Food & Beverage

  • August 08, 2025

    Papa John's No-Poach Deal Barely Clears Initial Hurdle

    A Kentucky federal judge expressed lingering concerns despite giving initial approval to a $5 million settlement for claims from Papa John's employees over its past use of no-poach provisions in its franchise agreements after rejecting a previous approval bid.

  • August 08, 2025

    NY Says 1676 Order Can't Help Tribe In Eel Fishing Regs Row

    The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is fighting a Supreme Court bid by the Unkechaug Nation to undo a Second Circuit decision rejecting its challenge to the state's regulations on eel fishing harvests, arguing that a 1676 British colonial governor's order is not federal law.

  • August 08, 2025

    Pennsylvania Litigation Highlights Of The 1st Half Of 2025

    In the first half of 2025, Pennsylvania judges have created a federal and state court split in a $175 million verdict against Monsanto in Philadelphia's Roundup mass tort, reduced the tax fraud sentence of a member of the family behind an iconic Philadelphia cheesesteak shop and permanently barred a college apparel company from copying Penn State trademarks. 

  • August 08, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission target a British investor over a $10 million microcap fraud scheme, Merck Sharp & Dohme move against Halozyme Inc. following a recent clash over its patented cancer medicine, and Birmingham City Council sue a school minibus operator years after ending its contract over DBS check failures. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K. 

  • August 07, 2025

    ND Judge Strikes Down Fed's Debit Card Fee Regulation

    A North Dakota federal judge has invalidated the Federal Reserve's regulation limiting certain debit card fees charged in merchant transactions, ruling in favor of a truck stop and convenience store in finding that the Fed had attempted to "improperly repackag[e] the defunct-Chevron deference under a different name."

  • August 07, 2025

    Colo. Court Backs Landlord's Right To 'Fees On Fees'

    In the first Colorado appellate decision to consider whether a prevailing party may recover attorney fees incurred to enforce a contractual fee-shifting provision, a state appellate panel ruled Thursday that a Denver coffee shop's landlord is entitled to an award of such fees.

  • August 07, 2025

    Connecticut Litigation Highlights In The 1st Half Of 2025

    Two separate royalty disputes — one $90 million, the other $4 million — involving two giants in the alcoholic beverages market are among the top corporate cases that crossed Connecticut court dockets in the first half of 2025.

  • August 07, 2025

    Bacardi Can't Stymie Rum TM Renewal, USPTO Tells 4th Circ.

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office told the Fourth Circuit its former director was right to renew a Cuban company's expired trademark registration for Havana Club rum after the company got retroactive approval to pay the registration fee, even if beverage giant Bacardi said it was too late.

  • August 07, 2025

    Wawa Beats Injury Suit Appeal Despite Deleted Footage

    The Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld a trial win for Wawa Inc. in a personal injury lawsuit, rejecting the plaintiff's argument that the judge should have given an adverse inference instruction to the jury because of Wawa's alleged failure to preserve surveillance video footage from the day of the accident.

  • August 07, 2025

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Divorce Dust-Ups And Judicial Rebukes

    Litigation in the North Carolina Business Court is heating up this summer with new complaints centered on fears a former state politician's divorce proceedings will impede his companies' operations and accusations that a climate technology company has failed to pay out a former engineer's ownership interest.

  • August 06, 2025

    Baker Botts Atty Seeks To Trim Patent Exec's Defamation Suit

    A Baker Botts LLP intellectual property litigator has urged a Florida federal judge to trim a patent licensing company executive's lawsuit alleging she made defamatory statements about him in news articles, saying some of the claims come too late, and others don't have a basis in facts.

  • August 06, 2025

    Colo. Judge Tosses Kroger Chain's Claims Against Union

    A Colorado federal judge threw out a suit by a Kroger-owned grocery chain against a United Food and Commercial Workers local on Wednesday, finding the company didn't plausibly allege the union committed coercion when it called a strike.

  • August 06, 2025

    Calif. Water Toxicity Test Flouts Federal Law, Court Rules

    A California state appeals court has barred state regulators from requiring wastewater entities to use a new water pollution test for discharge permits, but said the Golden State's adoption of new toxicity provisions was proper under state law.

  • August 06, 2025

    Calif. Cow-Treatment Suit Covered By Ill. Deal, Farm Co. Says

    A Fairlife milk supplier that participated in a $21 million settlement of cow-mistreatment false advertising claims asked the Chicago federal judge overseeing that multidistrict litigation to halt a similar lawsuit in California, saying the Chicago deal already outlines a process for addressing the Golden State case's claims.

  • August 06, 2025

    Battle Lines Form Around Interior's Updated NEPA Rule

    The U.S. Department of the Interior is facing stiff resistance from green groups and blue states that oppose its new environmental review process for infrastructure projects, but some industry groups said the agency has taken the right approach.

  • August 06, 2025

    Judge Questions USDA's Climate Grant Cuts

    A D.C. federal judge grilled an attorney for the federal government over why the U.S. Department of Agriculture's climate-focused grants for farmers and food nonprofits were rescinded en masse when they seemingly aligned with the program, but also told recipients that she won't be "rearranging" the agency's priorities.

  • August 06, 2025

    Anheuser-Busch, Hard Seltzer Co. End $90M Contract Feud

    Anheuser-Busch and alcoholic seltzer producer Boathouse Beverages LLC's holding company have dropped claims against one another in a multimillion-dollar Connecticut contract dispute over a product line the beverage giant purchased in 2016.

  • August 06, 2025

    Steakhouse Can't Shake Certified Class In Conn. Wage Suit

    A class of tipped servers accusing a steakhouse at the Foxwoods Resort Casino of unpaid wages will stay in place, a Connecticut state judge ruled, saying that the employer overplayed a court's earlier decision finding that the workers didn't perform nonservice tasks.

  • August 06, 2025

    Honey Dew Says M&A Adviser Missed Fake $25M Letter

    Massachusetts-based regional coffee and donut chain Honey Dew says the investment banking firm it hired to find a buyer in 2018 would have learned that a $25 million "proof of funds" letter purporting to be from UBS was a forgery had it performed the expected due diligence.

  • August 05, 2025

    Fat Brands Shareholder Disputes Settle With $10M Payout

    Fat Brands Inc.'s chairman and some of the restaurant franchising company's former directors announced Tuesday they agreed to settle a pair of shareholder derivative lawsuits pending in Delaware's Chancery Court that alleged breaches of fiduciary duties concerning a 2020 merger and a 2021 recapitalization.

  • August 05, 2025

    Grocery Chain Ralphs Wins $7M Employment Bias Trial

    A California jury cleared Kroger-owned Ralphs Grocery Co. of liability in a Muslim worker's $7 million bias suit after hearing that the worker simply refused to use the scheduling software to keep his Saturdays free for religious activities and that he had been suspended multiple times for insubordination.

  • August 05, 2025

    Walmart's $2.6M Fall Injury Verdict Not Excessive, Court Affirms

    A California appeals court has affirmed a $2.6 million award in a suit accusing Walmart of causing a customer's devastating hamstring injury in a fall, saying the verdict was not excessive given the evidence.

  • August 05, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Presses Brita On Bid To Revive Water Filter Patent

    A Federal Circuit panel Tuesday questioned Brita LP's effort to reverse a U.S. International Trade Commission decision that a water filter patent is invalid, suggesting the patent describes little more than an unpredictable scientific formula.

  • August 05, 2025

    Food Co. Can't Exit Suit By Vendor Worker With Severe Burns

    A South Carolina federal judge refused Tuesday to toss a suit seeking to hold Sauer Brands liable for severe chemical burns suffered by an EcoLab worker who was servicing machinery at a food plant, saying workers' compensation immunity doesn't apply.

  • August 05, 2025

    Ga. Poultry Co. Says Insurer Must Cover Data Breach Suits

    A poultry producer said it is entitled to coverage for underlying class actions stemming from a data breach that compromised its employees' personal information, telling a Georgia federal court that its insurer has wrongfully denied coverage based on what the insurer alleges was inadequate notice.

Expert Analysis

  • Influencer Marketing Partnerships Face Rising Litigation Risk

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    In light of recent class actions claiming that brands and influencers are misleading consumers with deceptive marketing practices — largely premised on the Federal Trade Commission's endorsements guidance — proactive compliance measures are becoming more important, say attorneys at Olshan Frome.

  • Mulling Worker Reclassification In Light Of No Tax On OT

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    The One Big Beautiful Bill Act's no-tax-on-overtime provisions provide tax relief for employees who regularly work overtime and are nonexempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act, but reclassifying employees may lead to higher compliance costs and increased wage and hour litigation for employers, says Steve Bronars at Edgeworth Economics.

  • 7 Ways Employers Can Avoid Labor Friction Over AI

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    As artificial intelligence use in the workplace emerges as a key labor relations topic in the U.S. and Europe, employers looking to reduce reputational risk and prevent costly disputes should consider proactive strategies to engage with unions, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • What Cos. Must Note From EU's Delivery Hero-Glovo Ruling

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    The European Commission’s recent landmark decision in Delivery Hero-Glovo, sanctioning companies for the first time over a stand-alone no-poach cartel agreement, underscores the potential antitrust risks of horizontal cross-ownership between competitors, say lawyers at McDermott.

  • Ultra-Processed Food Claims Rely On Unproven Science

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    Plaintiffs' arguments that ultra-processed foods are responsible for the nationwide increase in certain chronic illnesses, though a novel approach to food-based personal injury claims, depend on theories that are still being tested, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

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    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • A Look At Trump 2.0 Antitrust Enforcement So Far

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    The first six months of President Donald Trump's second administration were marked by aggressive antitrust enforcement tempered by traditional structural remedies for mergers, but other unprecedented actions, like the firing of Federal Trade Commission Democrats, will likely stoke heated discussion ahead, says Richard Dagen at Axinn.

  • Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

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    Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Tips For Cos. From California Climate Reporting FAQ

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    New guidance from the California Air Resources Board on how businesses must implement the state's sweeping climate reporting requirements should help companies assess their exposure, understand their disclosure obligations and begin documenting good-faith compliance efforts, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.

  • FDA's Hasty Policymaking Approach Faces APA Challenges

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    Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has abandoned its usual notice-and-comment process for implementing new regulatory initiatives, two recent district court decisions make clear that these programs are still susceptible to Administrative Procedure Act challenges, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • What 9th Circ. Cracker Barrel Ruling Means For FLSA Cert.

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    The Ninth Circuit's decision in Harrington v. Cracker Barrel suggests a settling of two procedural trends in Fair Labor Standards Act jurisprudence — when to issue notice and where nationwide collectives can be filed — rather than deepening circuit splits, says Rebecca Ojserkis at Cohen Milstein.

  • Defense Lessons From Freshworks' Win In Post-IPO Case

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    A California federal court’s recent decision to grant Freshworks’ summary judgment bid in a proposed investor class action helpfully clarifies two important points for defendants facing postoffering securities claims under Section 11 of the Securities Act, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Series

    Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator

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    Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.

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