Food & Beverage

  • March 19, 2024

    Unilever To Spin Off Ice Cream Biz, Including Ben & Jerry's

    European consumer goods giant Unilever on Tuesday unveiled plans to separate its ice cream business, which includes Ben & Jerry's, as part of an effort to simplify and "streamline" its operations.

  • March 19, 2024

    IFF Selling Pharma Unit To French Co. Roquette In $2.85B Deal

    IFF, a maker of ingredients and additives for food, health and home-based products, said Tuesday it has agreed to sell its Pharma Solutions business to French plant-based ingredient maker Roquette at an enterprise value of up to $2.85 billion. 

  • March 19, 2024

    NY Cannabis Co. Says Regulators Retaliated For Criticism

    A New York cannabis operator is suing the state's Office of Cannabis Management, saying regulators have unfairly targeted her business with a stop-work order in retaliation for public criticism of the OCM's failure to stop activities that go against its rules.

  • March 18, 2024

    SEC Fines Supervisor $47K Over Revenue Inflation Claims

    A former finance director of water treatment company Evoqua Water Technologies Corp. will pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nearly $47,000 to resolve claims that he was part of a scheme to inflate the company's revenue by $36 million.

  • March 18, 2024

    Corteva Wants Jury Trial In FTC Pesticides Case

    Corteva has demanded a jury trial for the Federal Trade Commission's case in North Carolina federal court accusing Corteva and Syngenta of blocking competition from generic pesticides through rebate programs.

  • March 18, 2024

    Bayer Beats False-Ad Suit Over 'Honey Lemon Zest' Cold Med

    A New York federal judge on Monday tossed without leave to amend a proposed class action accusing Bayer Healthcare LLC of falsely claiming that its Alka-Seltzer Plus brand over-the-counter severe cold medication contains honey and lemon, saying the product's packaging reflects flavoring and not actual ingredients.

  • March 18, 2024

    Food Industry Group Urges 9th Circ. To Keep GMO Labeling Rule

    A trade group representing corporate giants including Coca-Cola and General Mills has urged the Ninth Circuit to keep a federal labeling rule allowing disclosure of genetic modifications to foods to be done digitally, claiming that upsetting the rule would present "significant disruption for industry and consumers alike."

  • March 18, 2024

    Indian Potato Cos. Can't Get $4.4M Award OK'd In NJ

    A New Jersey federal judge has refused to enforce a $4.4 million arbitral award stemming from an ill-fated joint venture to develop a potato-processing production line, ruling that Indian affiliates of Idaho-based agribusiness J.R. Simplot Co. haven't shown his court has jurisdiction in the dispute.

  • March 18, 2024

    Pabst Gets Calif. Judge To Can 'Olympia Beer' False Ad Suit

    A California federal judge sided with Pabst Brewing Co. on Monday in a consumer's false advertising suit, finding that the label of its now-defunct Olympia Beer was unlikely to mislead a reasonable consumer into thinking the lager was brewed in Washington using Pacific Northwest water.

  • March 18, 2024

    Canada Dry Gets Va. Wage Claim Trimmed From OT Suit In Pa.

    A Pennsylvania federal judge agreed Monday to toss Virginia state wage claims from a Pennsylvania lawsuit accusing Canada Dry of miscalculating overtime wages for eligible workers, saying a 2022 amendment that set overtime pay limits dooms the state wage claims.

  • March 18, 2024

    Subway Franchise Fight Order Can't Be Nixed, Court Hears

    A company that helps to develop and service Subway restaurants in western Canada is urging a New York court not to vacate an arbitrator's order requiring the sub shop's Canadian franchisor to continue making payments on their pact while they arbitrate a contractual feud.

  • March 18, 2024

    Lack Of Permanent Workers Dooms Bid For H-2B Kitchen Staff

    A staffing firm's admission that it doesn't have employees in North Carolina undermined its request to temporarily hire 75 foreign workers to staff a North Carolina restaurant, according to a recent decision from a U.S. Department of Labor administrative law judge.

  • March 18, 2024

    4th Circ. Preview: Airport Mishap, Inmate Pay Launch March

    The Fourth Circuit's spring session will task the court with refereeing a power struggle between Virginia regulators and the authority that runs Washington, D.C.'s airports — stemming from a workplace amputation — and delving into the "honest belief" doctrine's role in a Family Medical Leave Act case.

  • March 18, 2024

    Farmers Seek Quick Win In H-2A Suit Against DOL

    Visa-filing agency USA Farm Labor Inc. and a slew of farms and ranches said the attorney general didn't approve the U.S. Department of Labor's rule regulating wages for foreign H-2A farmworkers, urging a North Carolina federal judge to hand them a win.

  • March 18, 2024

    Justices Won't Review McDonald's No-Poach Case

    A proposed class action targeting McDonald's past use of no-poach provisions in its franchise agreements will move ahead after the Supreme Court on Monday turned down McDonald's petition to review a Seventh Circuit ruling reviving the case.

  • March 15, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Chiquita MDL Experts Aren't Reliable, Parties Say

    A Florida federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation against Chiquita Brands weighed arguments Friday on what evidence should be excluded in two upcoming bellwether trials, with each side insisting the other's experts should be disqualified from testifying about claims that the company funded a deadly right-wing Colombian paramilitary group.

  • March 15, 2024

    Sugar Giants Hit With Antitrust Suit Over Alleged Price-Fixing

    A class action filed in New York federal court Thursday alleges that the biggest players in the domestic sugar industry have been engaged in a price-fixing scheme for years.

  • March 15, 2024

    Agriculture Biz Seeks Probe Into Chinese And Indian Weed Killers

    An agriculture company is calling on U.S. trade agencies to investigate Chinese and Indian herbicide imports, alleging that rivals abroad are using unfair trade practices to get ahead in the U.S. market.

  • March 15, 2024

    Mexico Protests New USDA Label Rule For Made-In-USA Meat

    Mexico's Ministry of Economy said the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new rule limiting a "Product of U.S.A." label to meat derived from animals born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S. will prove costly to both Mexican producers and U.S. consumers.

  • March 15, 2024

    Judge Asks Colo. Why Grocery Merger Case Can't Wait

    A state judge in Denver has asked Colorado enforcers why they need to have a hearing on their bid to block Kroger's planned $24.6 billion purchase of fellow grocery store giant Albertsons before other hearings in challenges from federal enforcers and Washington state.

  • March 15, 2024

    Perdue Beats Back Chicken Farmers' OT Collective Cert. Bid

    A Georgia federal judge refused to certify a proposed collective action of broiler chicken farmers claiming Perdue Foods LLC misclassified them as independent contractors to avoid paying overtime, saying one single opt-in after six months of discovery is insufficient to show that other farmers are interested in joining the suit.

  • March 15, 2024

    Dram Shop Law Clarified By Fla. Justices' Negligence Ruling

    The Florida Supreme Court's recent decision not to reinstate a nearly $31 million jury award against a bar that served alcohol to an underage person who later crashed into a pedestrian was the right call, experts said, and provided much needed clarity on the state's dram shop statute.

  • March 15, 2024

    Harris Urges DOJ To Wrap Pot Review 'As Quickly As Possible'

    Vice President Kamala Harris urged the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday to complete its review of marijuana's control status "as quickly as possible," saying it was "absurd" and "patently unfair" to keep the drug in the same highly restrictive tier as heroin.

  • March 15, 2024

    Sanderson Beats Chicken Buyers' Antitrust Retrial Attempt

    Direct chicken purchasers who lost a price-fixing trial against Sanderson Farms cannot have another shot at bringing their case to a jury because their first trial was fair, and their circumstantial evidence couldn't defeat the company's competing proof, an Illinois federal judge has ruled.

  • March 15, 2024

    Enfamil Maker Hit With $60M Jury Verdict In Infant Death Suit

    An Illinois jury has awarded $60 million to the mother of an infant who died after using Mead Johnson's Enfamil formula, a loss for the company in the first of hundreds of suits to go to trial alleging certain cow's milk-based formulas cause a fatal illness in premature infants. 

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • How Fla. Bankruptcy Ruling May Affect Equity Owners

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    A Florida bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Vital Pharmaceuticals — which rejected the Third Circuit’s Majestic Star decision that determined a bankrupt corporation’s flow-through status was not protected by the automatic stay — may significantly affect how equity owners can mitigate the impact of flow-through structures in bankruptcy, say Eric Behl-Remijan and Natasha Hwangpo at Ropes & Gray.

  • M&A Ruling Buoys Loss Calculation Method, R&W Insurance

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    The recent Southern District of New York decision in Taylor Precision Products v. Larimer affirms the use of EBITDA as a basis to quantify loss, highlighting the potential shortcomings of a traditional seller indemnity compared to representation and warranty insurance, say Mark Schwartz at Lockton, and William O’Neil and Gretchen Scavo at Winston & Strawn.

  • How Consumer Complaints Can Help Companies

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    As seen most recently in Zoom's terms of service controversy, consumer complaints — despite initially seeming troubling for companies — can offer businesses the opportunity to identify, tackle and resolve budding challenges before those challenges escalate into larger issues, say Meghan Stoppel and Hannah Cornett at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Opinion

    Life Sciences Regulators Must Write Cloud-Specific Guidance

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    As cloud services continue to revolutionize the life sciences industry's ability to conduct regulated activities, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulators should update their data management policies to clearly support and encourage use of cloud technology, say Nate Brown and Marlee Gallant at Akin.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

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    Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Analyzing The Legal Ripples Of The EPA's PFAS Regulation

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    As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency makes major moves on its pledge to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the developing body of PFAS regulation will lead to an increase in litigation, and personal injury and product liability claims, say attorneys at Gordon & Rees.

  • The Growing Need For FLSA Private Settlement Rule Clarity

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    A Pennsylvania district court's recent ruling in Walker v. Marathon Petroleum echoes an interesting and growing trend of jurists questioning the need for — and legality of — judicial approval of private Fair Labor Standards Act settlements, which provides more options for parties to efficiently resolve their claims, says Rachael Coe at Moore & Van Allen.

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