Food & Beverage

  • December 23, 2025

    Red Robin Cheated Managers Out Of Wages, Court Told

    Restaurant chain Red Robin required salaried managers to perform nonexempt work so it could save millions of dollars every year, eight workers said in a proposed class and collective action in Colorado federal court.

  • December 22, 2025

    Chicken Cos. Face Injunction, Small Fines For Pollution

    A federal judge hit Tyson Foods, Cargill and other poultry companies with a permanent injunction nearly 16 years after trial for polluting Oklahoma waters with chicken waste, but imposed only a tiny fraction of the $100 million in penalties requested by the state.

  • December 22, 2025

    2nd Circ. Says Arb. Exemption Covers Pacts Between Cos.

    The contracts used by two food distributors who created their own entities to work for a food service business fall under the Federal Arbitration Act carveout, the Second Circuit ruled Monday, nixing a Connecticut federal court's decision that sent their misclassification case to arbitration.

  • December 22, 2025

    Red Lobster Pays Tipped Employees Incorrectly, Suit Says

    Red Lobster has been hit with proposed class wage claims in Illinois state court accusing the seafood restaurant chain of illegally failing to properly pay its tipped employees for non-tipped work they're also expected to complete while on the clock.

  • December 22, 2025

    Ex-Pepsi Worker Says Co. Fired Him For Reporting Race Bias

    Pepsi Beverage Co. fired a Black employee three weeks after he filed a race discrimination charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the worker alleged in a lawsuit filed in Georgia federal court.

  • December 22, 2025

    Chipotle Dodges Investor Claims Over Portion Cuts

    Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. has escaped a proposed shareholder class action accusing it and its executives of downplaying concerns about meager portion sizes, an issue the company later acknowledged it would correct, with a California federal judge's ruling that the allegations are insufficient to establish that Chipotle's statements were false or misleading.

  • December 22, 2025

    IP Atty, Patent Exec File Dueling Bids To End Defamation Case

    A patent licensing company executive and a Baker Botts LLP intellectual property litigator filed competing summary judgment motions in a defamation suit in Florida federal court.

  • December 22, 2025

    Oklahoma Looks To Dismiss Tribes' Hunting Rights Lawsuit

    Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and other state officials are asking a federal court to dismiss a challenge that looks to block the state from citing Native Americans for hunting and fishing on tribal lands, arguing that it is the latest unsuccessful effort to broaden the reach of a landmark 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

  • December 19, 2025

    Trump's Cannabis Order: The Impact On Hemp And Research

    President Donald Trump's executive order Thursday reignited an administrative process to reclassify marijuana as a less restricted drug, but its provisions touching on cannabis research and hemp-derived CBD are less obvious.

  • December 19, 2025

    Ill. Judge Trims Claims Over Mondelez Cocoa Sourcing Label

    A California consumer can pursue claims that Mondelez International illegally led customers to believe that the snack giant sources its cocoa ethically, but only for Oreo and Toblerone products, an Illinois federal judge ruled.

  • December 19, 2025

    Medical, School Groups Seek Order Halting $100K Visa Fee

    A medical practice in rural North Carolina and other employers asked a federal judge Friday to block enforcement of the Trump administration's $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, arguing the "massive" fee hike will inflict irreparable harm on their communities.

  • December 19, 2025

    BigLaw And Boutiques Both Shine In 2025's Top 10 Deals

    A tight circle of elite law firms guided the way as megadeals roared back with force in 2025, while a small group of specialist and international firms also made their mark across global transactions spanning infrastructure, gaming, pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence and energy.

  • December 19, 2025

    Okla. AG Says Fed Law Shields Tribal Fishing, Hunting Rights

    Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has issued a formal opinion that says federal law prohibits the state's wildlife department from citing tribal members for hunting and fishing on their reservation lands without a state-issued permit.

  • December 19, 2025

    Live Nation 401(k) Suit Arbitration In Calif. Gets Redo

    A California federal judge agreed to reconsider his order from 2023 requiring arbitration of some claims in a federal benefits suit from Live Nation workers alleging excessive fees in their employee 401(k) plan after the Ninth Circuit had remanded the case in August.

  • December 19, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen the designer of an 88-facet diamond bring a copyright claim against a luxury watch retailer, collapsed firm Axiom Ince bring legal action against the solicitors' watchdog, and the Post Office hit with compensation claims from two former branch managers over their wrongful convictions during the Horizon information technology scandal.

  • December 18, 2025

    Instacart Will Pay $60M Over FTC's Deceptive Delivery Claims

    Instacart has agreed to pay $60 million to resolve Federal Trade Commission claims it deceptively advertised "free delivery" on customers' first orders while charging a service fee and for not clearly disclosing the terms of its subscription membership.

  • December 18, 2025

    Anti-Fluoride Win Merits $9.5M In Fees From EPA, Judge Told

    Anti-fluoridation groups urged a California federal judge in a hearing Thursday to grant them $9.5 million in attorney fees for winning a 2024 decision that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "optimal" fluoride level for drinking water poses an unreasonable risk of lowering children's IQ. 

  • December 18, 2025

    Trump Order Rallies Cannabis Industry, Advocates Want More

    The executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Thursday, marking the most substantial shift in federal cannabis policy in over half a century, is expected to have favorable ramifications for the marijuana industry even as it falls short of decriminalizing the drug or resolving the many tensions between federal and state law.

  • December 18, 2025

    Top Trade Secrets Decisions Of 2025

    The Ninth Circuit clarified the rules of engagement in trade secrets disputes with guidance on when confidential information must be precisely detailed during litigation, and jurors delivered a $200 million verdict against Walmart over product freshness technology. Here are Law360's picks for the biggest trade secrets decisions of 2025.

  • December 18, 2025

    EU Approves Bakery Biz Deal With Plant Sales

    European enforcers approved Belgian food group Vandemoortele's proposed acquisition of Délifrance SA from French grain cooperative Vivescia, conditioned on the sale of two production facilities for frozen dough products.

  • December 18, 2025

    5th Circ. Won't Force Aramark To Arbitrate Aetna ERISA Suit

    Aetna cannot force food services company Aramark to arbitrate allegations the insurer cost it millions of dollars by approving shoddy health benefit claims, a split Fifth Circuit panel affirmed Thursday, saying the parties' agreement doesn't clearly delegate arbitrability to an arbitrator and the claims seek equitable, not legal, relief.

  • December 18, 2025

    Sprouts Grocery Brass Face Suit Over Rosy Growth Forecast

    The brass of specialty grocery chain Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. face a shareholder derivative suit alleging they hid the risks of faltering consumer spending, and ended up overpaying by $26.5 million on stock buybacks ahead of an October sales growth miss that caused the company's share price to fall.

  • December 18, 2025

    Coffee Contractual Dispute Will Be Arbitrated, NY Judge Says

    A New York federal judge ordered the parent company of a Colombian coffee supplier to arbitrate a dispute over its soured relationship with the U.S. arm of a Swiss coffee merchant despite not signing an underlying arbitration agreement, ruling that the pact could be enforced based on an agency theory.

  • December 18, 2025

    Trump Orders Loosening Of Federal Restrictions On Marijuana

    President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that his administration would instruct federal agencies to loosen restrictions on cannabis via executive order, a historic acknowledgment from the executive branch that the drug has recognized medical uses.

  • December 18, 2025

    Ringleader Of Beer Train Robbery Crew Gets 63 Months

    A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday handed down a 63-month prison sentence to a Bronx man who led a crew that stole nearly half-a-million dollars' worth of beer from trains, saying the defendant is fortunate nobody was harmed.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma

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    Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.

  • 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.

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