Food & Beverage

  • December 15, 2025

    EEOC, PepsiCo Reach $270K Deal To End Vision Bias Suit

    PepsiCo will pay $270,000 to end suit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging it fired a blind call center employee after refusing to find a screen-reading tool compatible with its software system that would allow the worker to do his job, according to a North Carolina federal court filing.

  • December 15, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs Denial Of 'Basin' Beverage Mark

    The Federal Circuit held Monday that a man's attempt to secure a trademark for his company "Basin Beverage Co." should be denied due to the likelihood of causing confusion with at least three registered marks with "Basin" in their name.

  • December 15, 2025

    Yale Hospital Hit With $32M Baby Formula Death Verdict

    A Connecticut judge has hit Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital with a nearly $32 million verdict over the death of a premature baby, finding doctors failed to obtain either informed consent, or any consent, before feeding the infant a diet fortified by a product produced from cow's milk.

  • December 15, 2025

    Supreme Court Declines Cannabis Ban Review

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case challenging the federal marijuana ban, leaving in place a high court precedent that has governed cannabis policy for 20 years.

  • December 12, 2025

    Mich. High Court Backs Rejection Of Farmwork Comp Suit

    A closely divided Michigan Supreme Court on Friday let stand a lower appellate court holding that a nonprofit's legal challenge to a state policy denying workers' compensation pay to unauthorized immigrants was filed too late.

  • December 12, 2025

    Starbucks Defends Ex-CFO In Investors' 'Triple Shot' Suit

    Starbucks Corp. is fighting shareholders' effort to reinstate claims against its former chief financial officer in a lawsuit they brought over the company's "Triple Shot" reinvention plan, arguing that a judge in Seattle correctly dismissed claims against the onetime executive. 

  • December 12, 2025

    Dropped FTC Complaint: Pepsi Gave Walmart A 'Price Gap'

    The Federal Trade Commission's newly unsealed New York federal court complaint confirms that the agency had accused Pepsi of favoring Walmart, until the newly Republican-controlled FTC abandoned the lawsuit alleging the soda giant both gave Walmart discounts denied others and actively sought to raise Walmart's rivals' own prices.

  • December 12, 2025

    Mass. Restaurants Settle OT Claims For $225K

    Two Massachusetts eateries have agreed to pay a total of $225,000 to resolve the government's allegations that they failed to pay workers for overtime hours and tried to prevent them from speaking with U.S. Department of Labor representatives investigating possible labor violations, according to a consent judgment entered Friday in federal court.

  • December 12, 2025

    2nd Circ. Remands $100K Award To Fired Atty In Bias Case

    A Second Circuit panel vacated a $100,000 charging lien awarded to an attorney who represented a man who sued Marriott International Inc. for race-based harassment, agreeing that the lawyer was fired without cause but finding that the lower court appeared not to address several arguments in favor of a lower amount.

  • December 12, 2025

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen Shell hit with a climate change claim from 100 survivors of a typhoon in the Philippines, London Stock Exchange-listed Oxford Nanopore bring legal action against its co-founder, and the editors of Pink News sue the BBC for defamation following its investigation into alleged sexual misconduct at the news site.

  • December 11, 2025

    NLRB Judge Tosses Case Against 'Memphis 7' Starbucks

    An administrative law judge has determined that Starbucks didn't violate the National Labor Relations Act when it surveilled employees' union activities, more strictly enforced its punctuality policy and disciplined a union employee at a store that illegally fired seven activists in 2022.

  • December 11, 2025

    DoorDash, Uber Sue NYC To Block Checkout Tip Prompt Law

    DoorDash and Uber Eats filed suit together Thursday in Manhattan federal court, seeking to block two New York City laws that the food delivery companies say force them to solicit tips before or as customers check out, in an alleged violation of the companies' constitutional rights.

  • December 11, 2025

    Nabisco Wheat Thins Buyers Win OK On $10M False Ad Deal

    A California federal judge on Thursday said he will give final approval to Nabisco and parent Mondelez's $10 million deal over claims it falsely advertised Wheat Thins as containing "100% Whole Grains," and said plaintiffs' attorneys deserve a one-third cut of the deal for battling through "a number of unreasonable positions taken by the defendants."

  • December 11, 2025

    Pharmacies Battle For Coverage Of Opioid Lawsuit Claims

    Publix Super Markets and a Georgia-based generic-drug wholesaler urged the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday to force their insurers to defend them in numerous lawsuits accusing the pharmacies of improperly distributing opioids, arguing their policies' coverage for "bodily injury" should include the suits.

  • December 11, 2025

    Judge Certifies Conn. Sushi Chef's Raw Deal Paycheck Suit

    A Connecticut Asian fusion restaurant must face a class action employment case led by a sushi chef who claimed he and others worked close to 80 hours some weeks at a flat rate, without overtime pay.

  • December 11, 2025

    Split Pa. Panel Blocks Police Reports On Liquor Licensee

    A trial court was wrong to deny a Philadelphia establishment's appeal for renewal of its liquor license, since nearly a dozen police reports the court considered should have been excluded as hearsay, a split appellate panel said Thursday.

  • December 11, 2025

    Agri Stats Says DOJ Wants To 'Leapfrog' Pork Pricing Claims

    Agri Stats urged a Minnesota federal court to reject the Justice Department's bid to "leapfrog" a set of private antitrust cases involving pork prices by using a scheduled May trial for its information sharing claims against the data firm instead.

  • December 11, 2025

    Josh Cellars President Denied Early Win In $4M Royalty Feud

    The former president of the company that produces Josh Cellars wines has been denied an early win in a $4 million trademark royalties lawsuit because a judge said she cannot resolve whether the parties orally amended an LLC agreement or whether a clause requiring written alterations is controlling.

  • December 11, 2025

    Ga. Justices Leave $500K Atty Fee Lien In Place

    The Georgia Supreme Court decided it won't review a lower appellate court's ruling that upheld a nearly $500,000 lien awarded to a team of Atlanta personal injury lawyers who said they were bilked by a former client.

  • December 11, 2025

    EDTX Jury Finds TV Ad Tech Patent Invalid In Win For Taiv

    A Texas federal jury on Thursday cleared Canadian smart TV box company Taiv Inc. of infringement allegations by MyChoice LLC over a television advertising technology patent, and also found the patent was invalid.

  • December 10, 2025

    Del. Court Keeps Alive Board Liability Claims In Blue Bell Suit

    Citing questions surrounding a five-year failure to press director and officer claims to liability releases during litigation over tainted ice cream, a Delaware vice chancellor on Wednesday rejected judgment on the pleadings favoring the releases, marking the latest twist of the eight-year Blue Bell Creameries damages saga.

  • December 10, 2025

    Starbucks DEI Goals Are 'Race-Based Quotas,' Fla. AG Claims

    Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is accusing coffee giant Starbucks Corp. of violating state civil rights protections in its efforts to promote an inclusive workforce, claiming in a state lawsuit Wednesday that the company's diversity, equity and inclusion policies "cross the line into illegal, race-based quotas."

  • December 10, 2025

    Amazon Shoppers In Price-Hike Suit Say Retailer Deleted Docs

    Amazon shoppers accusing the e-commerce giant of price-gouging during the COVID-19 pandemic urged a Seattle federal judge to sanction the company for allegedly destroying an "untold number of documents" crucial to their proposed consumer class action.

  • December 10, 2025

    6th Circ. Chides US For Lacking Merits In Distilling Ban Case

    A Sixth Circuit judge criticized the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday for refusing to address the merits of a suit challenging the constitutionality of the U.S. tax code's ban on home distilling, saying the government cannot decide what the appellate court reviews.

  • December 10, 2025

    Sens. Pitch Hemp Regulation Bill Following Passage Of Ban

    U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would regulate products with hemp-derived cannabinoids, with an emphasis on age gating, manufacturing standards, and testing and labeling requirements.

Expert Analysis

  • Challenging A Class Representative's Adequacy And Typicality

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    Recent cases highlight that a named plaintiff cannot certify a putative class action unless they can meet all the applicable requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, so defendants should consider challenging a plaintiff's ability to meet typicality and adequacy requirements early and often, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

  • Opinion

    4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

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    As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

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    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • DOJ Enforcement Trends To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

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    Recent investigations, settlements and a declination to prosecute suggest that controlling the flow of goods into and out of the country, and redressing what the administration sees as reverse discrimination, are likely to be at the forefront of the U.S. Department of Justice's enforcement agenda the rest of this year, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Federal Regs Order May Spell Harsher FDCA Enforcement

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    A recent executive order aimed at reducing criminal prosecutions of those who unknowingly violate complex federal regulations may actually lead to more aggressive felony indictments under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, but companies and executives can mitigate risks by following several key principals, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Latest Influencer Marketing Class Actions Pinpoint 5 Themes

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    Several recent deceptive marketing class actions against both brands and influencers attempt to transform arguably routine business practices into a new focus area for consumer complaints, suggesting a coordinated approach to test what could become an increasingly popular area of litigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • How Trump's Trade Policies Are Shaping Foreign Investment

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    Five months into the Trump administration, investors are beginning to see the concrete effects of the president’s America First Investment Policy as it presents new opportunities for clearing transactions more quickly, while sustaining risk aversion related to Chinese trade and potentially creating different political risks, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • 4 Consumer Class Action Trends To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

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    The first half of 2025 has seen a surge of consumer class action trends related to online tools, websites and marketing messages, creating a new legal risk landscape for companies of all sizes, says Scott Shaffer at Olshan Frome.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • One Year On, Davidson Holds Lessons On 'Health Halo' Claims

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    A year after the Ninth Circuit's Davidson v. Sprout Foods decision — which raised the bar for so-called health halo claims — food and beverage companies can draw insights from its finding, subsequently expanded on by other courts, that plaintiffs must be specific when alleging fraud in healthfulness marketing, say attorneys at Sidley.

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