Unions, Nonprofits Get USDA Reorganization Plan Blocked

By Rae Ann Varona

A California federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture from closing offices and reshuffling staff, saying the department's planned reorganization likely amounted to "reprogramming" prohibited by statutory spending restrictions.

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Perrigo To Pay $10M To End Consumer Gerber Antitrust Suit

By Hailey Konnath

Perrigo will pay $10 million to consumers accusing the company of cutting an anticompetitive agreement with Gerber to maintain a monopoly in the store-brand infant formula market, according to a motion filed in New York federal court Tuesday.

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4 Questions After US, China Announce Tariff Shield

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. and China's recent announcement that they will shield a subset of goods from tariff actions and extend a trade truce is welcome by importers and advisers, though those stakeholders recognize more substantive policy outcomes between the world's two largest economies continue to face obstacles. Here, Law360 looks at four questions on the subject.

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US Backs Alaska In High Court Fight Over Plane Forfeiture

By Linda Chiem

The federal government has told the U.S. Supreme Court that Alaska is well within its right to confiscate "instrumentalities of crime" and the state's attempted forfeiture of an 83-year-old bush pilot's $95,000 plane for transporting a six-pack of beer to a dry village wasn't excessive.

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Smithfield Settles EEOC Suit Over Pregnant Worker's Firing

By Grace Elletson

A Smithfield Foods subsidiary reached a deal to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it placed a pregnant employee on unpaid leave and then fired her when she asked for lighter work and occasional breaks, according to a North Carolina federal court filing.

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Germany Floats Tax On Sugary Drinks To Curb Health Costs

By Kevin Pinner

Germany wants to tax sugary drinks starting next year in an effort to cut sugar consumption and reduce public healthcare costs, according to a proposal approved Wednesday by the Federal Cabinet.

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Kroger's 'Zero Sugar' Syrup Draws Allulose Labeling Suit

By Celeste Bott

Kroger was hit with a proposed class action in Illinois federal court Wednesday alleging its maple syrup's "Zero Sugar" label misleads shoppers because it contains allulose, joining a growing number of suits following a Seventh Circuit ruling that the sweetener qualifies as sugar under federal labeling rules.

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Utz Sued Again Over Avocado Oil Potato Chip Labeling

By Gina Kim

Utz was sued again Wednesday by customers who alleged in California federal court that they were misled into thinking its Boulder Canyon potato chips are cooked only with avocado oil, despite a recent UC Davis study that suggests the chips aren't consistent with a product containing only avocado oil.

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Fed. Circ. Won't Revive UPL Patent, But Rejects Sanctions

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit on Wednesday refused to bring back an agricultural fungicide patent owned by UPL Ltd. that was invalidated at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, but also shot down a bid to sanction the Indian agrochemicals company.

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Texas Court Wipes Out $8.9M Verdict In Shopper Assault Suit

By Y. Peter Kang

A Texas appellate court has overturned an $8.9 million verdict in favor of a grocery store customer who was assaulted by another shopper and suffered severe injuries, saying a certain negligence claim was improperly submitted to the jury.

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Couple Says Target Can't Escape Tainted Baby Formula Suit

By Mike Curley

Two parents are urging a Washington federal court not to throw out their claims against Target Corp. in a suit alleging their baby contracted infant botulism from tainted baby formula sold at the store, saying their complaint sufficiently pleads that Target had a duty of reasonable care and should have looked into its sources.

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Colo. Judge Mulls Coors' Bid To Stop Suppliers' Contract Exits

By Rachel Konieczny

Coors Distributing Co. LLC urged a Colorado state judge Wednesday to block a beer brand supplier from terminating its decades-long contract with the beer wholesaler until arbitration occurs, arguing that the supplier's contract exit presents a "real risk" that other suppliers will end their agreements with the wholesaler.

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Boies Schiller Adds Ex-DOJ Civil Division Leader In NY, DC

By Hailey Konnath

Boies Schiller Flexner LLP has added a former deputy assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division to its global investigations and white collar teams in New York and Washington, D.C., according to an announcement made Wednesday.

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What Lawyers Should Know Before Accepting Crypto Payment

As clients increasingly request to pay legal fees, retainers and escrow funds using cryptocurrency, lawyers should consider how only a handful of state bar authorities have addressed the issue with varying ethics opinions, as well as the related questions that no authority has yet answered, says attorney Felix Shipkevich.

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Cyber Incident Halts Bankruptcy Court Noticing Nationwide

By Hilary Russ

The nationwide system for providing notice to creditors in bankruptcy cases has been disrupted by a cybersecurity incident, and it is not currently known when the outage will end.

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Analysis

Missouri AG Alumni Make Their Mark In Trump 2.0

By Courtney Bublé

Missouri is hundreds of miles from Washington, D.C., but the legal community of the Show-Me State has taken a significant hold in the second Trump administration.

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Norton Rose Beats $100M Suit Over Withdrawn Patent App

By Celeste Bott

Norton Rose Fulbright has defeated a former client's malpractice suit over a missed patent fee payment, after an Illinois state judge ruled that the deadline to sue began before the firm allegedly acknowledged its mistake and dismissed the company's $100 million lawsuit against the firm with prejudice.

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Murdaugh Tells 4th Circ. To Revive Jury Tampering Civil Suit

By Cara Salvatore

Disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh asked the Fourth Circuit on Thursday to revive his suit accusing a court clerk of interfering in his murder trial, arguing he has standing because the alleged tampering "destroyed the value" of his $600,000 defense.

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Judge Who Called For Philly DA Probe Rejects Recusal Bid

By Matthew Santoni

A federal judge who called for an investigation of the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office will not reconsider or recuse himself from the underlying habeas corpus case, calling DA Larry Krasner's bid to undo his rulings "frivolous" and "intemperate."

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Crowell Faces DQ Bid Over AI Tool At Heart Of Client's IP Suit

By Dorothy Atkins

DeviantArt urged a California federal judge Wednesday to disqualify Crowell & Moring LLP from representing Evox Productions in litigation alleging multiple AI companies used Evox's copyrighted car photos to train artificial-intelligence image generators, arguing the firm "unquestionably" represented DeviantArt and has "sued its own client on behalf of another client."

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Gov't Urges Justices To Reject Google, Intel Fight Over Fintiv

By Adam Lidgett

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject Intel Corp. and Google LLC's challenge to a precedent allowing Patent Trial and Appeal Board petitions to be denied based on related litigation.

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Would-Be Kavanaugh Assassin Slams Feds' Skewed Facts

By Lauren Berg

A woman accused of trying to kill U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh told the Fourth Circuit that federal prosecutors have presented a "wildly inaccurate description" of a Maryland federal judge's sentencing decision, rejecting their argument that she got off too easy because of her gender identity.

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NYC Sanctuary Policies Survive Trump Admin. Lawsuit

By Rae Ann Varona

A New York federal judge on Thursday tossed the Trump administration's lawsuit challenging New York City policies that the administration alleged unconstitutionally obstruct federal immigration enforcement, saying federal law the administration leaned on does not preempt the sanctuary provisions.

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