McDonald's Agrees To Drop Price-Fixing Suit Against Cargill

By Hailey Konnath

McDonald's Corp. has agreed to drop its claims against Cargill Inc. in litigation accusing major meat processing and packing companies of conspiring to fix beef prices, according to a joint announcement made by the companies.

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PE-Backed Hometown Food Nabs Chef Boyardee For $600M

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Hometown Food Co., a portfolio company of Holland & Knight LLP-advised private equity shop Brynwood Partners, on Thursday announced plans to acquire the iconic Chef Boyardee brand from Mayer Brown LLP-led Conagra Brands Inc. in a $600 million deal.

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Conagra Sued Over Orville Redenbacher 'Naturals' Popcorn

By Gina Kim

Conagra Brands Inc. tries to profit off health-conscious consumers who prefer natural products by falsely labeling its Orville Redenbacher brand of "Naturals" popcorn as containing only real ingredients, despite containing a synthetic preservative, according to a proposed class action filed Thursday in New York federal court. 

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PepsiCo Owes $2.1M In Tax Penalties, Illinois Panel Affirms

By Lauraann Wood

PepsiCo was correctly assessed $2.1 million in penalties for categorizing Frito-Lay expatriates' compensation as foreign payroll that would allow the company's profits to be excluded from state income tax calculations, according to an Illinois Appellate Court panel.

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Publix Can't Slip 'Zero-Market Share' Opioid Claims

By Ali Sullivan

Publix Super Markets Inc. can't slip opioid-related claims from nine municipalities in which the supermarket chain alleges it has no pharmacies, an Ohio federal judge overseeing sprawling national opioid litigation ruled.

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Baking Co. Burned For Revealing Recipe After IP Trial Loss

By Matthew Santoni

A Pennsylvania federal judge had strong words of warning Wednesday for Bundy Baking Solutions, a baking products company that lost a jury trial over a rival's trade secrets and responded to a motion for a permanent ban by allegedly disclosing some of those same secrets on a public docket.

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3rd Circ. Backs Charter School In Black Worker's Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

The Third Circuit upheld the dismissal of a Black cafeteria manager's suit claiming she was fired for complaining that her bosses at a charter school system mistreated her due to her race, ruling the suit falls flat because she was employed by an outside food service company.

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NC Chef Says Restaurant Canned Him For Being Trans

By Ryan Harroff

The former executive sous chef at a resort restaurant in Flat Rock, North Carolina, claims in a lawsuit that he was terminated for having gender dysphoria and for requesting time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act to recover from gender reassignment surgery.

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Brief

Photo Agency, Country Club Settle Suit Over Prime Rib Picture

By Adam Lidgett

A photo licensing company has settled its copyright lawsuit that alleged a Maryland golf and country club used a picture of a prime rib roast in its promotional materials without permission.

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Sony Eyes $49B Semiconductor Unit Sale, Plus More Rumors

By Tom Zanki

Sony could sell its semiconductor unit for $49 billion, while proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis is considering ending its practice of advising shareholder votes on politically charged topics, and AI startup Nscale plans to raise $2.7 billion in private capital to support the construction of data centers around the world.

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Series

Teaching College Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Serving as an adjunct college professor has taught me the importance of building rapport, communicating effectively, and persuading individuals to critically analyze the difference between what they think and what they know — principles that have helped to improve my practice of law, says Sheria Clarke at Nelson Mullins.

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Attys Join Nationwide 'Day Of Action' Rallies For Rule Of Law

By Ryan Boysen and Jack Rodgers

Thousands of attorneys gathered at rallies across the country on Thursday to oppose what they called the Trump administration's "assault" on the rule of law — a rare public demonstration for the normally buttoned-down and risk-averse professionals that they said "sounds the alarm of a looming constitutional crisis."

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Analysis

Hair, Makeup, Legal: The Lawyering Behind The Met Gala

By Theresa Schliep

While the red carpet arrivals of the biggest names in the entertainment industry are sure to win the most attention at the Met Gala on Monday, attorneys also play a significant role in advising the brands and celebrities at the center of fashion's biggest night.

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20 Former Federal Judges Launch Group To Defend Judiciary

By Jake Maher

Twenty former federal district and circuit judges on Thursday launched a coalition to speak out about and defend the federal judiciary as political impeachment attempts against judges increase and the federal courts system faces heightened scrutiny.

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Paul Hastings, GenapSys Settle Calif. Legal Malpractice Suit

By James Mills

The legal malpractice suit in which gene sequencing company GenapSys Inc. argued Paul Hastings LLP caused GenapSys' bankruptcy appears to have been settled.

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GOP Seeks To Stop 'Frivolous Lawsuits' With Reconciliation

By Courtney Bublé

The House Judiciary Committee approved along party lines a proposal they say will prevent "frivolous lawsuits" by barring courts from enforcing contempt citations for failure to comply with injunctions if the plaintiff has not posted a bond for litigation costs.

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5 Fed. Circ. Clashes To Watch This Month

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit's argument calendar for May includes appeals of two nine-figure patent verdicts — one against Apple and one against Medtronic — and Roku's bid to revive its remote control patent suit at the U.S. International Trade Commission after a loss tied to the commission's domestic industry requirement.

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Senate Panel Delays A Vote On Martin Nomination For US Atty

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday held off for now a vote to call for a hearing on Ed Martin's nomination for U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, a move Democrats say would allow more time to review his record and, they hope, convince enough Republicans to help them block his nomination.

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Ex-Exec's Claims Against Dechert Still No Good, 2nd Circ. Told

By Pete Brush

A North Carolina trade executive's latest trip to the Second Circuit in his quest to win damages for alleged hacking by a private investigator on Dechert LLP's behalf should end like the others, with a dismissal, defense counsel argued Thursday.

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New Bill Holds Judges Accountable Even After They Retire

By Hailey Konnath

A Georgia Congressman on Thursday introduced legislation that would ensure misconduct complaints against judges would still be investigated, even if the judge has resigned, retired or even died.

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Colo. Judge Resigns Amid Allegations Over Misuse Of Bench

By Thy Vo

A Colorado state judge resigned on Wednesday amid a disciplinary complaint accusing him of misusing his position to help a former client that he exchanged sexual and flirtatious texts with, telling an independent panel in a brief that it no longer needs to hear a disciplinary case against him.

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The Top In-House Hires Of April

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires over the past month included high-profile appointments at FanDuel's parent company, American Airlines and soda business Swig. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from the first full month of spring.

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