Food & Beverage

  • April 10, 2025

    Whole Foods Sues CBL, Transformco Over Asbestos In Store

    Whole Foods Market Group Inc. is suing entities connected to real estate investment trust CBL Properties and retail company Transformco for more than $1 million, alleging that the companies are liable for an "ill-fated and injurious" redevelopment project that created asbestos in a North Carolina Whole Foods store.

  • April 10, 2025

    Judge On Bid To Redo Wawa Breach Atty Fees: 'I Don't Buy It'

    A Third Circuit panel on Thursday considering a class member's request to reconsider a $3.2 million attorney fee award in the Wawa data breach litigation seemed unconvinced of the argument that the number was the result of side-dealing attorneys, with one judge telling counsel, "I don't buy it."

  • April 10, 2025

    Brazilian Sugar Producer Hits Ch. 15 In NY With $735M Debt

    Brazilian sugar producer and distributor Virgolino de Oliveira SA has filed for Chapter 15 protection in New York bankruptcy court with $735 million in debt.

  • April 09, 2025

    Trump Orders Agencies To Identify Anticompetitive Rules

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday requiring federal agency heads to identify regulations that create anticompetitive barriers with recommendations for what to do about them, following the U.S. Department of Justice's recent announcement of its own similar initiative.

  • April 09, 2025

    Revived Burger King No-Poach Case Survives Dismissal

    A Florida federal judge Wednesday denied Burger King's bid to toss proposed class action claims over the fast-food chain's past use of no-poach provisions in its franchise agreements, finding the workers' antitrust and fraud claims could proceed.

  • April 09, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Restore Competing TM Claims In Vitamin Row

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive competing trademark infringement claims between a pair of vitamin and supplement companies, backing a lower court's finding that neither party was able to prove their case.

  • April 09, 2025

    Country's Largest Egg Producer Discloses DOJ Price Probe

    Cal-Maine Foods Inc., which bills itself as the country's largest producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs, on Tuesday became the first company to disclose being targeted by a U.S. Department of Justice civil probe into spiking egg prices.

  • April 09, 2025

    FDA Slow To Act On Hemp And Vapes, Congress Hears

    Federal health officials' inaction on flavored vapes and hemp-derived consumables has led to a proliferation of loosely regulated products, members of a U.S. House of Representatives committee heard on Wednesday.

  • April 09, 2025

    Ga. Beverage Co. Worker Says Pregnancy Got Her Fired

    A former operations manager for a Georgia commercial beverage service company sued the company for pregnancy discrimination Tuesday, making good on an alleged invitation by her boss to "file a claim" if she had a problem with her abrupt firing last year.

  • April 09, 2025

    Ex-Mars Executive Faces Forfeiture Bid In $28M Fraud Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice wants the former global price risk manager of a subsidiary of candy maker Mars Inc. to forfeit a Connecticut home plus accounts at three financial firms to help offset $28 million in alleged fraud proceeds.

  • April 08, 2025

    Bigelow Tea Buyer Class Wins $2.36M In Trial Over 'USA' Label

    A California federal jury found Tuesday that R.C. Bigelow committed fraud and violated the state's Consumer Legal Remedies Act by placing a label on some tea products touting it as "Manufactured in the USA 100%," awarding a class of Golden State tea buyers $2.36 million in damages.

  • April 08, 2025

    Starbucks Tears Into Missouri AG's 'Defective' DEI Lawsuit

    Starbucks urged a Missouri federal judge to toss a suit from the state's attorney general claiming the company employs diversity quotas that discriminate against white and male applicants, arguing the state hasn't presented any evidence that its diversity, equity and inclusion policies have negatively affected Missourians.

  • April 08, 2025

    Pepsi, Frito-Lay Fight Pricing Claims From Stores

    Pepsi and Frito-Lay have asked to toss a case accusing them of illegally charging Walmart, Target and other chain stores less for chips than smaller retailers, saying the stores bringing the case fail to make a direct comparison of sales to the different outlets.

  • April 08, 2025

    Wash. Co. Liable For Hack Involving 19K Workers, Suit Says

    A Washington-based seafood producer has been hit with a proposed class action in federal court over a data breach that allegedly exposed the private information of more than 19,000 employees to hackers.

  • April 08, 2025

    McCarter & English Fights DQ Bid In NJ Food Biz Quarrel

    McCarter & English LLP pushed back on a disqualification bid from a New Jersey food industry executive in federal court this week, arguing that the plaintiff is attempting to "fabricate" a previous attorney-client relationship to demand disqualification.

  • April 08, 2025

    Farmworkers Fight To Keep Wages Collective Suit Standing

    A North Carolina federal judge should reject three farms' attempts to detangle a collective and snag an early win in a suit accusing them of failing to reimburse farmworkers for travel and visa expenses, the workers said, standing by claims they said are timely and well-supported.

  • April 07, 2025

    Split 5th Circ. Undoes Injunction On Texas Strip Club Fee Law

    The Fifth Circuit on Monday reversed an injunction barring the Texas comptroller from enforcing a state law imposing fees on strip clubs that allow on-site alcohol consumption, saying in a split unpublished opinion that a Houston club challenging the law was bound by a 2011 decision that upheld the law.

  • April 07, 2025

    Bigelow Emails Spill The Tea About 'USA' Label Lies, Jury Told

    An attorney for a class of tea consumers suing R.C. Bigelow over a "Manufactured in the USA 100%" label that has already been found to be false told a California federal jury during closing arguments Monday that internal emails show that executives were either reckless or intentionally misled the public.

  • April 07, 2025

    Snyder's-Lance Looks To Ax Proposed Class Wage Claims

    The company that makes Snyder's pretzels asked a North Carolina federal judge Monday to deny a Pennsylvania employee's bid to represent a class of workers from 12 states in a wage lawsuit, arguing she can't sue under the laws of the 11 states she doesn't live or work in.

  • April 07, 2025

    Bakery Oil Trial Begins With Split Over Formulas' Secrecy

    Pittsburgh commercial bakery supplier Mallet & Co. told a federal jury Monday that a partner-turned-rival enticed former employees to help it start a competing business, Synova, in the field of release agents, or the oils and lubricants that keep baked goods from sticking to their pans.

  • April 07, 2025

    Agriculture Insurer Says Agent Error Cost It Fed. Reinsurance

    A Texas insurance company has taken aim at its insurance agent, claiming that clerical errors cost the company over $1 million after applications for reinsurance were belatedly submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Federal Crop Insurance Corp. amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • April 07, 2025

    Agri Stats Pushes Back Against DOJ Doc Bid In Antitrust Case

    Agri Stats Inc. has told a Minnesota federal court that a U.S. Department of Justice motion seeking documents is just an effort to delay the government's case accusing the data firm of helping chicken, pork and turkey producers share competitively sensitive information.

  • April 07, 2025

    Ore. Distillery Hits Ch. 11 After Demand Drop, Supply Glut

    Oregon whiskey distillery House Spirits Distillery LLC has filed a streamlined Chapter 11 for businesses with small debt loads in Delaware, saying a post-COVID drop in alcohol demand mixed with a glut of inventory had hampered its financial health.

  • April 07, 2025

    Starbucks Asks To Dump Investors' 'Triple Shot' Strategy Suit

    Starbucks has urged a Seattle federal judge to toss a consolidated proposed class action alleging that the coffee chain made overly positive projections for its "Triple Shot Reinvention" strategy that hurt investors when the financial results didn't bear out the company's optimism, saying the plaintiffs haven't shown that Starbucks made any false statements.

  • April 07, 2025

    Kroger Says State AGs' Strategy Dooms Merger Row Fees Bid

    Kroger and Albertsons have urged an Oregon federal judge not to grant legal fees to the attorneys general who challenged their now-nixed $24.6 billion merger alongside the Federal Trade Commission, arguing U.S. Supreme Court precedent clearly requires more than a temporary court block to win costs.

Expert Analysis

  • Defense Insights As PFAS Consumer Product Claims Rise

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    Amid the recent proliferation of lawsuits seeking damages for failure to disclose the presence of PFAS in consumer products, manufacturers, distributors and consumer product companies should follow the science and consider a significant flaw in many of the filings, say attorneys at Farella Braun.

  • Series

    Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.

  • Recent Listeria Outbreaks Hold Key Compliance Lessons

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    Listeria outbreaks in ready-to-eat foods from Boar's Head and other companies, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration responses to these outbreaks, should be closely evaluated from an overall compliance and risk management perspective by food manufacturers, retailers and industry investors, say attorneys at Kirkland.

  • 3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less

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    Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.

  • What Cos. Can Learn from Water Microplastics Class Actions

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    Class actions against companies whose bottled spring water allegedly contains microplastics, challenging claims such as "natural" and "100% spring water," seem to be drying up — but these cases serve as a good reminder to other businesses to review regulatory standards, and carefully vet plaintiff allegations at the outset, say attorneys at Keller and Heckman.

  • The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule

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    Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.

  • What's Next For The CFTC After The Election

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    While much of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's enforcement actions in line with its traditional priorities will continue as usual in the near term, postelection leadership changes at the CFTC and new congressional priorities may alter the commission's regulatory framework in 2025 and beyond — particularly its oversight of crypto, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • Why K-Cup Claims Landed Keurig In Hot Water With SEC

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent settlement with Keurig Dr. Pepper for making incomplete statements regarding the recyclability of K-cup pods highlights the importance of comprehensive corporate disclosures, particularly with respect to ESG matters, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • Legislation Most Likely To Pass In Lame Duck Session

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    As Congress begins its five-week post-election lame duck session, attorneys at Greenberg Traurig break down the legislative priorities and which proposals can be expected to pass.

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

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    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • The 3rd-Party Bankruptcy Release Landscape After Purdue

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    In its Purdue Pharma ruling prohibiting nonconsensual third-party releases, the U.S. Supreme Court did not comment on criteria to render a third-party release consensual, opening a debate in the bankruptcy courts on the permissibility of opt-out versus opt-in releases, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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