Food & Beverage

  • August 26, 2026

    Publix Fights IRS Over Denied $2.6M Research Tax Credit

    Publix is challenging the IRS' denial of a $2.6 million tax credit for research and development, claiming that the $38.3 million it spent developing software and private-label products should qualify, according to a complaint filed in Florida federal court.

  • August 26, 2026

    Urban Farm Startup 80 Acres Files Ch. 7 With $100M-Plus Debt

    An Ohio-based vertical farming startup, 80 Acres Urban Agriculture, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in Delaware with several affiliates and listing $100 million to $500 million each in assets and liabilities. 

  • August 25, 2026

    Albertsons Witness Says Co.'s Opioid Policies Beat Standards

    Albertsons' pharmacy policies for reviewing potentially suspicious opioid prescriptions "met or exceeded" the standard of care, an expert witness for the company testified Tuesday, on the 26th day of a bench trial in Washington's case accusing the pharmacy chain of fueling the state's opioid epidemic.

  • August 25, 2026

    Applebee's Franchisee Faces Slew Of Data Breach Suits

    The largest franchisee of Applebee's is facing at least eight proposed class actions over an April data breach that exposed the personal information, including health information, of tens of thousands of employees around the country, according to complaints filed in California and Ohio federal court.

  • August 25, 2026

    Dog Food Suit Undercut By Own FDA Citations, Costco Says

    Costco has told a Washington federal court that the very sources cited in a recent proposed class action undercut claims that grain-free dog food contributes to canine heart disease and that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn't found such a connection or issued a recall.

  • August 25, 2026

    Liquid Death Sued Over '0g Sugar' Claim In Energy Drinks

    The maker of Liquid Death energy drinks has been hit with a proposed class action in California federal court for deceptively labeling its sparkling beverages as having "0g sugar" despite them being sweetened with allulose, which the Seventh Circuit recently found to be a sugar under relevant federal regulation.

  • August 25, 2026

    Colo. Judge Ships $8.3M Messner Reeves Fraud Suit To Utah

    A Colorado federal judge granted a motion Monday from law firm Messner Reeves LLP to move a lawsuit accusing the firm of stealing more than $8 million as part of a fraudulent loan scheme to Utah after finding the venue was the proper forum to litigate the claims.

  • August 25, 2026

    DUI Suit Against Bar Wrongly Tossed, Ind. Panel Finds

    An Indiana appeals panel has revived claims against a tavern over a wrong-way crash involving one of its patrons, finding that there is a genuine dispute of fact over whether the tavern was aware the man was visibly intoxicated before he left.

  • August 25, 2026

    Marijuana Rescheduling Critics Assail Government's Standard

    An attorney with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration told an administrative law judge that opponents to cannabis rescheduling could not use agency hearings to challenge federal health regulators' adoption of a new standard for assessing marijuana's medical use.

  • August 25, 2026

    Abbott Cuts $88.5M Deal To End Investors' Formula Recall Suit

    Abbott Laboratories and a proposed class of shareholders have reached an $88.5 million settlement to resolve claims that the company misled investors about its safety practices ahead of the 2022 recall at its Sturgis, Michigan, infant formula plant, in a deal that comes a month after an Illinois federal judge tossed the suit.

  • August 25, 2026

    Potato Processor Fights Collective Bid In Break, OT Suit

    A Washington potato processor urged a federal judge to reject a former forklift driver's bid to conditionally certify a statewide collective of hourly workers who say they were denied pay for automatically deducted meal breaks and pre-shift work.

  • August 25, 2026

    Naked Whey Can't Dump Naked Juice's TM Suit, Judge Says

    Naked Juice can proceed with its trademark infringement suit alleging vitamin and supplement company Naked Whey sells sparkling energy drinks under the brand "Naked" after an Illinois federal judge ruled Monday the plaintiff pled with sufficient details to show customers might think the beverages share a common source.

  • August 25, 2026

    DC Circ. Backs Red Snapper Management Plan

    A D.C. Circuit panel denied a petition from commercial fishers and fish purchasers challenging an annual federal catch limit for South Atlantic red snapper, rejecting their claim that the plan's lack of a limit on dead discards violates federal law and could lead to overfishing.

  • August 25, 2026

    Target Says Wash. Law Blocks Baby Formula Botulism Claims

    Target Corp. is asking a Washington federal court to throw out claims against it by parents who say their infant child developed infant botulism after eating baby formula purchased at the store, saying the Washington Product Liability Act protects retail sellers from such claims.

  • August 25, 2026

    Kellogg Sued Over Special K's 'Zero Added Sugar' Claim

    WK Kellogg was hit with a proposed class action in California federal court Monday alleging it capitalizes on the demand for healthier foods by falsely advertising its Special K cereals as containing zero added sugar despite the presence of allulose syrup, which is sugar under federal and state labeling standards.

  • August 25, 2026

    Turkey Buyers' Cost-Saving Deals Get OK In Price-Fix Fight

    An Illinois federal judge gave his initial blessing Tuesday to an appeal-waiving and cost-saving settlement Perdue Farms and Foster Farms struck with indirect turkey buyers after beating their price-fixing conspiracy claims earlier this year.

  • August 25, 2026

    Calif. Judge OKs $2.25M Settlement In Crab Price-Fixing Suit

    A California judge has preliminarily approved a $2.25 million fund to settle a proposed class action accusing an Oregon seafood company of a conspiracy to cap prices paid to fishermen for Dungeness crab in the Pacific Northwest.

  • August 25, 2026

    Mass. Eatery Workers Sue Chain Over Tip, Wage Violations

    A former server and bartender at a Massachusetts restaurant chain is accusing the company in a state court suit of improperly paying tipped workers the subminimum service rate for nontipped side work, sending workers home early without their full wages and unlawfully deducting fees from employees' tips.

  • August 25, 2026

    7-Eleven Reaches Deal To End Worker's Tobacco Fee Suit

    7-Eleven struck a deal to settle a proposed class action claiming it didn't give workers who used tobacco but agreed to quit an adequate chance to avoid paying a $720 annual health plan fee, according to a filing in Texas federal court.

  • August 24, 2026

    'So What?': Albertsons Judge Skeptical Of Wash. Opioid Suit

    A Washington state judge considering Albertsons' mid-trial motion to dismiss allegations it fueled the state's opioid epidemic told lawyers for the state Monday that while they might have shown the pharmacy chain failed to implement an adequate monitoring system, she's still skeptical the company's conduct actually caused the overdose crisis.

  • August 24, 2026

    Ben & Jerry's Suit Against Magnum Trimmed, But Not Tossed

    A New York federal judge has largely trimmed a Ben & Jerry's lawsuit accusing its former parent company, Unilever, and its current parent, Magnum, of failing to respect the ice cream company's social mission, tossing seven out of 10 claims in the breach of contract suit.

  • August 24, 2026

    Seattle Hookah Lounge Sued Over Fatal Shooting

    The family of a woman shot and killed at a hookah lounge in Seattle are suing several companies connected to the establishment in Washington state court, claiming they negligently allowed violence to occur and failed to provide adequate security despite a known "history of criminal activity" at the location.

  • August 24, 2026

    Sony Sues Kroger Over Influencer Ads With Copyrighted Music

    Sony Music has filed a copyright suit against grocery chain Kroger, saying influencer ad videos promoting its brands, stores, products and latest sales have been using copyrighted sound bites without permission.

  • August 24, 2026

    Taylor Farms Sued Over Tainted Lettuce At Chicago Taco Bell

    Taylor Farms failed to adequately test, inspect and safeguard iceberg lettuce later linked to a multistate Cyclospora outbreak, alleges a Chicago man who says he became seriously ill after eating the company's lettuce at Taco Bell.

  • August 24, 2026

    Wis. Grocery Chain Settles Manager OT Suit For $7.5M

    A Wisconsin grocery chain and a group of department managers have asked a federal court to preliminarily approve a $7.5 million settlement resolving claims that the workers were misclassified as overtime-exempt, a deal expected to cover roughly 1,000 current and former employees.

Expert Analysis

  • Food Kiosk Merger Offers FTC Insights For Dealmakers

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent approval of 365 Retail Markets' merger with fellow food-kiosk provider Cantaloupe balances structural divestiture with behavioral provisions, emphasizing the role of early engagement by the parties and the importance of tailored remedies in concentrated markets, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • AG Watch: Reconciling 2 Maryland Data Privacy Statutes

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    In-house counsel should map the interplay between the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act's strictly necessary standard to deliver a requested service, and the Protection From Predatory Pricing Act's exemption of consent-based pricing within loyalty programs, before the state attorney general begins enforcement on the latter in October, says Erek Barron at Mintz.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • 4 Emerging Approaches To AI Protective Order Language

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    Over the last year, at least five federal district courts have issued or analyzed specific protective order provisions restricting the use of generative artificial intelligence platforms with protected materials, establishing that proactive AI-specific provisions are now standard practice and demonstrating that no single model works for every case, says Joel Bush at Kilpatrick.

  • 1st Surveillance Pricing Law In Md. Reflects Broader Scrutiny

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    A new law will make Maryland the first state to target data-driven or surveillance-based price manipulation, highlighting increased scrutiny from federal and state enforcement agencies and policymakers as they consider whether new laws are required to regulate dynamic pricing, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Heppner Ruling Left AI Privilege Risk For Lawyers Unresolved

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    While a New York federal judge’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner resolved a privilege question surrounding client-side artificial intelligence use, it did not address how to mitigate the risks that can arise when confidential information enters the operative context of an AI system used by an attorney, says Jianfei Chen at Quarles & Brady​​​​​​​.

  • The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

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    With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

  • Safeguarding RWI Coverage As Materiality Focus Persists

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    As first-quarter broker claims reports reveal that materiality disputes remain a key driver of representations and warranties insurance claims, the scarce case law in this area indicates that including a materiality scrape provision in an RWI policy may aid policyholders with recovery, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

  • 2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

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    The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

  • Series

    Playing Magic: The Gathering Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The competitive card game Magic: The Gathering offers me a training ground for the strategic thinking skills crucial to litigation, challenging me to adapt to oft-updated rules, analyze text as complicated as any statute and anticipate my opponent’s next moves, says Christopher Smith at Lash Goldberg.

  • Improving Well-Being In Law, 10 Years After Landmark Study

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    An important 2016 study revealed significant substance abuse and mental health issues among lawyers, and while the findings helped normalize the conversation around these topics, a decade later, structural change is still needed, says Denise Robinson at PLI.

  • How To Gear Up For Trump's Pharma Tariffs

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    President Donald Trump's proclamation establishing tariffs on certain pharmaceutical products holds a few areas of ambiguity that companies should review and prepare for before the tariffs come into effect later this year, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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