20, 2024

    US Chamber's Litigation Funding Concerns Spur 2 State Laws

    Amid concerns from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about third-party litigation funding, including from potentially hostile foreign entities, state legislatures in Indiana and West Virginia have recently passed bills imposing restrictions on the practice.

  • March 19, 2024

    Biden Admin Bashes Senate Push To Ban Paraguayan Beef

    The White House came out Tuesday against a bipartisan Senate resolution that would override a rule allowing imports of fresh beef from Paraguay to resume, saying such a move would undermine U.S. credibility abroad.

  • March 19, 2024

    McDonald's Franchisee's Ch. 11 Plan Approved With Deal

    A Pittsburgh McDonald's franchisee received court approval Tuesday for its Chapter 11 plan after also getting the nod on a $4.35 million settlement with a former employee who was sexually assaulted as a minor by her manager at one of the debtor's restaurants.

  • March 19, 2024

    Fishery Says DOL Stonewalling Discovery In H-2A Probe

    The U.S. Department of Labor can't strategically walk away from discovery obligations in a suit accusing a Mississippi fishery of threatening to deport workers if they cooperate in a wage investigation, the fishery said, arguing it won't have a chance to properly defend itself.

  • March 19, 2024

    Wash. Hydro Co. Says Dam Removal Plan Follows Court Order

    A Washington hydroelectric company insists it is not disobeying a court order to remove part of a temporary rock dam that harms migrating fish, telling a federal judge that a tribe's alternative is not structurally sound and cannot be permitted.

  • March 19, 2024

    Gerber Says Vitamin C Not Used As Preservative In Baby Food

    Gerber has said consumers who bought its baby food snack products with "no preservatives" labels got exactly what they bargained for, food with no ingredients that function as preservatives, asking a New York federal judge to toss a false-ad suit.

  • March 19, 2024

    Staffing Co. Owner Gets 4 Years For Hiring Untaxed Labor

    The owner of a staffing company in Key West, Florida, that hired untaxed and unauthorized workers was sentenced by a Florida federal judge to four years in prison and ordered to pay $3.5 million in restitution to the U.S. government, according to court documents.

  • March 19, 2024

    Trade Court Says US Demand For Garlic Bond Came Too Late

    The U.S. Court of International Trade backed an insurance company's contention that the U.S. government waited eight years too long to demand payments for Chinese garlic imports the company covered, saying the government was contractually obligated to make a demand sooner.

  • March 19, 2024

    Kellogg Arbitration Pact Is Invalid, 6th Circ. Told In 401(k) Fight

    A former Kellogg Co. employee urged the Sixth Circuit to reinstate his lawsuit accusing the company of up-charging retirement plan participants with excessive fees, saying the case was wrongly booted to arbitration without his consent.

  • March 19, 2024

    Uber, Progressive Unit Settle NC Widower's Coverage Fight

    The widower of an Uber Eats driver who died in a car crash on the job has settled his lawsuit seeking a payout for the accident from the ride-hailing giant and its insurer, according to a notice filed in North Carolina federal court.

  • March 19, 2024

    Fishers Angle For Justices' Attention With New Monument Suit

    Two fishermen are challenging a 5,000-square-mile offshore national monument in a lawsuit that sets up a fight over the extent of presidential power under the Antiquities Act, an issue that has already drawn the attention of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

  • March 19, 2024

    Chicago Club Files Defamation Suit Over Viral TikTok Video

    A Chicago nightclub and restaurant has filed a defamation lawsuit in Illinois against a woman who posted a viral video on TikTok claiming its staff physically assaulted her, alleging her false accusation has cost it business and harmed its reputation.

  • March 19, 2024

    Consumers Rip Nestle's Latest Early Win Bid In False-Ad Suit

    A proposed class of bottled water drinkers have torn into Nestle Waters North America Inc.'s third attempt to shut down their claims that the company's Poland Spring brand water is deceptively marketed because it is not actually spring water, arguing Nestle's early win bid "strains or ignores a mountain of evidence."

  • March 19, 2024

    Unilever To Spin Off Ice Cream Biz, Including Ben & Jerry's

    European consumer goods giant Unilever on Tuesday unveiled plans to separate its ice cream business, which includes Ben & Jerry's, as part of an effort to simplify and "streamline" its operations.

  • March 19, 2024

    IFF Selling Pharma Unit To French Co. Roquette In $2.85B Deal

    IFF, a maker of ingredients and additives for food, health and home-based products, said Tuesday it has agreed to sell its Pharma Solutions business to French plant-based ingredient maker Roquette at an enterprise value of up to $2.85 billion. 

  • March 19, 2024

    NY Cannabis Co. Says Regulators Retaliated For Criticism

    A New York cannabis operator is suing the state's Office of Cannabis Management, saying regulators have unfairly targeted her business with a stop-work order in retaliation for public criticism of the OCM's failure to stop activities that go against its rules.

  • March 18, 2024

    SEC Fines Supervisor $47K Over Revenue Inflation Claims

    A former finance director of water treatment company Evoqua Water Technologies Corp. will pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nearly $47,000 to resolve claims that he was part of a scheme to inflate the company's revenue by $36 million.

Expert Analysis

  • Legislative And Litigation Trends In Environmental Advertising

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    Companies that tout their products' environmental benefits can significantly reduce the risk that they will face allegations of greenwashing by staying up to date on related Federal Trade Commission guidance, state requirements and litigation trends, say Raqiyyah Pippins and Kelsie Sicinski at Arnold & Porter.

  • What's On The Horizon In Attorney General Enforcement

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    A look at recent attorney general actions, especially in the areas of antitrust and artificial intelligence, can help inform businesses on what they should expect in terms of enforcement trends as 10 attorney general races play out in 2024, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Reducing The Risk Of PFAS False Advertising Class Actions

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    A wave of class actions continues to pummel products that allegedly contain per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances, with plaintiffs challenging advertising that they say misleads consumers by implying an absence of PFAS — but there are steps companies can take to minimize risk, say attorneys at Keller and Heckman.

  • Aldi Design Infringement Case Highlights Assessment Issues

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    The forthcoming English Court of Appeal decision in Marks and Spencer v. Aldi, regarding the alleged infringement of design rights, could provide practitioners with new guidance, particularly in relation to the relevant date for assessment of infringement and the weight that should be attributed to certain design elements in making this assessment, say Rory Graham and Georgia Davis at RPC.

  • USCIS Fee Increases May Have Unintended Consequences

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    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ new fee schedule, intended to provide the agency with needed funds while minimizing the impact of higher fees on individual immigrants and their families, shifts too much of the burden onto employers, say Juan Steevens and William Coffman at Mintz.

  • Series

    Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

  • How Recent Laws Affect Foreign Purchase Of US Real Estate

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    Early diligence is imperative for U.S. real estate transactions involving foreign actors, including analysis of federal and state foreign investment laws implicated by the transaction, depending on the property's nature and location, the parties' citizenship, and the transaction's structure, say Massimo D’Angelo and Anthony Rapa at Blank Rome.

  • SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

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    As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

  • 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.

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