Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Food & Beverage
-
March 07, 2024
Kroger, Albertsons Want Shoppers' Suit To Await FTC Case
Kroger and Albertsons told a California federal judge Thursday that the Federal Trade Commission's challenge to their $24.6 billion merger should take precedence over a private lawsuit they want paused while the FTC case plays out in Oregon federal court.
-
March 07, 2024
Hy-Vee Beats Ex-Workers' 401(k) Fee Suit
An Iowa federal judge granted a win Thursday to Hy-Vee Inc. in a class action accusing it of failing to sufficiently lower its retirement plan's recordkeeping fees, saying the supermarket chain showed it did its due diligence to make sure it didn't run afoul of federal benefits law.
-
March 07, 2024
Dog Owner, Co. Can't Drop Claim From Pet Food Labels Trial
A Washington federal judge won't let a dog owner and Champion Petfoods LP defer an unjust enrichment claim until after a trial scheduled to begin in April over allegations that the company misled consumers about the ingredients in its food.
-
March 07, 2024
Judge Delays Final OK For Almond Grower's Ch. 11 Loan
A California bankruptcy judge Thursday pushed back final approval of $30 million in Chapter 11 financing for almond grower Trinitas Farming by at least another week, saying more time is needed to address his concerns with the loan agreement.
-
March 07, 2024
FTC Slams 'Unprecedented' 7-Eleven Defense In Agency Suit
The Federal Trade Commission is calling 7-Eleven's theory that only the U.S. Department of Justice can seek civil penalties for violating commission orders "unprecedented," asking a D.C. federal judge to deny the company's motion to dismiss the commission's suit for allegedly violating a 2018 consent order.
-
March 07, 2024
Chicken Buyers Bail On Remaining Claims Against Producers
A class of direct purchasers effectively threw in the towel Wednesday on continuing with class price-fixing claims against Perdue Farms, Claxton Poultry and others, cutting deals that abandon attempts to revive the allegations and allow the buyers to avoid up to $1 million in legal costs they might have owed the major chicken producers.
-
March 07, 2024
Monsanto, Seattle Spar Over Guardrails For Possible PCB Trial
Monsanto Co. and Seattle are wrangling over evidentiary matters in the city's suit over PCB pollution in the Lower Duwamish Waterway, with each side asking a Washington federal judge to impose limits for a possible trial that's currently set for September.
-
March 06, 2024
Pilgrim's Pride Escapes COVID-19 Death Suits, For Now
A Texas federal judge on Wednesday tossed without prejudice a suit seeking to hold Pilgrim's Pride Corp. liable for the COVID-19 deaths of an employee and the spouse of another worker, saying the plaintiffs failed to specify when the employees were allegedly exposed.
-
March 06, 2024
Judge OKs McDonald's Atty-Client Privilege In Race Bias Fight
An Illinois magistrate judge on Tuesday mostly upheld McDonald's attorney-client privilege assertions over internal employee-investigation documents produced by outside counsel at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP in a contentious race bias lawsuit by former McDonald's executives against the fast-food giant, finding that McDonald's and the attorney haven't entirely waived privilege.
-
March 06, 2024
Choice Can Confirm Award Over $61M In Franchisee Claims
Choice Hotels has been ordered to pay a roughly $780,000 arbitration award after dozens of South Asian franchisees earlier fought the hotel chain's bid to arbitrate their claims that a vendor kickback scheme cost them $61 million.
-
March 06, 2024
Walmart Gets Chance To Escape $1.8M Injury Verdict
A New Jersey appellate panel on Wednesday vacated a finding of liability as part of a $1.8 million jury verdict in an injury suit against Walmart, saying erroneous jury instructions warranted a retrial on liability but not damages.
-
March 06, 2024
La. Drivers Get OT Since They Never Left State, 5th Circ. Told
An attorney for three delivery drivers urged the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday to revive a lawsuit claiming their Louisiana employer stiffed them on overtime pay, arguing a Fair Labor Standards Act carveout doesn't apply because the men traveled within state lines.
-
March 06, 2024
Judge May Sit In On Depos In Abbott Formula MDL
An Illinois federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation in which Abbott Laboratories' Similac infant formula is alleged to have caused a deadly illness in premature babies said Wednesday she would hold off on appointing a special master following claims of improper deposition conduct, offering to tune in to depositions to help move things along.
-
March 06, 2024
Texts Constituted Contract In $7.7M Fertilizer Fight, Judge Says
A Florida federal court ordered a global fertilizer seller to pay a Brazilian client $7.7 million, finding that the company breached an agreement that was partially negotiated over WhatsApp to sell 45,000 metric tons of ammonium sulfate.
-
March 05, 2024
Poland Springs Sued Over Microplastics In 'Natural' Water
Poland Springs is being falsely marketed as "100% natural spring water," a description that isn't accurate thanks to the "dangerous levels of microplastics" found in the bottled water, according to a proposed class action filed Tuesday in New York federal court.
-
March 05, 2024
5 Things To Know About CFPB's Cut To Credit Card Late Fees
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new rule to cut credit card late fees has ignited a banking industry firestorm, with at least one trade group warning it will "imminently" sue. Here are five things to know as the fallout from the rule begins to take shape.
-
March 05, 2024
Food Services Co. Beats Hospital Director's Fall Suit
Food services provider Compass Group USA can't be held liable for injuries a hospital executive suffered after slipping on a spill in the hospital's cafeteria, a New York federal judge ruled, saying "irrefutable video evidence" shows it was hospital employees, not Compass workers, who dropped the food.
-
March 05, 2024
Coca-Cola Sued Again Over Topo Chico's Margarita Label
Buyers of The Coca-Cola Co.'s hard seltzer brand Topo Chico Margarita Hard Seltzer have alleged the company misled them into believing the drink contains tequila by labeling it "margarita," and listing "alcohol" and "agave syrup" as ingredients, according to a new putative class action.
-
March 05, 2024
Gibson Dunn AI Leader On Weathering The AI Policy Blizzard
Like a mountaineer leading a team through a snowstorm, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's artificial intelligence co-chair Cassandra L. Gaedt-Sheckter is guiding companies developing and using artificial intelligence through a blizzard of new laws and regulations coming online in Europe and the U.S., saying that assessing AI risks is the North Star to mitigating them.
-
March 05, 2024
Dam Removal Delay Would Harm Fish, Wash. Tribe Says
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians is urging a Washington federal judge to reject a hydroelectric company's bid to pause an order directing it to remove part of a temporary rock dam on the Puyallup River, saying any delay would harm protected salmon only to spare the company from its own self-inflicted problems.
-
March 05, 2024
WTO Backs European Biofuel Curbs Over Malaysian Suit
The World Trade Organization rejected Malaysia's challenge to the European Union's phasing out of palm oil-based biofuels, ruling Tuesday that the bloc had reasonably limited when member states can count biofuel toward its renewable energy goals.
-
March 05, 2024
Settlement Cools Off Conn. Pizza Chain's Trademark Fight
The parties in a long-running trademark dispute involving the Connecticut-based pizza chain Colony Grill, which twice was delivered to the Second Circuit, have permanently dropped their claims against each other in the wake of a recent settlement.
-
March 05, 2024
Judge Rips THC Drink Co.'s 'Repackaged' Injunction Bid
A manufacturer of THC- and CBD-infused beverages shouldn't prevail on its second attempt to stop a rival from marketing drinks under an allegedly similar name, an Illinois federal magistrate judge found Monday, writing that the company's second injunction request "simply repackaged and reargued information."
-
March 05, 2024
Cheese Producer Cops To Selling Listeria-Tainted Products
A former New York raw milk cheese manufacturer and his company pled guilty Tuesday to introducing cheese into the market that was linked to a deadly outbreak of listeriosis.
-
March 05, 2024
Cokinos Young Wants Texas BBQ Property Suit Tossed
Cokinos Young PC has asked a Texas state court to toss one plaintiff from a malpractice suit alleging the firm and one of its attorneys misrepresented a barbecue restaurant's founder in a property deal, further contending that the rest of the claims should head to arbitration.
Expert Analysis
-
Perspectives
Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice
Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.
-
Canada Emoji Ruling Considers Digital-Age Contract Realities
In South West Terminal v. Achter Land & Cattle, a Canadian court recently held that a thumbs-up emoji was just as valid as a signature, illustrating a common situation in the digital age and setting forth a rational framework for addressing contract disputes in U.S. courts and elsewhere, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.
-
Cannabis Cos. Must Heed PFAS Risks In Products, Packaging
Cannabis businesses and ancillary service providers will have to grapple with evolving PFAS enforcement, litigation and regulations – most recently enacted in Minnesota – and take steps to mitigate risks posed by forever chemicals in their products and packaging, say Malina Dumas and Amy Rubenstein at Dentons.
-
Calif. PAGA Ruling Devalues Arbitration For Employers
The California Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Adolph v. Uber may lessen employers' appetites for arbitration under the state’s Private Attorneys General Act, because arbitrating an allegedly aggrieved employee’s individual claims is unlikely to dispose of their nonindividual claims, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.
-
Employer Pointers From Tiger Woods' Legal Dispute With Ex
Ex-girlfriend Erica Herman's sexual harassment suit against Tiger Woods, which was recently sent to arbitration, highlights the need for employers to understand their rights and responsibilities around workplace relationships, nondisclosure agreements and arbitration provisions, say Stephanie Reynolds and Sean McKaveney at Fisher Phillips.
-
Conflicting NLRB Stances Create Employer Compliance Plight
Contradictory positions set forth by the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel — asserted in a recent unfair labor practice judgment against CVS and a pending case against Starbucks — place employers in a no-win dilemma when deciding whether they can provide wage and benefit improvements to both union and nonunion employees, says Alice Stock at Bond Schoeneck.
-
Insurance Insights From 5th Circ. Blue Bell Coverage Ruling
The Fifth Circuit's recent ruling that denied Blue Bell insurance coverage for the defense costs incurred from a shareholder lawsuit underscores the importance of coordination of different coverages and policies across programs, and the potential perils of seeking recovery for losses under nontraditional policies, say Geoffrey Fehling and Casey Coffey at Hunton.
-
The Fed. Circ. In July: Reissue Claims And The Original Patent
The Federal Circuit's recent decision that Float'N'Grill's original patent claims may not be broadened to cover an entire class of structures highlights the importance of reissue claims' additional statutory requirements, specification drafting and alternative-embodiment disclosure, and keeping patent families open, say Paul Stewart and Brandon Smith at Knobbe Martens.
-
Courts Can Overturn Deficient State Regulations, Too
While suits challenging federal regulations have become commonplace, such cases against state agencies are virtually nonexistent, but many states have provisions that allow litigants to bring suit for regulations with inadequate cost-benefit analyses, says Reeve Bull at the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management.
-
BIPA, Meta Pixel Suits Could Reshape Cybersecurity Litigation
Businesses and attorneys should watch several pending electronic privacy cases that revolve around disclosure of protected personal information and health data, which may shape how courts handle damages and class actions in the future of cybersecurity litigation, say Kelly Johnson and Melanie Condon at Goldberg Segalla.
-
Tales From The Trenches Of Remote Depositions
As practitioners continue to conduct depositions remotely in the post-pandemic world, these virtual environments are rife with opportunities for improper behavior such as witness coaching, scripted testimony and a general lack of civility — but there are methods to prevent and combat these behaviors, say Jennifer Gibbs and Bennett Moss at Zelle.
-
What's New In The DOJ-FTC Proposed Merger Guidelines
While this week's merger guidelines proposal from the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice initially appears to reflect well-established principles of antitrust law, a closer examination reveals a stark departure from the last 40 years of antitrust enforcement, say attorneys at Skadden.
-
ChatGPT Can't Predict The Future Of Antitrust And AI (Yet)
Though OpenAI's ChatGPT has made artificial intelligence a popular topic of conversation recently, the subject of AI and antitrust has been around for years, raising the question of what other competitive concerns might arise as the technology becomes more sophisticated and ubiquitous in our marketplace, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
-
Employer Drug-Testing Policies Must Evolve With State Law
As multistate employers face ongoing challenges in drafting consistent marijuana testing policies due to the evolving patchwork of state laws, they should note some emerging patterns among local and state statutes to ensure compliance in different jurisdictions, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
-
In-House At A Food Company: Tackling Generative AI
Generative artificial intelligence is challenging the status quo of in-house legal teams, bringing both opportunities and challenges in areas such as intellectual property and cybersecurity, and highlighting the need for experimentation and exposure, says Lisa Mather at Mars Wrigley.