General Mills, Mars Allege Sugar Price-Fixing Scheme

By Craig Clough

General Mills, Kellanova, Mars and Little Debbie maker McKee Foods are suing several major U.S. sugar producers in Illinois federal court, accusing them of conspiring to inflate granulated sugar prices for years by secretly sharing sensitive pricing, sales and supply information through an intermediary.

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US Bans Canadian Alcohol, Motorcycles After Tariff Retaliation

By Jack McLoone

President Donald Trump continued the U.S. trade offensive against Canada after its northern neighbor's retaliatory tariffs went into effect, announcing a ban on Canadian imports of certain alcohol, dairy products and motorcycles starting this month.

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Sugar Buyers Want Paul Weiss DQ'd From Price-Fixing MDL

By Dorothy Atkins

Hershey, J.M. Smucker and other food makers urged a Minnesota federal judge Tuesday to disqualify Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP from representing Domino Foods in sugar price-fixing multidistrict litigation, arguing the firm is conflicted out because it saw their confidential sugar-purchasing data when it was being considered as plaintiffs' counsel.

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Judge Denies Validity Redo After $38M Verdict Partly Revived

By Dani Kass

Bottler Shibuya Hoppmann and dairy company HP Hood are not entitled to a new trial on the validity of Steuben Foods' bottle sterilization patents after the Federal Circuit partly revived a $38 million infringement verdict against them, a Delaware federal judge said Wednesday.

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Bikini Barista Owner Owes Class $1.8M Over Wage Violations

By Ben Adlin

The owner of Seattle-area "bikini barista" company Beehive Espresso is on the hook for more than $1.8 million after a Washington state judge found him liable for numerous pay violations, including tip theft, limits on moonlighting, improper sick leave accounting and failure to pay minimum wage.

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Rise Brewing Urges Justices To Let Juries Weigh TM Strength

By Ivan Moreno

RiseandShine Corp. urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to reject what it called the Second Circuit's outlier rule allowing judges to decide the strength of a trademark, arguing in its opening merits brief that the question belongs to juries because it hinges on how ordinary consumers perceive a mark.

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Conn. Farmers Can't Point To Hemp Law Injury, Judge Says

By Jonathan Capriel

Connecticut hemp farmers and processors failed to overturn state laws that cracked down on the sale of intoxicating hemp products, after a federal judge ruled that they failed to show how they were concretely harmed by statutes that do not directly regulate cultivation.

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Aramark Worker Fights To Keep Parent Company In Wage Suit

By MJ Koo

A Seattle concessions supervisor has pushed back against a food services company's bid to exit from a wage and hour lawsuit, arguing in Washington federal court that the company's centralized control over employee handbooks, payroll, human resources and scheduling policies is enough to hold it liable as a joint employer under state wage law.

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Brief

5-Hour Energy Rival Takes Antitrust Fight To 6th Circ.

By Nadia Dreid

A rival of 5-Hour Energy is taking its beef with the energy shot maker to the Sixth Circuit after a Michigan federal judge refused to revive its claims that the company was keeping competitors out of the market by inking deals that require its products be displayed at checkout counters.

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Brief

Latest $1.5M Turkey Price-Fixing Deal Gets Early OK

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge Wednesday gave his initial sign-off to a $1.5 million deal Prestage Farms has inked to resolve certain buyers' claims in sprawling turkey price-fixing antitrust litigation.

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Wine Label Makers Spar Over Injunction In Trade Secret Fight

By Elliot Weld

A California federal judge on Wednesday weighed whether to grant a wine label company's motion for a preliminary injunction against rivals in a case accusing them of using trade secrets allegedly brought over by a former employee.

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ABA Study Shows 20% Of Attys Under Severe Mental Distress

By Tracey Read

About one-fifth of attorneys across the country meet moderate-to-extremely severe symptom thresholds for depression, anxiety and stress, according to the largest-ever study of mental health and well-being in the legal profession.

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Mass. Judge Sanctioned Over Handling Of ICE At Courthouse

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' highest court on Thursday sanctioned a judge over her handling of a case involving a defendant wanted by immigration agents in 2018, an incident that led to federal charges that were dismissed after the judge agreed to a disciplinary process.

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Ed Martin Reprimanded Over Unauthorized FBI Contacts

By Courtney Bublé

Last summer, when Ed Martin was still head of the weaponization working group at the U.S. Department of Justice, he was reprimanded after his team communicated with the FBI without authorization, according to recently released emails.

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2 At DOJ Sued Over Conn. Immigration Court Record Access

By Christine DeRosa

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Connecticut has filed suit in Connecticut federal court challenging the Hartford Immigration Court's refusal to provide access to immigration court records.

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JPMorgan Aided Ex-Atty Kossoff's $18.5M Theft, Trustee Says

By Hailey Konnath

The Chapter 7 trustee representing bankrupt firm Kossoff PLLC on Wednesday sued JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, claiming the bank helped the firm's principal steal at least $18.5 million from clients, and it "should be made to account."

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Analysis

Executive Privilege Questions Cloud Congressional Probe Prep

By Phillip Bantz

As corporate leaders brace for the possibility of Democrats retaking control of Congress and launching aggressive investigations into the Trump administration's dealings with a vast array of companies, attorneys say a U.S. Justice Department opinion on executive privilege could complicate the probes.

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DOJ Urges High Court To Revisit 9th Circ.'s Bar Of Nev. US Atty

By Madison Arnold

The Justice Department has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit a recent Ninth Circuit ruling disqualifying the Trump administration's top federal prosecutor in Nevada, calling it a decision that imposes "ongoing confusion" in the executive branch.

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Jay-Z Can't Undo Buzbee's Win In Rapper's Defamation Suit

By Y. Peter Kang

A California state appeals court has refused to revive claims that Texas attorney Tony Buzbee defamed and extorted music superstar Jay-Z by roping him into a sexual abuse suit against Sean "Diddy" Combs, saying the case was properly thrown out under California's free speech statute.

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