Food & Beverage

  • April 12, 2024

    Misconduct Doomed Dining Mat Patent Case, Fed. Circ. Rules

    The Federal Circuit on Friday upheld a decision that a maker of toddler dining mats torpedoed its patent case against a rival with "unconscionable" misconduct, and ordered a lower court to reconsider findings that the patent is invalid but not unenforceable.

  • April 12, 2024

    Petition Watch: Judge DQs, 'Excessive' Damages & Price Wars

    A former al-Qaida member has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify disqualification protocol for judges overseeing a case related to their prior work as a government attorney, and energy drink manufacturers want the court to develop a modern-day test to determine if companies qualify as price-discrimination competitors. Here's four high court petitions filed recently that you might've missed.

  • April 12, 2024

    Abbott Labs Gets Price Claims Tossed In Baby Formula MDL

    An Illinois federal judge on Friday threw out a suit from parents alleging that Abbott Laboratories benefited from increased prices during a shortage of baby formula kicked off when one of its facilities was shut down, saying they haven't shown that the company's profits during that time were unjustly retained.

  • April 12, 2024

    Bimbo Beats False Ad Suit Over 'All Butter' Entenmann's Cake

    Bimbo Bakeries defeated a proposed class action alleging its Entenmann's brand "All Butter" loaf cake is misleading to customers since the butter taste is partially sourced from artificial vanillin, after a Maryland federal judge said Friday the claims are preempted by the U.S. Food Drug and Cosmetic Act.

  • April 12, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen footwear brand Dr. Martens hit online retailer Temu with a passing off claim, Welsh soccer club Swansea sue its former head coach Russell Martin, Russian diamond tycoon Dmitry Tsvetkov file a claim against his former business Equix Group Ltd., and U.S. bank Omega Financial Corporation hit African oil and gas company Tende Energy with a claim. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • April 12, 2024

    High Court Keeps Arbitration Exemption's Focus On Workers

    The U.S. Supreme Court held Friday that distributors who delivered Tastykake, Wonder bread and other baked goods to retailers may qualify for an exemption from the Federal Arbitration Act that could let them keep their wage-and-hour suit in court.

  • April 11, 2024

    Gerber, Others Must Face Calif. MDL Over Baby Food Toxins

    A group of baby food manufacturers, including Gerber Products Co., Hain Celestial Group Inc. and Beech-Nut Nutrition Co., must face consolidated lawsuits alleging that heavy metals in their products cause autism spectrum disorder and other conditions in California federal court, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ruled Thursday.

  • April 11, 2024

    FTC's Bedoya Looking For Market Power In Pricing Cases

    Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya said Thursday he is most interested in bringing potential cases under the Robinson Patman Act when a company is using its market power to gain an unfair advantage over smaller rivals.

  • April 11, 2024

    Chipotle Pays $2.9M To End Seattle Wage Violation Probe

    Fast-food chain Chipotle has agreed to pay nearly $2.9 million to more than 1,800 workers at eight of its restaurants in Seattle to resolve the city's investigation into employees' allegations that the employer violated local ordinances governing sick pay and scheduling, a city labor agency announced Thursday.

  • April 11, 2024

    Judge Invalidates Software Patents Over Generic Parts

    A Nebraska federal judge ruled Thursday that agricultural software developer AGI Suretrack's claims for a series of software hardware patents were too abstract to be valid.

  • April 11, 2024

    FDA Commissioner Says Congress Must Act On Hemp, CBD

    The commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that the agency did not consider hemp-derived CBD safe enough to be sold lawfully as a dietary supplement, and urged Congress to create a new pathway to regulate the substance.

  • April 11, 2024

    Black Workers, Fish Farm Settle Claims Of Migrant Hiring Bias

    Black farmers and a Mississippi-based fish farm have agreed to settle claims that the farm pushed out the U.S. citizen farmers in favor of Mexican migrant workers, they announced to a Mississippi federal court on Thursday.

  • April 11, 2024

    AG Asked To Weigh In On Jack Daniel's TM Dispute

    An Arizona federal judge has certified a constitutional question from VIP Products LLC asking U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland whether the First Amendment supports the Lanham Act provision authorizing injunctive relief in cases of trademark dilution by tarnishment.

  • April 11, 2024

    Fla. Restaurateur Gets Prison Time For Dodging Payroll Taxes

    The ex-CEO of a defunct Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain was sentenced to 2½ years in federal prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to willfully failing to pay more than $5 million in payroll taxes.

  • April 11, 2024

    Vineyard Wind Project Thoroughly Vetted, Feds Tell 1st Circ.

    The federal government on Thursday urged the First Circuit to uphold a Massachusetts federal judge's decision tossing a fishing group's challenge to the Vineyard Wind project, saying it was approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior after extensive analysis.

  • April 11, 2024

    Judge Grants $3.2M In Fees For Wawa Class Counsel

    There is no evidence of side agreements or collusion between attorneys representing a proposed class in a suit against Wawa Inc. and the convenience store's defense counsel, according to a Pennsylvania federal judge's order approving $3.2 million in attorney fees following appellate court review.

  • April 11, 2024

    State Enforcers: Not Joining Fed Cases No Sign Of Opposition

    Several state enforcers said Thursday they choose which antitrust cases being brought by federal enforcers they join based on a number of factors, and it doesn't mean they are opposed to a case if they decide not to join.

  • April 11, 2024

    1st Challenge To NLRB Structure Axed For Lack Of Standing

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge tossed a constitutional challenge to the National Labor Relations Board's structure filed by two Starbucks employees, ruling that the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation-represented baristas did not have standing to sue.

  • April 10, 2024

    No Retrial Over NC Farm Worker's $2.5M Severed Foot Verdict

    A North Carolina farm failed in its bid for a new trial following a $2.5 million verdict against it, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, as a worker who lost his foot to a grain silo auger had enough evidence to support the award.

  • April 10, 2024

    Colo. AG Says Kroger Divestiture Plan Is Best Left For Trial

    Colorado's attorney general wants a state judge to block Kroger and Albertsons from presenting evidence about a new divestiture plan at an upcoming hearing on the state's motion to temporarily block the grocers' merger, claiming the yet-to-be revealed plan is a strategy to "win by ambush."

  • April 10, 2024

    WTO Forecasts Global Trade Rebound But Warns Of Risks

    The World Trade Organization on Wednesday said it is forecasting an uptick in global trade this year and into 2025 following a decline in 2023 due to high energy prices and inflation, but warned that geopolitical tensions could hinder the rebound.

  • April 10, 2024

    Retailer 99 Cents Can Tap $60.8M DIP For Ch. 11 Winddown

    99 Cents Only can access $20.5 million of its Chapter 11 financing package, a Delaware bankruptcy judge ruled Wednesday, after attorneys for the discount retail chain resolved a handful of objections to first day approval of its debtor-in-possession loan.

  • April 10, 2024

    Beer Biz Investors Beg NC Justices To Clear Legal Haze

    Former shareholders looking to revive their fraud suit against the CEO of a beverage company and his wife asked the North Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday to tie up an unsettled area of fiduciary law, saying a lower court's disparate jurisprudence "cries out" for clarity.

  • April 10, 2024

    'Let's Get Physical': Pa. Justices Tune In To COVID-19 Coverage

    One of late singer Olivia Newton-John's greatest hits struck a chord with a Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice Wednesday as he considered whether insurers should cover business losses stemming from government shutdown orders during the COVID-19 pandemic 

  • April 10, 2024

    Maine Says Lobster Boat Tracking Counts As Legal Search

    Maine's top fisheries' regulator is arguing that newly required electronic location tracking for some lobstering boats is a legal administrative search of commercial premises and has urged a federal judge to toss a lawsuit alleging the rule violates lobster fishers' constitutional rights.

Expert Analysis

  • IP Suits Over Brand Owner Font Use Offer Cautionary Tales

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    Dyan Finguerra-DuCharme and Mallory Chandler at Pryor Cashman consider the history of fonts and point to recent court decisions that show how brand owners can avoid legal typeface troubles.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Mexico

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    ESG has yet to become part of the DNA of the Mexican business model, but huge strides are being made in that direction, as more stakeholders demand that companies adopt, at the least, a modicum of sustainability commitments and demonstrate how they will meet them, says Carlos Escoto at Galicia Abogados.

  • The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms

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    In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.

  • FTC Warning Letters Note 5 Mistakes For Influencers To Avoid

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently sent warning letters to two trade associations and 12 health influencers over their social media posts, offering insight into how the agency plans to enforce its updated endorsement guides and highlighting five concerns to keep in mind for marketing campaigns, says Gonzalo Mon at Kelley Drye.

  • Ohio Voters Legalize Cannabis — What Comes Next?

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    This month, voters approved a citizen-initiated statute that legalizes marijuana for recreational use in Ohio, but the legalization timeline could undergo significant changes at the behest of the state's lawmakers, say Daniel Shortt and David Waxman at McGlinchey Stafford.

  • Opinion

    A Telecom Attorney's Defense Of The Chevron Doctrine

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    The Chevron doctrine, which requires judicial deference to federal regulators, is under attack in two U.S. Supreme Court cases — and while most telecom attorneys likely agree that the Federal Communications Commission is guilty of overrelying on it, the problem is not the doctrine itself, says Carl Northrop at Telecommunications Law Professionals.

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

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    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • What Cos. Should Know About FTC's Proposed Junk Fee Rule

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently announced a notice of proposed rulemaking targeting junk fees and how businesses may advertise prices to consumers — and since it would give the agency powers to seek monetary penalties against businesses that do not comply, companies should look to get ahead now, say Phyllis Marcus and Nicole Johnson at Hunton Andrews.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: South Korea

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    Numerous ESG trends have materialized in South Korea in the past three years, with impacts ranging from greenwashing prevention and carbon neutrality measures to workplace harassment and board diversity initiatives, say Chang Wook Min and Hyun Chan Jung at Jipyong.

  • Employer Takeaways From 2nd Circ. Equal Pay Ruling

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    The Second Circuit 's recent decision in Eisenhauer v. Culinary Institute of America reversed a long-held understanding of the Equal Pay Act, ultimately making it easier for employers to defend against equal pay claims brought under federal law, but it is not a clear escape hatch for employers, say Thelma Akpan and Katelyn McCombs at Littler.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Rite Aid's Reasons For Ch. 11 Go Beyond Opioid Suits

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    Despite opioid-related lawsuits being the perceived reason that pushed Rite Aid into bankruptcy, the company's recent Chapter 11 filing reveals its tenuous position in the pharmaceutical retail market, and only time will tell whether bankruptcy will right-size the company, says Daniel Gielchinsky at DGIM Law.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

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