'Food Fraud-Friendly' Judge Pans Suit Against Campbell's

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge who described himself as more "food fraud-friendly" than colleagues said Thursday that a Golden State resident didn't plausibly plead that The Campbell's Co. misleads consumers by labeling microplastic-emitting soup packaging as "microwavable," but gave her permission to file an amended complaint.

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3 Firms Steer $17B DoorDash-Instacart Grocery Delivery Deal

By Al Barbarino

DoorDash Inc. said Thursday it has agreed to acquire Instacart for an equity value of approximately $17 billion, with Latham & Watkins LLP advising DoorDash and Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP and Cooley LLP representing Instacart. 

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Tech Prices, Driver Networks Hang Over DoorDash Tie-Up

By Bryan Koenig

Antitrust observers told Law360 Thursday they expect significant scrutiny of DoorDash's plan to acquire Instacart for an equity value of approximately $17 billion, pointing to the overlap between their restaurant and grocery delivery services, and the timing of the deal just as the Federal Trade Commission launches a surveillance pricing investigation.

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Uber, Amazon, Instacart Fight NYC Courier Deactivation Law

By Linda Chiem

Uber, Amazon and Instacart have accused New York City of overstepping by enacting a law prohibiting them from "deactivating" delivery couriers without formal notice and investigation, claiming in a new federal lawsuit that the regulation unconstitutionally interferes with their contractual rights.

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FTC, States Allege Toast Trapped Restaurants With Fees

By Carolina Bolado

The Federal Trade Commission and eight states sued Toast Inc. on Thursday, accusing the restaurant software company of saddling restaurants with hidden fees, failing to provide promised customer support and making it difficult to cancel its services.

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EU Head Affirms Ties With Canada As Member Talks Open

By Jack McLoone

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday reaffirmed the European Union's commitment to strengthening its ties with Canada at the opening of a summit to consider whether to adopt Canada as the EU's first-ever associate member.

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Canada, UAE Sign Economic Partnership Agreement

By Jack McLoone

Canada and the United Arab Emirates have reached an agreement on a trade deal that is expected to double bilateral trade between the countries, up to CA$7 billion ($5 billion) annually, the Canadian government said, lauding the agreement as being reached in "record time."

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Brief

EU Pushes China For More Fair Trade Commitments

By Jack McLoone

The European Parliament's Committee on International Trade spent a three-day trip to China pushing for an expansion of a trade framework beyond a recently reached mutual understanding on hybrid vehicles, among other concerns, the committee said Thursday.

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CMA Starts Probe Into Meat Packer ABP's Acquisition Deal

By Irene Madongo

Britain's antitrust watchdog said Thursday it is launching an inquiry into meat supplier ABP Food Group's completed acquisition of an indirect minority stake in the owner of Dovecote Park, a Yorkshire-based beef processor.

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9th Circ. Revives Tequila-Maker's TM Fight With Sutter Home

By Ben Adlin

The Ninth Circuit on Thursday reversed a ruling that blocked Roar Spirits LLC from registering two El Bandido Yankee tequila trademarks, holding that a reasonable factfinder could conclude that differences between El Bandido Yankee and Sutter Home Winery's Bandit boxed wine trademark make it unlikely consumers would confuse the brands.

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9th Circ. Drops Speech Holding In Seattle Gig Worker Ruling

By Benjamin Morse

The Ninth Circuit on Thursday withdrew its earlier finding that Seattle's protections for app-based delivery workers don't regulate speech, replacing it with a narrower ruling that assumes the law involves speech but still passes First Amendment scrutiny.

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Meat Plant Workers Say DOJ's Wrong On Wage-Fixing Deals

By Matthew Perlman

Beef and pork plant workers seeking final approval for $200 million in wage-fixing settlements reached with major meat processors told a Colorado federal court the U.S. Department of Justice is raising concerns about conduct that stopped years ago.

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Spoliation Silence Should End Price-Fixing Claims, Court Told

By Lauraann Wood

Broiler chicken producers defending sprawling price-fixing accusations in Illinois argue two Burford Capital units' intentional discovery misconduct that destroyed key bid-rigging evidence should bar the litigation funding units from pursuing claims in two food distributors' place.

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Colo. Judge Blocks Coors' Supplier From Exiting Contract

By Rachel Konieczny

Beer brand supplier Constellation Brands Inc. cannot terminate its 18-year-long distribution contract with Coors Distributing Co. LLC until arbitration can occur as mandated under the companies' agreement, a Colorado state judge ruled.

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Squires Grants 4 Patent Review Bids In Latest Bulk Order

By Adam Lidgett

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has greenlighted four new petitions seeking review of patents in his latest round of decisions, while turning down one on discretionary grounds.

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Brief

Importer, NJ Distributor End Suit Over Stealing Grocery Biz

By George Woolston

A distributor has agreed to drop its lawsuit alleging a Korean food importer purposefully mischaracterized why it was ending the parties' relationship in order to gain direct access to a popular grocery chain, according to a filing in New Jersey federal court.

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Monsanto Cleared In Latest Roundup Trial After $90M Ask

By Cara Salvatore

Missouri jurors cleared Monsanto Thursday in the first Roundup trial since a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling, after they were urged during closing arguments to award $10 million to $30 million for each of three plaintiffs who developed lymphoma after regularly using the Monsanto pesticide.

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Weil's Demise Sparks Shock, Reflection In The Legal World

By Alison Knezevich and Andrea Keckley

The stunning collapse of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP is the talk of BigLaw this week, as those in the industry grapple with how the powerhouse Wall Street firm could implode so quickly.

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'Leadership Vacuum' Preceded Weil's Collapse

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson and Aebra Coe

A series of leadership failures and strategic missteps preceded the precipitous downfall of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, sources told Law360 Pulse.

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Lessons From The Past For Weil's Final Curtain Call

By Rick Archer

Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP leaders may have every reason to agree to an out-of-court wind-down, but dissolving such a storied law firm, which announced Wednesday it intends to shut down following an exodus of attorneys, is not as simple as a handshake among partners, experts said in interviews with Law360 on Wednesday.

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Weil's Collapse Ends Firm's Long Run As Bankruptcy Leader

By Alex Wittenberg

Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP helped pioneer modern bankruptcy practice and earned hundreds of millions of dollars leading many of the biggest Chapter 11 cases in U.S. history. Its collapse this week marks a stunning end to that legacy and reflects major changes in how law firms function today, attorneys told Law360.

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Troutman, Baker McKenzie Report Data Breaches

By Lynn LaRowe

Troutman Pepper Locke LLP and Baker McKenzie experienced data breaches last month as a result of social engineering attacks, according to notices submitted this week to the attorneys general offices in California and Texas.

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Morgan & Morgan Seeks To Block Celebrity Ad Ban In Florida

By Ryan Boysen

Personal injury giant Morgan & Morgan PA has asked a Florida federal court for a preliminary injunction to block a Sunshine State bar rule that forbids celebrity endorsements in attorney advertisements.

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