Food & Beverage

  • September 04, 2026

    Exclusion Extinguishes PPE Maker's PFAS Coverage Bid

    A commercial general liability insurer owes no coverage to a personal protective equipment manufacturer sued by firefighters who said the company's gear exposed them to forever chemicals, an Ohio federal court ruled, finding that the claimed injuries fall under an occupational disease exclusion.

  • September 04, 2026

    US Extends Trade Programs With African Countries, Haiti

    The government funding bill signed by President Donald Trump this week included extensions of U.S. trade agreements with African nations and Haiti through the end of 2028, locking in duty exemptions for broad swaths of products following bipartisan support.

  • September 04, 2026

    Chinese Feed Additive Imports Harming US Industry, ITC Says

    Imports of animal feed-grade additive from China are being sold at unfair prices are harming domestic industry, the U.S. International Trade Commission determined Friday, setting up duty orders.

  • September 03, 2026

    Wash. Justices To Hear Gordon Rees Malpractice Transfer Suit

    Washington's Supreme Court will consider whether a Great American insurance unit can inherit an equipment manufacturer's legal malpractice claims against two law firms in what the insurance company has called an issue of first impression, according to a high court order published Wednesday.

  • September 03, 2026

    Papa John's Hit With Investor Suit Over Slow Transformation

    Papa John's has been hit with an investor's proposed class action accusing it of damaging shareholders with overhyped plans to transform the pizza company and regain market share, saying financial results issued last month revealed the transformation is taking longer than expected.

  • September 03, 2026

    Most Of Corteva's IP Claims Against Inari Move Along

    A Delaware federal court Thursday kept most claims alive in a case over seed intellectual property brought by Corteva Agriscience ahead of a trial set to begin later this month.

  • September 03, 2026

    Pilot Plane Forfeiture Over 6-Pack Is Excessive, Justices Told

    An 83-year-old bush pilot has told the U.S. Supreme Court that Alaska flouted precedent and applied a grossly disproportionate standard by saddling him with the "ills of alcohol abuse statewide" in trying to forfeit his $95,000 plane for transporting a six-pack of beer to a dry village.

  • September 03, 2026

    Detroit Club Must Pay $417K Fee After $6.3M Bias Verdict

    A Michigan federal judge has awarded more than $417,000 in attorney fees and costs to three former Detroit Club employees who won nearly $6.3 million at trial on race discrimination and retaliation claims, while rejecting the club's effort to revisit an early discovery sanctions ruling as 554 days too late. 

  • September 03, 2026

    Mass. Dunkin' Owners, Temp Firms Owe $1.4M For Violations

    The owners of 20 Dunkin' franchises across eastern Massachusetts and two staffing agencies have been fined $1.46 million for multiple state labor violations, including designating store workers as independent contractors and late paychecks, the state attorney general said Thursday.

  • September 03, 2026

    Waffle House Tobacco Fee Suit Switches Districts In Georgia

    A Georgia federal court Thursday accepted the transfer of a proposed class action against Waffle House targeting its $92-a-month employee health plan tobacco fee, which parties to the dispute had jointly requested to be shipped from an adjacent district.

  • September 03, 2026

    Bean-Based Pasta Should Be Duty-Exempt, Italian Co. Says

    An Italian company's bean-based pasta should have been deemed outside the scope of duty orders against dry pastas, it told the U.S. Court of International Trade on Thursday, seeking a redo of the U.S. Department of Commerce's scope investigation.

  • September 03, 2026

    NJ Judge Strikes Experts In Faegre Drinker Malpractice Suit

    A New Jersey state judge has struck the expert reports in a legal malpractice suit against Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, barring the experts from testifying unless the Sept. 14 trial over a real estate deal gone awry is postponed.

  • September 03, 2026

    Topgolf Settles Ga. Servers' Minimum Wage Suit

    Topgolf settled a proposed collective action accusing the chain of underpaying servers by improperly taking a tip credit, according to a Georgia federal judge's order approving the deal.

  • September 03, 2026

    11th Circ. Won't Toss Grouper Catch Limit Over Council Defect

    An Eleventh Circuit panel Thursday agreed the structure of a regional fishery management council runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution's appointments clause, but refused to throw out a challenged rule that reduced catch limits for gag grouper in the Gulf of Mexico.

  • September 03, 2026

    Colo. Labor Department Nabs $1.9B Navy Food Contract

    The U.S. Navy has awarded the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Division a $1.9 billion contract to provide full food services at 46 U.S. Marine Corps mess halls, according to a recent announcement.

  • September 02, 2026

    Walmart Says IP Suit Docs Can't Be Used In Malpractice Case

    Walmart has asked an Arkansas federal court to order food tech startup Zest Labs to comply with a protective order from the parties' settled trade secret dispute and block it from disclosing Walmart's confidential information in Zest's malpractice suit against its former attorneys.

  • September 02, 2026

    Akerman Hires Consumer Protection Law Ace From Steptoe

    Akerman LLP announced on Monday it has welcomed a former Steptoe LLP attorney who brings vast experience helping clients navigate a unique, complicated landscape involving Golden State consumer protection laws and regulations, including matters related to Proposition 65.

  • September 02, 2026

    Tyson's Price-Fixing Deal Merits $27.5M Atty Fees, Buyers Say

    Beef direct purchasers asked a Minnesota federal judge Tuesday to award class counsel $27.5 million in fees, or one-third of Tyson's $82.5 million price-fixing settlement, arguing that the deal was reached after six years of hard-fought antitrust litigation and adds to another settlement, bringing the total recovery to $135 million.

  • September 02, 2026

    NOAA Fisheries Lays Out Priorities For Trump Seafood Order

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries division announced several dozen priorities to boost the U.S. seafood industry Wednesday, prompting one environmental group to call it a "depraved laundry list" of ways the Trump administration is willing to sacrifice ocean life.

  • September 02, 2026

    Kroger, Costco, Major Grocers Added To DOJ Beef Price Probe

    The U.S. Department of Justice expanded its investigation into potential anticompetitive conduct in the American beef industry to include The Kroger Co., Walmart, Costco Wholesale Corp. and five other major grocers.

  • September 02, 2026

    Imported Feed Additive Is An Antibiotic, Trade Court Rules

    An animal health company's imports of a powdered feed additive should have entered the U.S. as a duty-free antibiotic, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday, undoing its previous classification as a preparation for animal feed from China that carried a 25% tariff.

  • September 02, 2026

    Vitamin Co. Can't Duck $1.4M Suit Over Ex-Owner's Tax Lien

    A vitamin company and its owners must face a suit by the federal government seeking $1.4 million stemming from a tax lien on a former owner's 20% interest in the company, a Connecticut federal judge ruled.

  • September 02, 2026

    Unilever, Gruns Sued Over Gummies Marketed As 'Sugar-Free'

    Unilever United States Inc. and Gruns Nutrition Inc. have been hit with class claims in New Jersey federal court alleging that they falsely labeled a line of gummies as "sugar-free" even though the nutritional supplements are sweetened with allulose, which the four suing consumers say is a sugar under federal regulations.

  • September 02, 2026

    Meijer Escapes Suit Over Health Plan Fee For Tobacco Users

    A Michigan federal judge tossed a worker's proposed class action alleging supercenter chain Meijer improperly charged workers a $20 per week tobacco surcharge through its health plan, ruling that concerns about improper notifications and allocations of the fee ultimately lacked teeth.

  • September 02, 2026

    2nd Circ. Faults NLRB's Dress Code Test In Starbucks Appeal

    The Second Circuit faulted the test the National Labor Relations Board applies to neutral dress codes that restrict workers' displays of union insignia, tossing Wednesday a ruling that Starbucks illegally barred workers at a Manhattan shop from wearing pro-union shirts. 

Expert Analysis

  • How Justices' TPS Ruling Affects Workforce Planning

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent holding in Mullin v. Doe that courts lack jurisdiction to review temporary protected status determinations greenlights the end of TPS for thousands of Syrian and Haitian nationals, and means employers must reevaluate TPS-designees' employability while avoiding discriminatory document practices, says attorney Richard Herman.

  • How Cos. Can Prep For Ultra-Processed Food Legal Risks

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    A wave of litigation and government scrutiny directed against ultra-processed foods is now gaining momentum, following patterns seen previously in other industries — and food companies that recognize those patterns early will be better positioned to manage the increasing risks, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    Bass Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Landing a trophy striped bass and closing a big deal both require cultivating the patience to finesse — not force — your way to desired outcomes, changing course when your old approach isn’t working and learning from the ones that got away, says Jon Ruiss at Alston & Bird.

  • Roundup

    The Most Talked-About Supreme Court Decisions Of 2026

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    This term, 11 U.S. Supreme Court decisions quickly became hot topics among Law360's guest writers.

  • What Ex-CFPB Head's Calif. Role May Foretell For Oversight

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    California Gov. Gavin Newsom's selection of former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra to lead a new consumer agency signals tougher state financial services oversight, especially for fintechs, as well as heightened enforcement activity and larger penalties, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Immigration Ruling Maps Alternative To Universal Injunctions

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    A Rhode Island federal court's decision in Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS vacating policies that froze key immigration adjudications for nationals of 39 countries, and paused asylum applications altogether, suggests how practitioners might press for the Administrative Procedure Act's bad faith exception to record review and seek vacatur as a viable alternative to universal injunctions, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • Lessons From EEOC Suit Over Coca-Cola Women-Only Event

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    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent lawsuit alleging that Coca-Cola Northeast violated federal law by having a professional development retreat for female employees demonstrates that the EEOC is scrutinizing DEI-related practices with unprecedented intensity, so even the most well-intentioned programs may be challenged, say attorneys at Venable.

  • High Court's FCC Fine Ruling Reframes Agency Enforcement

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T sweeps aside uncertainty about what kinds of regulatory enforcement trigger a Seventh Amendment right, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • After Durnell, Connecting Science And Causation Will Be Key

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's June 25 decision in Monsanto v. Durnell narrowed label-based failure-to-warn claims — meaning that going forward, viable theories will depend even more on whether experts can reliably connect scientific evidence to the causal proposition the law requires, says Alex Smolak at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar.

  • Series

    Choral Singing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Singing in the New York City Bar Chorus — a hobby partly inspired by the late U.S. District Judge Richard Owen, who infused my clerkship year with opera music — has improved my legal career by refining my abilities to listen, exude confidence and develop emotional intelligence, says Bonnie Baker at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Attorney Mental Health Is An Ethical Obligation In The AI Era

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    As attorneys cope with the increasing unpredictability that artificial intelligence and constant policy changes have created, particularly in practice areas where they carry the emotional weight of clients’ most consequential life events, otherwise soft discussions about self-care are a matter of professional competence, says attorney Jack Jrada.

  • Series

    Power To The Paralegals: Burnout As A Structural Problem

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    Law firm leadership can best retain their paralegals not by encouraging self-care, but by seeking top-down structural solutions for the quiet proliferation of responsibilities and the vicarious exposure to client trauma that particularly drive burnout in this vital role, says Erika Sneeringer at Brockstedt Mandalas.

  • Fed. Circ. In May: Being Precise About 'About'

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    The Federal Circuit's decision in Enviro Tech v. Safe Foods last month illustrates the danger in attempting to expand claim scope with words of approximation, potentially causing claims to be invalid for lack of definiteness, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Ill. Law Firm MSO Bill Clashes With Court Power, Ethics Rules

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    An Illinois bill prohibiting law firms from certain business arrangements with management service organizations, sent to the governor for signature last week, encroaches upon the courts' constitutional powers and goes beyond the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct in regulating investment in law-related services, says Matthew O’Hara at Smith Gambrell.

  • Opinion

    State Courts Must Be Gatekeepers Of Expert Testimony

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    Based on my experience in the state judiciary, emulating federal courts' role as gatekeepers of expert witness testimony would help state court judges maintain the appearance of impartiality and assist juries, thus enhancing the overall confidence people have in their justice system, says Lorie Gildea at Greenberg Traurig.

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