Davis Wright Vets Scolded: Don't Tell Foes 'How To Run Firm'

By Jeff Overley

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP veterans have failed to dodge six-figure sanctions in a prominent discovery donnybrook, and a California magistrate judge added invective to the financial injury, lambasting "troubling" omissions in case citations and heavy-handed "nitpicking" akin to commandeering an adversary's law firm.

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Chipotle Beats Investor Suit Over Viral Burrito Size Backlash

By Katryna Perera

Chipotle Mexican Grill has permanently beaten an investor suit tied to social media-fueled complaints about its portion sizes, with a California federal judge finding that the suit failed to plausibly plead its securities fraud theories.

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5th Circ. Backs Delay Of FDA's 11-Warning Cigarette Rule

By Danielle Ferguson

The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday upheld the delay of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule requiring the addition of graphic warning labels to cigarette packages, saying tobacco companies that challenged the rule showed the agency likely overstepped its narrow authority to adjust existing warnings by creating two new ones.

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Abbott Deal Ends Appeal After $495M Baby Formula Trial Loss

By Bonnie Eslinger

Abbott Laboratories Inc. has struck a deal with a family that won a $495 million judgment against the U.S. pharmaceutical company in a bellwether trial over claims that its baby formula caused a premature baby to suffer a disabling condition, after a midlevel appellate court upheld the win, according to court filings.

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FTC Warns Secret Personalized Prices Likely To Draw Scrutiny

By Allison Grande

Retailers and other businesses that use consumers' personal data to set individualized prices are likely to face regulatory backlash if these practices aren't clearly disclosed, the Federal Trade Commission cautioned in a proposed policy statement issued Wednesday that vowed the agency would "aggressively" enforce such misconduct.

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Canadian Enforcers Move To Block Nortera's Green Giant Deal

By Matthew Perlman

Canada's antitrust enforcer said Wednesday it will seek to block Nortera Foods' planned acquisition of the Green Giant and Le Sieur brands in the country from B&G Foods over concerns that the deal could lead to higher prices.

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Albertsons Says Wash. Failed To Prove Opioid Claims At Trial

By Ben Adlin

Albertsons Cos. Inc. urged a Seattle judge on Tuesday to throw out Washington state's lawsuit accusing the chain and its subsidiary Safeway Inc. of fueling Washington's opioid crisis, arguing that the state failed to prove wrongdoing by the companies after nearly five weeks of an ongoing bench trial.

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Cracker Barrel Can't Toss ERISA Tobacco Fee Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

Cracker Barrel must face a proposed class action alleging that a surcharge on the health plans of workers who used tobacco violated federal benefits law, after a Tennessee federal judge on Wednesday found that an ex-worker sufficiently backed up allegations that a wellness program implementing the fee didn't meet all federal requirements.

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Papa Johns Can't Avoid Arbitration In Fight With Franchisee

By Craig Clough

A dispute between Papa John's International and a franchisee it accused of breaking his franchise agreement must be paused until an arbitrator decides whether the claims belong in arbitration, a Kentucky federal judge has ruled, delivering a blow to the pizza company trying to keep its claims in court.

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HHS, USDA Must Withdraw Dietary Guidelines, DC Court Told

By Gianna Ferrarin

A public health nonprofit on Wednesday urged a D.C. federal court to order the federal government to withdraw dietary guidelines it issued earlier this year, arguing that reviewers who advised on the guidelines had significant conflicts of interest and were selected without public oversight.

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Trinseo Defends Debt Deals As Ch. 11 Plan Trial Wraps

By Alex Wittenberg

Plastics maker Trinseo on Wednesday closed a trial in Texas bankruptcy court on its bid to trim about $2 billion in debt in Chapter 11, contesting an objecting creditor's claims that its prebankruptcy refinancings set it up for failure and defending a reorganization plan it said would save jobs and give new life to its business.

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Horticultural Supplier BFG Files For Ch. 11 Seeking Sale

By Yun Park

A major U.S. distributor of horticultural and agricultural supplies, BFG Supply Co. LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware, reporting between $100 million and $500 million in both assets and liabilities and seeking to sell all of its assets.

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10th Circ. Ruling Undermines False Ad 'Two Clicks' Rule

The Tenth Circuit’s recent ruling in KetoNatural Pet Foods v. Hill's Pet Nutrition substantially challenges a long-standing assumption that a company can avoid responsibility for promotional claims simply because the consumer encountered them by clicking a hyperlink to a third-party website, say attorneys at Venable.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Surviving A Long Trial

Most of law school trial advocacy is geared toward the sprint of trying a short case, but beyond managing a cross-examination or closing argument, effectively handling the marathon of a lengthy trial requires the ability to maintain composure, organization and credibility with the jury, says Mihir Elchuri at Hirschler.

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SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein Seeks Release During Appeal

By Rachel Rippetoe

SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein on Tuesday asked to be released from federal custody while he appeals his 12 tax and mortgage fraud convictions and a six-year prison sentence, saying he is not a flight risk and it would be a "grave injustice" for him to begin a sentence he believes will eventually get axed.

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Atty, Son Charged In Probe Of Alleged Penn State Drug Ring

By Rose Krebs

An equity partner based in Meyer Darragh Buckler Bebenek & Eck PLLC's Pittsburgh office has been charged with tampering with evidence and obstructing an investigation in connection with an alleged cocaine ring at Penn State University that allegedly involved his son, according to news reports.

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Texas Judge Flags 'Alarming' Number Of Bogus Citations

By Emily Sawicki

A federal judge presiding over an Austin, Texas, immigration case is warning of possible future sanctions after an attorney included an "alarming" number of "hallucinated" case citations in support of a habeas corpus petition.  

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Jackson Walker Says US Trustee Can't Claw Back Legal Fees

By Clara Geoghegan

Jackson Walker said this week that the U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog is beyond the bounds of its authority in a yearslong effort to force the firm to return millions of dollars in legal fees over an undisclosed relationship between a former partner and a Texas bankruptcy judge.

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Over 120 Ex-Judges Demand Probe Of DHS GC's 'Worst' Posts

By Adrian Cruz

A pair of nonprofits along with a bipartisan group of 128 former state and federal judges have asked the Florida Bar to investigate the general counsel of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for a recent series of social media posts attacking sitting judges.

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Polsinelli Can't Rep Doctor In 'Bad Faith' IP Suits, Cos. Say

By Lauren Berg

Two medical device companies suing Polsinelli PC and its longtime client, a patent-holding doctor, for allegedly pursuing "bad faith" infringement claims asked federal courts in Tennessee and Mississippi to disqualify the firm from defending the doctor in the lawsuits, citing their "diverging interests and liabilities."

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Ex-US Attys Protest Trump's Swift Firing Of Rogoff In Seattle

By Rachel Riley

Thirty former U.S. attorneys backed Roger Rogoff's bid for reinstatement as Seattle's top federal prosecutor after President Donald Trump fired him on the heels of his court-ordered appointment, arguing Tuesday that Trump is trying to "sidestep the Senate's advice-and-consent role and sideline the judiciary" by letting unappointed individuals play such roles.

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DOJ Urges Court Not To Dismiss Suit Against DC Bar

By Alison Knezevich

The U.S. Department of Justice is urging a federal judge not to toss its lawsuit against Washington, D.C., attorney disciplinary authorities, saying the court "needs to halt defendants' flagrantly unconstitutional overreach into the president's executive power."

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Firms Cut From $101M Anthropic Atty Fees Appeal To 9th Circ.

By Lauren Berg

Two law firms involved in securing artificial intelligence company Anthropic's $1.5 billion copyright settlement with a class of authors and publishers are appealing to the Ninth Circuit an order excluding them from attorney fees awarded to court-appointed class counsel.

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USPTO Says Patent Atty's Suit Shouldn't Stop Discipline Case

By Theresa Schliep

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has said an Ohio federal court shouldn't pause professional discipline proceedings against an attorney while he sues the agency, saying he's likely to fail with his suit challenging the fact that a judge from another agency is overseeing his discipline case.

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Sinema Says Brief Signal Chat Can't Anchor NC Affair Suit

By Hayley Fowler

A single exchange on the encrypted messaging app Signal became the focal point of former Arizona U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's testimony on Wednesday as she sought to convince a North Carolina federal judge that she cannot be hauled into court in the Tar Heel state over an affair — which she declined to characterize as a "passionate" romance — she had with her married security guard.

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