Food & Beverage

  • April 14, 2026

    Agri Stats' Price-Fix Settlement Receives Chicken Judge's OK

    An Illinois federal judge overseeing broiler chicken price-fixing litigation gave his early blessing Tuesday to a settlement that end users struck with Agri Stats Inc. that calls for the data service to either cease or substantially change the reports it compiles for protein industry subscribers.

  • April 14, 2026

    Feds Say USDA Can Tie State Funding To Gender Policies

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture defended its move to condition grant funding on compliance with Trump administration policies on gender, women's sports, diversity and immigration, telling a Massachusetts federal judge that states can forgo the funding if they don't want to comply.

  • April 14, 2026

    Keurig Accused Of Falsely Labeling K-Cups Recyclable

    Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. is facing a proposed class action alleging it violated New York consumer protection statutes by deceptively labeling its popular K-Cup pods as recyclable.

  • April 14, 2026

    Colo. Supplement Co. Sent Unwanted Texts, Suit Says

    A Colorado dietary supplement company violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by bombarding consumers with unsolicited telemarketing text messages despite their numbers being listed on the national Do Not Call Registry, according to a proposed class action filed Tuesday in Colorado federal court.

  • April 14, 2026

    Automation Co. Wants Ruling It Didn't Infringe Ocado Patents

    Warehouse robotics company Brightpick wants a Virginia federal judge to find that its artificial intelligence automation robot, Gridpicker, doesn't infringe a series of patents owned by a unit of the British grocery technology business Ocado Group.

  • April 14, 2026

    General Mills Urges Coverage For Ultraprocessed Food Suits

    General Mills said it is entitled to defense and indemnity for a series of suits claiming it injured consumers through the distribution of ultraprocessed foods, telling a Pennsylvania federal court that its Liberty Mutual and Chubb insurers lack legitimate grounds to contest their coverage obligations.

  • April 13, 2026

    Legislative Update: Cannabis And Psychedelics Bill Roundup

    Massachusetts legislators sent a bill making numerous changes to the state's cannabis regulatory scheme to the governor, Oregon and Louisiana advanced legislation to expand medical marijuana access to seriously ill patients in healthcare facilities, and Virginia's governor approved legislation paving the way for medical psilocybin if the drug's federal status should change. Here are the major moves in cannabis and psychedelics legislation from the past week.

  • April 13, 2026

    Jack In The Box Wants 38 Washington Stores Kept Open

    Jack in the Box Inc. urged a Washington state judge to temporarily bar two franchisees from closing dozens of locations across the state, claiming that they owe nearly $1.4 million in unpaid marketing fees and that unilaterally shuttering the stores would violate their franchise agreements.

  • April 13, 2026

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    The Delaware Chancery Court's docket this past week featured a mix of high-stakes settlements, fast-moving deal litigation, governance disputes and a notable post-trial ruling involving fraud-tainted loans.

  • April 13, 2026

    Restaurants, DOL Ink $750K Deal To End Pay, Child Labor Suit

    A group of Washington state restaurants will pay $750,000 to resolve a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit alleging unpaid wages, child labor violations and retaliation, according to a consent judgment entered in federal court.

  • April 13, 2026

    Mars Says Peanut M&M Labeling Sinks Allergy Lawsuit

    Mars Inc. is urging a Connecticut state court to throw out a suit from a woman alleging that she had an allergic reaction after eating M&M's Minis, saying her revised complaint's admission that she bought Peanut Butter M&M's Minis dooms any claims she has for negligence.

  • April 13, 2026

    Coors Says Botched Sulfuric Acid Delivery Led To $2M Damage

    Molson Coors says its Colorado chemical contractor accepted and delivered a shipment of sulfuric acid that was nearly double what the beverage giant had ordered, causing a tank overflow that forced a full plant evacuation and caused $2 million in damages, according to a new lawsuit filed in Colorado state court.

  • April 13, 2026

    Costco Says Its Food Prep Eliminates All Chicken Concerns

    Costco has told a Washington federal judge that its popular rotisserie chickens pose no health risk to customers because the product is fully cooked, in a bid to dismiss a proposed class action claiming the product is processed in a plant contaminated with salmonella.

  • April 13, 2026

    5th Circ. Finds Ban On Home Distilling Unconstitutional

    A federal ban on home distilleries that dates to the early temperance movement violates the U.S. Constitution's limits on congressional taxing power, the Fifth Circuit said in siding with hobbyists, including one who said he wants to experiment with apple-pie vodka recipes in his garage.

  • April 13, 2026

    Gov't Appeal Could Throw Wrench In Tariff Refunds

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced its court-ordered tariff refund system will be available for its first entries in a week's time, but practitioners remain concerned that a potential government appeal of the ruling could narrow the amount of imports and companies that can qualify for the relief.

  • April 13, 2026

    Honey Baked Ham Ignores Data-Tracking Opt-Out, Suit Says

    Honey Baked Ham fraudulently assures website visitors they have control over whether their data is tracked or shared, but secretly records and discloses that information to third parties anyway without the visitors' consent, according to a proposed class action filed Friday in Georgia federal court.

  • April 13, 2026

    Robbins Geller To Lead Investor Suit Despite Filing Glitch

    A New York federal judge has appointed Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP as lead counsel in a proposed class action against BellRing Brands, the owner of Premier Protein and other supplement brands, after finding a lead counsel bid that was filed six minutes past the deadline due to a technical glitch was excusable.

  • April 13, 2026

    GAO Denies Protest Of Mess Hall Services Contract Add-On

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office has rejected a protest from a services provider, finding a revision that added food hall staffing for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point did not fall outside the scope of the original contract.

  • April 10, 2026

    SEC Suit Over $200M Water Machine Scheme Put On Ice

    A New York federal judge on Friday paused the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's civil suit against an Indiana man accused of participating in a $200 million Ponzi scheme, ruling that allowing discovery to go forward could interfere with the government's parallel criminal case.

  • April 10, 2026

    Boston Beer Hit With $175.5M Verdict In Aluminum Can Case

    An Illinois federal jury has returned a $175.5 million verdict against a Boston Beer affiliate in a case alleging that the company didn't purchase the agreed-upon amount of beverage cans from Ardagh Metal Packaging USA Corp., according to a disclosure filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • April 10, 2026

    Uber Must Give FTC, States Contact Info On 30M Subscribers

    A California federal magistrate judge Friday ruled in favor of the Federal Trade Commission and states on multiple discovery disputes in their litigation alleging Uber dupes consumers into its paid subscription service, requiring Uber to hand over contact data on roughly 30 million Uber subscribers.

  • April 10, 2026

    Trump Org Jumps Into Trump-Themed Burger Biz TM Fight

    President Donald Trump's business organization waded into a trademark fight in Texas federal court involving companies behind a Trump-themed burger eatery, accusing all of them of illegally using "Trump Burger," "MAGA Burger" and imagery tied to the president's likeness to mislead patrons into thinking they were affiliated with him. 

  • April 10, 2026

    Colo. Appeals Panel Limits Pre-2016 Liquor License Exception

    A Colorado state appeals panel interpreted for the first time an exemption to a Colorado law prohibiting the owner of a retail liquor license from owning more than one unless the license was obtained prior to 2016, finding the exemption applies to the original license holder, not a store's location.

  • April 10, 2026

    Compass Group Workers Get Cert. For Tobacco Fee Suit

    Former employees for food service company Compass Group USA have secured class certification for their Missouri federal lawsuit claiming the company's $48 bi-weekly health insurance fee for tobacco using-workers violates federal law.

  • April 10, 2026

    'What're We Doing Here?' Judge Asks FTC After Deere Deal

    An Illinois federal judge wondered aloud Friday whether John Deere's $99 million class action settlement with farmers, and more importantly its promised facilitation of independent equipment repairs, mooted the Federal Trade Commission's still-pending right-to-repair lawsuit.

Expert Analysis

  • FTC Focus: Testing Joint Enforcement Over Loyalty Programs

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    The Federal Trade Commission's case against Syngenta can be understood both as a canary for further scrutiny over loyalty-discount practices and a signal of the durability of joint federal-state antitrust enforcement, with key takeaways for practitioners and those subject to regulatory antitrust scrutiny alike, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • NYC Bar Opinion Warns Attys On Use Of AI Recording Tools

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    Attorneys who use artificial intelligence tools to record, transcribe and summarize conversations with clients should heed the New York City Bar Association’s recent opinion addressing the legal and ethical risks posed by such tools, and follow several best practices to avoid violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, say attorneys at Smith Gambrell.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Dispatches From Utah's Newest Court

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    While a robust body of law hasn't yet developed since the Utah Business and Chancery Court's founding in October 2024, the number of cases filed there has recently picked up, and its existence illustrates Utah's desire to be top of mind for businesses across the country, says Evan Strassberg at Michael Best.

  • 4 Quick Emotional Resets For Lawyers With Conflict Fatigue

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    Though the emotional wear and tear of legal work can trap attorneys in conflict fatigue — leaving them unable to shake off tense interactions or return to a calm baseline — simple therapeutic techniques for resetting the nervous system can help break the cycle, says Chantel Cohen at CWC Coaching & Therapy.

  • Rescheduling Cannabis Marks New Tax Era For Operators

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    As the attorney general takes steps to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, operators and advisers should prepare by considering the significant changes this will bring from tax, state, industry and market perspectives, says Michael Harlow at CohnReznick.

  • Series

    Playing Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    An instinct to turn pain into purpose meant frequent trips to the tennis court, where learning to move ahead one point at a time was a lesson that also applied to the steep learning curve of patent prosecution law, says Daniel Henry at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: January Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five rulings from October and November, and identifies practice tips from cases involving consumer fraud, oil and gas leases, toxic torts, and wage and hour issues.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Judicial Use Informs Guardrails

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    U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado discusses why having a sense of how generative AI tools behave, where they add value, where they introduce risk and how they are reshaping the practice of law is key for today's judges.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: 5 Tips From Ex-SEC Unit Chief

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    My move to private practice has reaffirmed my belief in the value of adaptability, collaboration and strategic thinking — qualities that are essential not only for successful client outcomes, but also for sustained professional satisfaction, says Dabney O’Riordan at Fried Frank.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Start A Law Firm

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    Launching and sustaining a law firm requires skills most law schools don't teach, but every lawyer should understand a few core principles that can make the leap calculated rather than reckless, says Sam Katz at Athlaw.

  • Key False Claims Act Trends From The Last Year

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    The False Claims Act remains a powerful enforcement tool after some record verdicts and settlements in 2025, and while traditional fraud areas remain a priority, new initiatives are raising questions about its expanding application, says Veronica Nannis at Joseph Greenwald.

  • Series

    Hosting Exchange Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Opening my home to foreign exchange students makes me a better lawyer not just because prioritizing visiting high schoolers forces me to hone my organization and time management skills but also because sharing the study-abroad experience with newcomers and locals reconnects me to my community, says Alison Lippa at Nicolaides Fink.

  • FDA's 2025 Enforcement Scorecard Highlights Data Focus

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's increased enforcement activity in 2025 was driven by artificial intelligence and a focus on foreign manufacturers, necessitating proactive compliance strategies for an environment that is increasingly reliant on data, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Utilizing AI In Agriculture Requires A Strong IP Strategy

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    As agricultural technology companies race to deploy artificial intelligence solutions at scale, it's important to prioritize the importance of intellectual property strategy early on to avoid losing value in a fast-moving landscape, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • How A 1947 Tugboat Ruling May Shape Work Product In AI Era

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    Rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence test work-product principles first articulated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s nearly 80-year-old Hickman v. Taylor decision, as courts and ethics bodies confront whether disclosure of attorneys’ AI prompts and outputs would reveal their thought processes, say Larry Silver and Sasha Burton at Langsam Stevens.

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