Food & Beverage

  • February 06, 2026

    'Very Bizarre': Trump's Funding Freeze Appeal Vexes DC Circ.

    D.C. Circuit judges struggled Friday with whether to unblock a federal funding freeze carrying multitrillion-dollar implications, as a Trump administration lawyer disclaimed interest in a vast spending halt but also dodged opportunities to rule it out unequivocally.

  • February 06, 2026

    Kirkland Leads Jennifer Garner's Baby Food Co.'s $198M IPO

    Once Upon a Farm, an organic baby food brand co-founded by actor Jennifer Garner, began trading Friday after it raised nearly $198 million by offering 11 million shares, in an offering guided by Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.

  • February 06, 2026

    Allstate Denies Coverage For Uber Driver's Deadly Road Rage

    Allstate called on a Seattle federal judge to find that it has no duty to defend a delivery driver from a wrongful death lawsuit alleging he fatally shot and killed another man during an apparent road rage incident while working for Uber Eats and DoorDash.

  • February 06, 2026

    Kroger And Albertsons Win Dismissal In Antitrust Labor Case

    A Colorado federal judge on Friday dismissed a grocery store employee's proposed class action against Kroger and Albertsons alleging the pair violated antitrust law through a no-poach agreement to not hire competitor employees during a strike.

  • February 06, 2026

    Bojangles Let Russian Hackers Steal Worker Data, Suit Says

    Fried chicken fast food chain Bojangles allegedly let Russian hackers infiltrate its computer system and steal hundreds of thousands of files on its employees, resulting in the exposure of their sensitive personal information on the dark web, according to a new complaint in North Carolina's business court.

  • February 06, 2026

    Shake Shack Governance Suit Headed For Dismissal In Del.

    A stockholder lawsuit challenging Shake Shack Inc.'s corporate governance arrangements is set to be dismissed after the parties jointly asked the Delaware Court of Chancery to end the case, cutting off the named plaintiff's claims while preserving the ability of other stockholders to bring similar suits later.

  • February 06, 2026

    4 Takeaways From The EU's Latest Trade Agreements

    The European Union recently cemented formal trade agreements with India and Mercosur, a group of Latin American countries, which — along with creating certainty for businesses in the regions — strike a sharp contrast with the approach taken in framework deals reached by President Donald Trump. Here, Law360 examines four takeaways from the two trade agreements announced by the EU.

  • February 06, 2026

    NC Restaurants Say They Didn't 'Keep' Tips In DOL Wage Suit

    Two North Carolina restaurants urged a federal court Friday to narrow a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit alleging they unlawfully kept and pooled tips from front-of-house workers and allocated the funds to tip-ineligible back-of-house employees, arguing they did not "keep" the tips by distributing them to nontipped workers.

  • February 06, 2026

    Anti-Pot Advocates Vow To Fight Legalization In Courts

    Principals and allies of a leading antidrug nonprofit pledged Friday to pursue the fight against marijuana legalization and normalization in the courts by challenging a pending proposal to loosen federal cannabis restrictions and directly suing some of the country's largest marijuana companies.

  • February 06, 2026

    Japan's Kirin Selling Bourbon Brand To Gallo For Up To $775M

    Kirin Holdings said Friday it has agreed to sell its U.S.-based Four Roses bourbon whiskey business to E. & J. Gallo Winery for up to 120 billion yen ($775 million).

  • February 06, 2026

    5 Firms Guide Refresco's $768M Acquisition Of SunOpta

    Netherlands-based Refresco said Friday it has agreed to acquire Minnesota-based SunOpta in an all-cash deal valuing the U.S.-listed company at $6.50 per share, or roughly $768 million, in a deal steered by at least five law firms. 

  • February 06, 2026

    Pa. Grocer Denied Bid To Bar Competition From Walmart

    A Pittsburgh-area grocery store can't get a court order barring a neighboring Walmart from selling groceries, after a federal judge found that the store could not convincingly link its decline in sales to Walmart's recent expansion of its food offerings.

  • February 05, 2026

    7th Circ. Deems Pilgrim's Price-Fix Settlement Non-Binding

    The Seventh Circuit on Thursday held that Pilgrim's Pride did not definitively settle chicken and other protein price-fixing claims with Sysco via a brief email acceptance and unsigned agreement, ruling that "a barebones email exchange" and unsigned agreement wasn't enough to formally resolve the dispute.

  • February 05, 2026

    Conagra Owes $25M For Man's Lung Disease From Pam Spray

    A California state civil jury hit Conagra Brands with a $25 million verdict after unanimously finding it liable for causing a debilitating lung disease known as bronchiolitis obliterans of a man who says he was exposed to diacetyl that was added to the company's Pam butter-flavored cooking spray.

  • February 05, 2026

    Consumers Fight To Keep Frozen Potato Antitrust Suit Alive

    Consumer groups pursuing price-fixing allegations against the nation's leading frozen potato product producers and certain others have urged an Illinois federal judge to let their claims proceed, arguing they've plausibly outlined a "classic antitrust story" that should be allowed to enter the evidence-gathering stage.

  • February 05, 2026

    8th Circ. Says Farmer Must Face Water Dispute In Tribal Court

    The Eight Circuit ruled that a Minnesota farmer can't block White Earth Tribal Court proceedings in federal court while his river water permitting case is still being litigated in the tribe's court system.

  • February 05, 2026

    Wash. Lawyer Faces Sanction Threat Over Alleged AI Errors

    A federal judge has ordered an attorney in Washington state to submit a sworn declaration explaining why she shouldn't be sanctioned for what opposing counsel claimed are dozens of artificial intelligence "hallucinations" across multiple case filings.

  • February 05, 2026

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Dual Representation DQ, Biting Censure

    The North Carolina Business Court kicked off 2026 with a flurry of rulings and a few rebukes from the bench, including partially disqualifying counsel in a restaurant mismanagement melee and censuring a solo attorney who sought to circumvent the specialized superior court's rules.

  • February 05, 2026

    David Protein Gets Ingredient Supply Antitrust Claims Tossed

    A New York federal court dismissed a lawsuit from several low-calorie food producers accusing protein bar-maker David Protein of refusing to sell them a fat replacement ingredient after it purchased the ingredient's only supplier.

  • February 05, 2026

    Tyson Won't Have To Hand Over Poultry Welfare Records

    The Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday recommended against greenlighting a Tyson Foods Inc. stockholder's effort to obtain wide-ranging internal records about poultry welfare and labor practices, concluding the plaintiff failed to show a credible basis to suspect corporate wrongdoing that would justify further inspection.

  • February 05, 2026

    DOL Must Pay Retaliation Suit Atty Fees, Farm HR Head Says

    The U.S. Department of Labor should pay attorney fees and expenses that a human resources manager at a Tennessee pork farm incurred to defend the agency's retaliation suit, the manager told a federal court Thursday, saying the department failed to investigate the claims against her before suing.

  • February 05, 2026

    Nerds And Other Ferrara Candies Allegedly Contain Arsenic

    Ferrara Candy Co. was hit with a proposed class action Wednesday in Illinois federal court over allegations that popular brands of its candy, including Nerds, Trolli gummy candy, Laffy Taffy and Sweet Tarts, contain toxic levels of arsenic.

  • February 05, 2026

    FAT Brands Seeks OK To Use Subsidiary Stock Sale Cash

    FAT Brands is asking a Delaware bankruptcy judge for permission to use the proceeds from a sale of new shares in one of its subsidiary restaurant chains, saying it needs the more than $3 million in cash to fund its Chapter 11 case.

  • February 05, 2026

    Fla. Judge Recommends Axing Some Claims Against IP Atty

    A Florida federal judge Thursday recommended tossing several claims in a lawsuit alleging a patent attorney defamed an inventor in the press, saying the claims are unsupported.

  • February 05, 2026

    FDA Changes 'No Artificial Colors' Food Claims Rules

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said that companies can promote their products as containing "no artificial colors" when the colors aren't derived from petroleum, a move intended to make it easier for companies to claim that their foods aren't artificially colored.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    DHS' Parole Termination Violates APA And Due Process

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    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s abrupt termination of family reunification parole programs violates both the Administrative Procedure Act and the due process rights of vetted beneficiaries who relied on the government's explicit invitation to wait in the U.S. for an immigrant visa to become available, says Abdoul Konare at Konare Law.

  • Opinion

    The Case For Emulating, Not Dividing, The Ninth Circuit

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    Champions for improved judicial administration should reject the unfounded criticisms driving recent Senate proposals to divide the Ninth Circuit and instead seek to replicate the court's unique strengths and successes, says Ninth Circuit Judge J. Clifford Wallace.

  • Series

    Muay Thai Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Muay Thai kickboxing has taught me that in order to win, one must stick to one's game plan and adapt under pressure, just as when facing challenges by opposing counsel or judges, says Mark Schork at Feldman Shepherd.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Intentional Career-Building

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    A successful legal career is built through intention: understanding expectations, assessing strengths honestly and proactively seeking opportunities to grow and cultivating relationships that support your development, say Erika Drous and Hillary Mann at Morrison Foerster.

  • Key Trends In PFAS Regulation And Litigation For 2026

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    As 2026 begins, the legal and regulatory outlook for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances is defined less by sweeping federal initiatives and more by incremental adjustments, judicial guardrails and state-driven regulations — an environment in which proactive risk management and close monitoring of policy developments will be essential, say attorneys at MG+M.

  • Food Industry Braces For MAHA And Other Challenges In 2026

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    After the Make America Healthy Again movement kept the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under pressure in 2025, actions in the food safety space are likely to continue this year, including updated Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program dietary guidelines and processed food definitions, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Preparing For Congressional Investigations In A Midterm Year

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    2026 will be a consequential year for congressional oversight as the upcoming midterm elections may yield bolder investigations and more aggressive state attorneys general coalitions, so companies should consider adopting risk management measures to get ahead of potential changes, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Key Trends Shaping ESG And Sustainability Law In 2026

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    2025 saw a chaotic regulatory landscape and novel litigation around environmental, social and governance issues and sustainability — and 2026, while perhaps more predictable, will likely be no less challenging, with more lawsuits and a regulatory tug-of-war complicating compliance for global companies, say attorneys at Crowell.

  • 5 Tariff And Trade Developments To Watch In 2026

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    A new trade landscape emerged in 2025, the contours of which will be further defined by developments that will merit close attention this year, including a key ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court and a review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, says Ted Posner at Baker Botts.

  • Top 5 Antitrust Issues For In-House Counsel To Watch In 2026

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    With Trump administration enforcement policy having largely taken shape last year, antitrust issues that in-house counsel should have on the radar range from scrutiny of technology-assisted pricing to the return of merger remedies, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • 4 Developments That Defined The 2025 Ethics Landscape

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    The legal profession spent 2025 at the edge of its ethical comfort zone as courts, firms and regulators confronted how fast-moving technologies and new business models collide with long-standing professional duties, signaling that the profession is entering a period of sustained disruption that will continue into 2026, says Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG Law.

  • Navigating AI In The Legal Industry

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    As artificial intelligence becomes an increasingly integral part of legal practice, Law360 guest commentary this year examined evolving ethical obligations, how the plaintiffs bar is using AI to level the playing field against corporate defense teams, and the attendant risks of adoption.

  • How Fractional GCs Can Manage Risks Of Engagement

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    As more organizations eliminate their in-house legal departments in favor of outsourcing legal work, fractional general counsel roles offer practitioners an engaging and flexible way to practice at a high level, but they can also present legal, ethical and operational risks that must be proactively managed, say attorneys at Boies Schiller.

  • Reviewing 2025's Most Pertinent Wiretap Developments

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    2025 was a remarkable year in the world of web tracking wiretapping litigation, not only for the increased caseload but also because of numerous developing theories of liability, with disputes expected to continue unabated in 2026, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • Series

    Nature Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Nature photography reminds me to focus on what is in front of me and to slow down to achieve success, and, in embracing the value of viewing situations through different lenses, offers skills transferable to the practice of law, says Brian Willett at Saul Ewing.

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