Food & Beverage

  • July 11, 2025

    Stanley Mug Maker Seeks To Dodge Class Suit Over Lid Recall

    The Seattle-based company behind the popular Stanley-brand tumbler is urging a Washington federal judge to throw out a proposed class action from consumers who alleged the company's travel mug is defective, criticizing the plaintiffs' counsel for "sprinting to the courthouse" even though the manufacturer offered replacement lids during a voluntary recall.

  • July 11, 2025

    Taxation With Representation: Davis Polk, Kirkland, Cassels

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Merck buys U.K. drugmaker Verona Pharma, CoreWeave acquires fellow data center company Core Scientific, Royal Gold acquires Sandstorm Gold and Horizon Copper, and Italian food company Ferrero buys WK Kellogg.

  • July 11, 2025

    Smoke Shop's Default Lifted In Toys R Us Dilution Suit

    A Connecticut federal judge on Friday set aside a default entry against a New Haven e-cigarette and cannabis accessories store accused of tarnishing Toys R Us trademarks, mooting a pending motion for judgment after the defendants retained counsel who appeared in the case.

  • July 11, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen HS2 hit with a defamation claim by two ex-employees who blew the whistle on alleged under-reporting of costs, Craig Wright and nChain face legal action brought by its former chief financial officer over a fraud scheme, and pro-footballer Axel Tuanzebe bring a clinical negligence claim against his former club Manchester United F.C. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • July 10, 2025

    9th Circ. Sides With Civil Aid Attys In H-2A Farm Docs Dispute

    A Ninth Circuit panel said Thursday that a lower court overstepped its authority by restricting a civil legal aid organization from using for advocacy purposes information that was gathered during discovery in a class of seasonal farmworkers' now-settled forced labor case against a Washington fruit grower.

  • July 10, 2025

    9th Circ. Upholds Converse's Win In Website Chat Wiretap Suit

    The Ninth Circuit has refused to revive a proposed class action accusing Converse Inc. of allowing a third-party vendor to intercept website visitors' chats, finding that there was "no evidence" that the sneaker maker had violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act.

  • July 10, 2025

    Carma Says Ex-CLO, President Stole Hulk Hogan Beer Ideas

    Carma HoldCo Inc. has filed a $10 million lawsuit in Illinois federal court against its former president and chief legal officer, accusing them of misappropriating its trade secrets and business plans related to "Real American" beer in a partnership with wrestler Hulk Hogan after they were terminated.

  • July 10, 2025

    Uber, Instacart Fight Seattle's Driver Rights Law At 9th Circ.

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared split on Thursday while hearing Uber and Instacart's challenge to a Seattle city ordinance regulating deactivation of app-based worker accounts, with the judges seemingly at odds on whether the law forced commercial speech while still unconvinced of a First Amendment violation.

  • July 10, 2025

    Apple, Visa And Mastercard Beat Payment Fee Collusion Suit

    An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday dismissed several retailers' proposed antitrust class action that accused Apple, Visa and Mastercard of scheming to restrain competition in point-of-sale transaction payment networks, saying the express terms of agreements retailers had claimed were anti-competitive showed otherwise.

  • July 10, 2025

    Original BBQ Joint Lays Claim To TM In Fight With Franchise

    The original location in a North Carolina chain of barbecue restaurants has shot back at a trademark infringement suit brought by the company that runs its sister restaurants, arguing it never lost ownership of the marks after the two entities split ways two decades ago.

  • July 10, 2025

    Florida Restaurateur Can't Get Shrimp TM, Fed. Circ. Affirms

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday refused to revive an author and restaurateur's bid to register a trademark for "Yucatán Shrimp" at his Florida eatery named after his crime novels, backing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's finding that the mark would be merely descriptive.

  • July 10, 2025

    ​​​​​​​DOJ Says Calif. Animal Welfare 'Red Tape' Inflates Egg Prices

    The U.S. Department of Justice sued California and state officials over several animal welfare laws passed in the Golden State that the federal government claims has contributed to the "historic rise in egg prices by imposing unnecessary red tape on the production of eggs."

  • July 10, 2025

    Cinemex Theater Co. Gets $2.6M For Operations In Ch. 11

    A Florida bankruptcy judge approved more than $2.6 million to keep a theater company operating in its second Chapter 11 case on Thursday, allowing the funds to pay for critical vendors and goodwill expenses as the business plans another reorganization. 

  • July 10, 2025

    Tyson Says $55M Del. Poultry Plants Win Blocks Ga. Damages

    Tyson Foods wants to block any claim to damages in a poultry rendering company's antitrust lawsuit, telling a Georgia federal judge Wednesday that a Delaware state court already ruled that it overpaid to buy out the company and asserting that precludes any claims that it forced the firm into an underpriced buyout.

  • July 10, 2025

    Feds Want Cheesesteak Shop Owner's Tax Sentence Restored

    Prosecutors urged a Pennsylvania federal judge to reimpose a nearly two-year sentence on a Philadelphia cheesesteak shop owner who was convicted of paying employees off the books, a request that comes two months after the Third Circuit vacated his prison term.

  • July 10, 2025

    Fla. High Court Revives Ex-Steak 'N Shake Worker's Bias Suit

    The Florida Supreme Court backed the reinstatement Thursday of an ex-Steak 'n Shake worker's disability bias suit claiming he was fired after suffering a back injury, ruling he didn't need to invoke the state's civil rights law in his presuit bias charge to pursue his claims in court.

  • July 10, 2025

    Groups Ask 9th Circ. To Sink EPA Pesticide Seed Exemption

    Green groups on Wednesday asked the Ninth Circuit to revive their lawsuit alleging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is violating federal law by failing to regulate pesticide-coated crop seeds.

  • July 10, 2025

    Ferrero, Kellogg Ink $3.1B Deal Led By Davis Polk, Kirkland

    Italian food company The Ferrero Group has agreed to acquire WK Kellogg Co. in a $3.1 billion all-cash deal, the companies said Thursday, marking a major expansion for Ferrero into the North American breakfast market. 

  • July 10, 2025

    Publix Pushed For Off-Clock Work, Underpaid OT, Suit Says

    Grocery chain Publix pressured a department manager to work off-the-clock to bolster store profits and shorted him on overtime by failing to incorporate bonus pay into its time-and-a-half calculations of his hourly rate, the worker said in a suit filed in Georgia federal court.

  • July 10, 2025

    SpaceX Seeks Record $400B Valuation, Plus More Rumors

    Elon Musk's satellite and rocket maker SpaceX is planning to raise money in a private round that would value the company at a record $400 billion, Starbucks China is seeking bids for a stake sale that could value the chain at $10 billion, plus online fashion giant Shein hopes to salvage its long-awaited IPO by listing in Hong Kong.

  • July 09, 2025

    Amazon Customer Grilled On Whole Foods Ad Suit At 9th Circ.

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared critical on Wednesday of a consumer's claim that Amazon duped Prime members by pulling its free Whole Foods grocery delivery perk, as the judges pointed to subscriber terms allowing the e-commerce giant to change the benefits package.

  • July 09, 2025

    Former Josh Wine Exec Sues Over Soured Buyout Deal

    The former president of the wine and spirits company that owns multibillion-dollar brand Josh Cellars has filed suit in New York state court, claiming the family-run enterprise has withheld millions in royalty payments that he was due after his employment contract expired, exposing "the dark underbelly of the adage that blood is thicker than water."

  • July 09, 2025

    Costco Says Insurer Owes Defense In Heavy Box Injury Suit

    A Hartford unit violated Washington state's Insurance Fair Conduct Act by unreasonably denying additional insured coverage for a man's lawsuit alleging he suffered severe injuries when moving a product at Costco, the retail giant alleged in a lawsuit recently removed to Washington federal court.

  • July 09, 2025

    8th Circ. Finds 'Chicken Coop' Trade Secrets Fight Can't Fly

    The Eighth Circuit will not reinstate an Iowa restaurant operator's lawsuit seeking a declaration that it did not misappropriate the trade secrets of another restaurant of the same name in Nebraska, saying there is no federal question that federal courts can answer.

  • July 09, 2025

    US Chamber Backs Anheuser-Busch's 4th Circ. Class Fight

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce backed Anheuser-Busch LLC's bid to flip a Virginia federal court's decision granting class certification to workers alleging the brewing giant failed to pay for mandatory pre- and post-shift work, telling the Fourth Circuit that the workers didn't clear certification standards.

Expert Analysis

  • AI Use In Class Actions Comes With Risks And Rewards

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    The use of artificial intelligence in class actions holds promise for helping to analyze complex evidence, but attorneys and experts must understand how to use it correctly, and how to explain it clearly, say Simone Jones and Eric Mattson at Sidley and Anna Shakotko at Cornerstone Research.

  • 10 Soft Skills Every GC Should Master

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    As businesses face shifting regulatory and technological uncertainty, general counsel will need to strengthen certain soft skills to succeed, from admitting when they make a mistake to maintaining a healthy dose of dispassion, says Douglas Brown at Manatt.

  • 6 Criteria Can Help Assess Executive Branch Actions

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    With new executive policy changes announced seemingly every day, several questions can help courts, policymakers and businesses determine whether such actions are proper, effective and in keeping with our democratic norms, say Marc Levin and Khalil Cumberbatch at the Council on Criminal Justice.

  • An Unrestrained, Bright-Eyed View Of Legal AI's Future

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    Todd Itami at Covington offers a bright-eyed, laughing-all-the-way, skydive look at what the legal industry could look like after an artificial intelligence revolution, which he believes may happen much sooner and more dramatically than we expect.

  • Tracking The Evolution In Litigation Finance

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    Despite continued innovation, litigation finance remains an immature market with borrowers recieving significantly different terms as lenders learn to value cases, which firms need a strong handle on to ensure lending terms do not overwhelm collateral value, says Robert Wilkins at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • Series

    Volunteer Firefighting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While practicing corporate law and firefighting may appear incongruous, the latter benefits my legal career by reminding me of the importance of humility, perspective and education, says Nicholas Passaro at Ford.

  • Influencer Campaign Lawsuits Signal New Endorsement Risks

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    Recent class actions allege that companies' influencer campaigns violate the Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides and various state laws, but it's not clear whether the failure to comply can sustain these lawsuits, or whether the plaintiffs' creative theory of damages will hold up to scrutiny, says Gonzalo Mon at Kelley Drye.

  • Digesting A 2nd Circ. Ruling On Food Delivery App Arbitration

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    The Second Circuit recently rejected Grubhub's attempt to arbitrate price-fixing claims, while allowing Uber Eats to do so, reinforcing that even broad arbitration clauses must connect to the underlying dispute and suggesting that terms of service litigation may center on websites' design and content, say attorneys at Greenspoon Marder.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: The Perils Of Digital Data Protocols

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    Though stipulated protocols governing the treatment of electronically stored information in litigation are meant to streamline discovery, recent disputes demonstrate that certain missteps in the process can lead to significant inefficiencies, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Defense Strategies After Justices' Personal Injury RICO Ruling

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    In Medical Marijuana v. Horn, the U.S. Supreme Court recently held that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act can be invoked by some plaintiffs with claims arising from personal injuries — but defense counsel can use the limitations on civil RICO claims to seek early dismissal in such cases, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Preparing For Corporate Work

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    Law school often doesn't cover the business strategy, financial fluency and negotiation skills needed for a successful corporate or transactional law practice, but there are practical ways to gain relevant experience and achieve the mindset shifts critical to a thriving career in this space, says Dakota Forsyth at Olshan Frome.

  • How Cos. Can Mitigate Increasing Microplastics Liability Risk

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    Amid rising scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe of microplastics' impact on health and the growing threat of litigation against consumer product and food and beverage manufacturers, companies can limit liability through compliance with labeling laws, careful contract management and other practices, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process

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    The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.

  • Series

    Improv Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Improv keeps me grounded and connected to what matters most, including in my legal career where it has helped me to maintain a balance between being analytical, precise and professional, and creative, authentic and open-minded, says Justine Gottshall at InfoLawGroup.

  • How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

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    Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

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