Food & Beverage

  • May 28, 2025

    16 States Sue Trump Admin Over Cuts To Science Grants

    A coalition of 16 state attorneys general have sued the Trump administration in New York federal court on Wednesday to stop it from cutting millions of dollars in grant funds from the National Science Foundation for scientific research and programs aimed at enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM fields and environmental justice.

  • May 28, 2025

    5-Hour Energy Price Discrimination Suit Falls Short Again

    A California federal judge ruled Wednesday that family-owned wholesalers proved competition with Costco in their price-discrimination suit against the maker of 5-Hour Energy and that the energy "shot" company offered Costco disproportionate promotions, but the wholesalers did not prove that this discrimination caused them antitrust injury.

  • May 28, 2025

    Feds Won't Appeal Offshore Fish Farming Permit Decision

    The federal government will not appeal a decision to set aside a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' permit intended to speed up industrial aquaculture in public ocean waters, ending the dispute and any future use of the structures off the country's eastern and western coasts.

  • May 28, 2025

    Distiller Denied New Shot At Wash. State Alcohol Sales Regs

    A federal judge in Washington state gave short shrift to a bid for reconsideration from a New York distillery and two Washington whiskey drinkers who lost their challenge to the Washington state liquor board's rules requiring a physical in-state presence to sell online.

  • May 28, 2025

    Flamin' Hot Cheetos Defamation Suit Snuffed Out, For Now

    A California federal judge Wednesday granted Frito-Lay Inc.'s motion to strike a former employee's discrimination and defamation suit claiming he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos and had his livelihood destroyed when the company disavowed his story, finding he's unlikely to win his claims, but giving him another shot at amendment.

  • May 28, 2025

    NC BBQ Joint Roasts Flagship Over Trademark Use

    A chain of fast casual barbecue restaurants in North Carolina has accused the original location of misusing the brand's trademarks to sell sauces and rubs beyond the bounds of its alleged licensing agreement, according to a newly designated state Business Court complaint.

  • May 28, 2025

    Coca-Cola Sued Over '100% Natural Flavors' In Sprite, Fanta

    The Coca-Cola Co. deceptively labels its Sprite and Fanta brands of sodas as being made with "100% natural flavors" despite that they contain synthetic sweetener ingredients and additives like citric acid and aspartame, according to a proposed class action filed Tuesday in California federal court.

  • May 27, 2025

    Texas Legislature Sends THC Ban To Governor's Desk

    Texas lawmakers on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill banning products with hemp-derived THC and sent the legislation to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk, advancing one of the goals of his administration.

  • May 27, 2025

    Renaissance Fair Co. Says Landlord Planned 'Knock-Off' Event

    The operator of a New England Renaissance fair has accused its landlord of stalling on a long-term lease extension in order to plan a "knock-off version" of the event.

  • May 27, 2025

    Next Meats Beats Investor Suit Over 'Short Swing' Profits

    The controlling shareholders of Japan-based Next Meats have beaten, for good, a suit alleging they collected unlawful short-swing profits after a New York federal judge found the plaintiff could not satisfy the so-called Morrison test of demonstrating a domestic securities transaction that can be tried in U.S. courts.

  • May 27, 2025

    Bayer, Monsanto On Hook For $611M Roundup Cancer Awards

    A Missouri appellate panel Tuesday affirmed a trial court's $611 million award reduced from a jury's $1.56 billion verdict for three people who claimed their cancer was caused by Bayer unit Monsanto Co.'s Roundup weedkiller, saying a law professor's testimony about a Ninth Circuit decision was not prejudicial.

  • May 27, 2025

    Mobile App Infringement Suit Against Bridgestone Dropped

    A New Jersey company and tire maker Bridgestone Americas Inc. on Tuesday jointly asked a Texas federal judge to dismiss a case in which Bridgestone was accused of using patented mobile device communication technology in its mobile app.

  • May 27, 2025

    6th Circ. Urged To Revive FedEx, Kellogg Pension Suits

    FedEx and Kellogg retirees urged the Sixth Circuit to revive two proposed class actions alleging their ex-employers' use of outdated actuarial assumptions shortchanged the value of their pension annuity benefits, arguing that definitions of the term "actuarial equivalent" from the time federal benefits law was enacted supported their appeals.

  • May 27, 2025

    DOJ Pushes Back Against Agri Stats Recusal Bid

    The U.S. Department of Justice told a Minnesota federal judge Friday there is no reason to recuse himself from a case accusing Agri Stats of helping meat processors exchange sensitive information because the clerk who allegedly created a conflict is not working on the case.

  • May 27, 2025

    Ex-Domino's Drivers Seek Class Cert. In Vehicle Costs Suit

    A trio of former Domino's delivery drivers asked an Ohio federal judge to certify their proposed classes of current and former drivers in and outside the Buckeye State as they pursue claims that Domino's franchisee Team Pizza Inc. took them below minimum wage by shuffling vehicle costs onto workers.

  • May 27, 2025

    Ghee Butter Buyer Denied Class Cert. In 'Good Fat' Label Suit

    A California federal judge has denied a bid for class certification in a suit alleging the sellers of ghee, a clarified butter, falsely claimed that it contained "good fat," saying the lead plaintiff failed to show that anyone besides her was misled by the labeling.

  • May 27, 2025

    Justices Deny Food Wrapping Co.'s Prior Art Petition

    The owner of invalidated food wrapping patents failed to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to review its allegations that the Federal Circuit wrongly presumes prior art is always enabled.

  • May 23, 2025

    Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar

    This past year, a handful of attorneys secured billions of dollars in settlements and judgments for both classes and individual plaintiffs against massive companies and organizations like Facebook, Dell, the National Association of Realtors, Johnson & Johnson, UFC and Credit Suisse, earning them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2025.

  • May 23, 2025

    Amazon.com Sued Over Toxic Metals Found In Rice Products

    Consumers hit Amazon.com with a proposed class action in Washington federal court Friday, seeking to hold the retail giant liable for selling rice products that allegedly contain "alarmingly high" levels of toxic heavy metals.

  • May 23, 2025

    Groups Look To Block Trump's Monument Fishing Order

    Three conservation groups are challenging a Trump administration proclamation that will open up a 400,000-square-mile Hawaiian national marine monument to commercial fishing, saying the president exceeded his Antiquities Act and constitutional authority in doing so.

  • May 23, 2025

    IP Notebook: Trump's AI Plan, ChatGPT Logs, Dewberry Cited

    In this round of emerging issues in copyright and trademark law, Law360 takes a closer look at comments submitted to the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies to create an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan as part of an executive order from President Donald Trump.

  • May 23, 2025

    Dallas Jury Enters $9.4M Verdict Against El Rancho Chain

    A Dallas County jury said that a Texas trucking company is owed nearly $10 million from the El Rancho Supermercado grocery chain and its shipping arm over contract breaches that occurred after the chain was acquired by a new company.

  • May 23, 2025

    NC Biz Court Serves Up Wins In Real Estate Commission Fight

    North Carolina's business court gave a food service company and a real estate broker partial wins in their ongoing commission dispute, ruling that the broker is entitled to commissions on transactions it has not been paid for but cannot require the food firm to use it for future deals.

  • May 23, 2025

    Ruby Tuesday Fired Bartender On Medical Leave, Court Told

    Ruby Tuesday fired a bartender while she was out on medical leave recovering from a broken hip that she sustained in a car accident and refused to let her return to her former role, she said in a suit filed in North Carolina federal court.

  • May 23, 2025

    Wrigley Scion Can't Avoid Fraud Claims, Pot Co. Ex-Execs Say

    Former executives of troubled medical marijuana company Parallel said its former CEO, scion to the Wrigley gum fortune, shouldn't be allowed to escape a lawsuit accusing him of lying about share prices to lure executive talent, slamming his motion to dismiss.

Expert Analysis

  • AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex

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    Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.

  • When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

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    In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

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    Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

  • Top 10 Healthcare And Life Sciences Issues To Watch In 2025

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    Under the new Trump administration, this coming year may benefit some healthcare and life sciences stakeholders, while creating new challenges for others amid an increasingly complex regulatory environment, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Why Trump's FTC May Not U-Turn On Robinson-Patman

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent revival of Robinson-Patman Act enforcement may well be here to stay under the Trump administration — albeit with some important caveats for businesses caught in the government's crosshairs, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    Documentary Filmmaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a documentary filmmaker has allowed me to merge my legal expertise with my passion for storytelling, and has helped me to hone negotiation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are important to both endeavors, says Robert Darwell at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Litigation Funding Disclosure Debate: Strategy Considerations

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    In the ongoing debate over whether courts should require disclosure of litigation funding, funders and plaintiffs tend to argue against such mandates, but voluntarily disclosing limited details about a funding arrangement can actually confer certain benefits to plaintiffs in some scenarios, say Andrew Stulce and Marc Cavan at Longford Capital.

  • FDA's Red No. 3 Ban Reshapes Food Safety Legal Landscape

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent ban on Red No. 3 represents more than the end of a controversial dye — it signals a shift in regulatory priorities, consumer expectations, intellectual property strategy, compliance considerations and litigation risk, says Dino Haloulos at Foley Mansfield.

  • Scope And Nature Of Judicial Relief Will Affect Loper's Impact

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    The practical result of post-Loper Bright rulings against regulatory actions will depend on the relief courts grant — and there has been controversy in these types of cases over whether the ruling is applied just to the parties or nationwide, and whether the action can be left in place while it's corrected, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • Del. Dispatch: Lessons From Failed Albertsons-Kroger Merger

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    The allegations in Albertsons' lawsuit against Kroger following the grocery stores' blocked merger demonstrate how a target company can best ensure that a buyer timely and effectively complies with its obligations to pursue the necessary regulatory approvals for a deal, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Series

    Adventure Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Photographing nature everywhere from Siberia to Cuba and Iceland to Rwanda provides me with a constant reminder to refresh, refocus and rethink the legal issues that my clients face, says Richard Birmingham at Davis Wright.

  • What Vinyl Acetate's Prop 65 Listing Means For Cos.

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    California's recent move to add vinyl acetate to the Proposition 65 list of carcinogens, with enforcement starting later this year, will have sweeping compliance and risk implications for businesses in the retail, food and beverage, paint, adhesive, industrial manufacturing, and personal care product industries, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • 5 Ways To Create Effective Mock Assignments For Associates

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    In order to effectively develop associates’ critical thinking skills, firms should design mock assignments that contain a few key ingredients, from messy fact patterns to actionable feedback, says Abdi Shayesteh at AltaClaro.

  • More Environmental Claims, More Greenwashing Challenges

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    As companies prepare for the 2025 greenwashing landscape, they should take heed of a D.C. appellate decision that shows that environmental claims are increasingly subject to attack and provides plaintiffs with a playbook for challenging corporate claims of sustainability, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Recent Suits Show Antitrust Agencies' Focus On HSR Review

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's suit this month against KKR for inaccurate and incomplete premerger filings, along with other recent cases, highlights the agency's increasing scrutiny of Hart-Scott-Rodino Act compliance for private equity firms, say attorneys at Willkie.

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