Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Food & Beverage
-
March 29, 2024
5th Circ. Won't Revive La. Delivery Drivers' OT Suit
Three Louisiana-based Flowers Foods delivery drivers fit an exemption in federal wage law for workers engaged in interstate commerce "any way you slice it," the Fifth Circuit found as it upheld the dismissal of their overtime lawsuit.
-
March 28, 2024
Making Home Liquor Constitutional, Distillers Group Says
A Texas federal judge decided that a case between the Hobby Distillers Association and the government over the right to make hard liquor at home could proceed on the merits after both sides argued about the constitutionality of homemade spirits during a hearing on Thursday.
-
March 28, 2024
Prolific Consumer Atty Beats Fireball Maker's Sanctions Bid
An Illinois federal judge has declined to sanction a prolific plaintiffs' attorney over alcoholic beverage company Sazerac Co. Inc.'s allegations the attorney sues without regard to the facts and law, saying the complaint "was not entirely baseless" and the suit was dropped within a "safe harbor" period under civil procedure rules.
-
March 28, 2024
NLRB Gets 1st Backing Of Starbucks Order In Circuit Court
A split D.C. Circuit panel on Thursday enforced a National Labor Relations Board order finding Starbucks violated federal labor law by barring a worker from passing out union pins, marking the first time a federal appeals court has weighed in on a board decision against the coffee giant.
-
March 28, 2024
Calif. Looks To Sink Chamber's Climate Disclosure Challenge
The state of California says a challenge by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups to its recently enacted corporate climate disclosure laws should be tossed, arguing the groups cannot sue since enforcement of the law has not begun and the groups cannot plead an injury.
-
March 28, 2024
Hard Rock Cafe Workers Score Conditional Cert. In Tip Suit
A Georgia federal judge has granted conditional class certification to a group of Hard Rock Cafe servers alleging the company forfeited its right to pay servers subminimum tipped wages by compelling them to perform excessive untipped work and not telling them a tip credit would be taken against their wages.
-
March 28, 2024
Claims Trimmed In Trader Joe's Chocolate Heavy Metals Suit
A California judge has dismissed five out of nine claims in a consolidated complaint alleging that Trader Joe's Co. misled consumers by failing to disclose that its dark chocolate bars contain heavy metals, finding that the complaint doesn't do enough to allege that the amounts are actually dangerous.
-
March 28, 2024
WeightWatchers Adds 23andMe's Ex-Legal Head As Its GC
WW International Inc., formerly known as WeightWatchers, hired Jacqueline Cooke from ancestry-tracking company 23andMe this month as its new general counsel and corporate secretary.
-
March 28, 2024
Fruit Grower Cleared To Leave Ch. 11 With $43M Exit Loan
California stone fruit producer Prima Wawona is set to wind down its packing and distribution division, hand ownership of the reorganized company to creditors and leave bankruptcy after a Delaware bankruptcy judge agreed to approve its Chapter 11 plan Thursday.
-
March 28, 2024
Faruqi & Faruqi Beats 5 Firms To Lead NewAge Investor Suit
A Colorado district judge has selected two clients of Faruqi & Faruqi LLP to lead an investor class action accusing the executives and directors of wellness company NewAge Inc. of securities fraud, saying the plaintiff with an even bigger financial interest is unfit for appointment because he hid his "troubling" background.
-
March 28, 2024
Fees Awarded For 'Feeble' Milk Vitamin Eligibility Argument
A Delaware federal judge has ordered ChromaDex Inc. and Dartmouth College to pay attorney fees to Elysium Health for making a "feeble" and failed argument defending their milk vitamin patents from an eligibility challenge, saying he's rarely been more confident that a suit was unreasonable.
-
March 28, 2024
MSG-Maker Says Chinese Exporters Skirting Duties Via Malaysia
The U.S. arm of Japanese monosodium glutamate manufacturer Ajinomoto Co. Inc. claims Chinese MSG producers are using a Malaysian competitor to evade duties on the umami flavor enhancer, saying the Malaysian company's facility isn't big enough to produce the product.
-
March 28, 2024
Whataburger Accused Of Keeping Shoddy Funds In 401(k)
Whataburger breached federal benefits law by stocking its employees' $215 million retirement plan with poorly performing funds and failing to replace them with better options, according to a proposed class action filed in Texas federal court.
-
March 28, 2024
Dole Drops $293M Sale Of Vegetable Biz Under DOJ Pressure
Dole PLC said Thursday it agreed to drop the planned $293 million sale of its fresh vegetable division to Chiquita Holdings Ltd. after the U.S. Department of Justice raised concerns about the deal's effect on packaged salad prices.
-
March 28, 2024
'Better Made' Chips Goes After 'Better Smoke' Pot
Detroit-based Better Made Snack Foods Inc. said a number of cannabis companies in Michigan have been selling a line of "Better Smoke" cannabis products that mimics the snack brand's century-old logo in a trademark infringement lawsuit filed Wednesday.
-
March 28, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen investors target fraudsters who ran a fake film tax scheme, Barclays Bank sue privately owned Russian bank PJSC Sovcombank, easyGroup bring a trademark infringement claim against online casino TGI Entertainment for its "easybet" word sign, and a bioethanol fuel company hit high-profile individuals connected to the collapsed Elysian Fuels scheme. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
-
March 27, 2024
Minor League Players Charged With Insider Trading
California federal prosecutors have hit current and former minor league baseball players with claims they made profits totaling over $162,000 trading off insider information about burger chain Jack in the Box's $575 million acquisition of its fellow chain Del Taco.
-
March 27, 2024
Foreign Subsidy Rule Muddles 'Countervailable' Meaning
The U.S. Department of Commerce's new final rule authorizing itself to investigate subsidies that governments give to manufacturers in other nations casts uncertainty over the definition of "countervailable" in the absence of clarity on how third-party governments will be incorporated into these duty probes.
-
March 27, 2024
Tribes Want Climate Change Row With Oil Cos. In State Court
Two Native American tribes urged a Washington federal court to remand their consolidated case against ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 back to state court, arguing they've only asserted state-law causes of action.
-
March 27, 2024
Cannabis Caucus Dems Urge Garland To Restore Pot Protections
The two Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives' Congressional Cannabis Caucus blasted Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday for not reissuing "overdue" protections for marijuana businesses acting in compliance with state and tribal law.
-
March 27, 2024
DoorDash, Grubhub Want Docs From NY Restaurant Lobbyists
DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats have urged a Manhattan federal judge to let them subpoena the trade group executives who allegedly "worked closely" with officials on challenged New York City caps on fees that food delivery apps can charge restaurants.
-
March 27, 2024
Candy Co. Can Use Recipe Amid 'Chocolate Moonshine' Fight
A Pennsylvania federal judge has refused to ban the candy maker Local Yokels Fudge from making or selling fudge, ruling the owner's ex-husband hadn't shown the company is still using his family's secret "Chocolate Moonshine" fudge recipe.
-
March 27, 2024
Farm Data Co. Wants To Bar Carlton Fields Atty From IP Suit
Lawyers for an agricultural industry data software outfit want a Carlton Fields lawyer banned from participating in a patent dispute with a rival startup because of her in-house involvement at the rival and work on an older trade secrets suit involving the same technology.
-
March 27, 2024
47 House Dems Urge Changing Trade Deal To Stem Migration
A large bloc of U.S. lawmakers has called on the Biden administration to remove what the lawmakers say is a damaging investor-state dispute settlement mechanism from the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, warning federal government officials that it's a primary reason why migrants are leaving the region.
-
March 27, 2024
HR Services Co. May Be Liable In Harassment Suit, Court Says
A Texas appellate court said Wednesday that more fact-finding is needed to determine whether a professional employer organization could be on the hook for a sexual harassment claim brought by a cafeteria worker, but found that the company is, legally, an employer.
Expert Analysis
-
New Initiatives Will Advance Corporate Biodiversity Reporting
Two important recent developments — the launch of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures' framework on nature and biodiversity reporting, and Nature Action 100's announcement of the 100 companies it plans to engage on biodiversity issues — will help bring biodiversity disclosures into the mainstream, say David Woodcock and Maria Banda at Gibson Dunn.
-
Class Action Defense: Don't Give Up On Bristol-Myers Squibb
Federal appellate court decisions in the six years since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Bristol-Myers Squibb show that it's anyone's ballgame in class action jurisdictional arguments, so defendants are encouraged to consider carefully whether, where and when arguing lack of specific personal jurisdiction may be advantageous, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
-
Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
-
High Court Bakery Driver Case Could Limit Worker Arbitration
Employers that require arbitration of worker claims under the Federal Arbitration Act should closely follow Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries as it goes before the U.S. Supreme Court, which could thoroughly expand the definition of “transportation workers” who are exempt from compulsory arbitration and force companies to field more employee disputes in court, says Nick Morisani at Phelps Dunbar.
-
State Regs Sow Discord Between Cannabis, Hemp Industries
Connecticut, Maryland and Washington are the latest states choosing to require intoxicating hemp products to comply with the states' recreational marijuana laws, resulting in a widening rift between cannabis and hemp as Congress works on crafting new hemp legislation within the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.
-
Series
Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.
-
How Cos. Can Prioritize Accessibility Amid Increase In Suits
The U.S. Department of Justice's notice of proposed rulemaking on digital accessibility and recent legal proceedings regarding tester plaintiff standing in accessibility cases show websites and mobile apps are a growing focus, so businesses must proactively ensure digital content complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, say attorneys at Hinckley Allen.
-
Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'
The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.
-
Lessons On Arbitration Carveouts From Diddy-Diageo Suit
After Sean "Diddy" Combs brought a racial discrimination suit in New York state court against Diageo, the company has been unable to compel arbitration under its distribution agreement with Combs, underscoring the importance of narrowly tailoring arbitration carveouts for injunctive relief, says Rosanne Felicello at Felicello Law.
-
Calif. GHG Disclosure Law Will Affect Companies Worldwide
California's Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, which will require comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions disclosures from large companies operating in the state, will mean compliance challenges for a wide range of industries, nationally and globally, as the law's requirements will ultimately trickle out and down, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.
-
NY Rulings Show Tough Odds For 'Made With' Class Actions
Two recent dismissals of proposed class actions — over alleged misrepresentations of food product ingredients — in New York federal courts suggest a growing skepticism of challenges to "made with"-type claims, but companies that decide to make such claims should still consider options to mitigate litigation risk, say Ashley Simonsen and Kaixin Fan at Covington.
-
Practice Tips To Help Keep Patent Reissuance Options Open
The Federal Circuit's recent denial of Float'N'Grill's reissue application for a floating grill patent shows that certain best practices, including a clear description of alternative structures and a patentability search, allow for a possible widening of a future patent's scope in a broadening reissue, say attorneys at BCLP.
-
Opinion
Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform
The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.
-
Series
ESG Around The World: Japan
Japan is witnessing rapid developments in environmental, social and corporate governance policies by making efforts to adopt a soft law approach, which has been effective in encouraging companies to embrace ESG practices and address the diversity of boards of directors, say Akira Karasawa and Landry Guesdon at Iwata Godo.
-
How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing
Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.