Democratic lawmakers have accused PepsiCo Inc. of providing misleading responses to a previous inquiry about the Federal Trade Commission's abandoned price discrimination case, while also raising concerns that the agency dropped the case for political reasons.
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SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Dems Have Questions Over FTC's Unsealed Pepsi Complaint

By Matthew Perlman

Democratic lawmakers have accused PepsiCo Inc. of providing misleading responses to a previous inquiry about the Federal Trade Commission's abandoned price discrimination case, while also raising concerns that the agency dropped the case for political reasons.

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TreeHouse Foods Sued In Chancery For Docs On $2.9B Sale

By Jeff Montgomery

A TreeHouse Foods stockholder filed suit in Delaware's Court of Chancery late Wednesday for expedited access to withheld documents on the company's $2.9 billion agreement in November to sell the packaged snack and beverage company to affiliates of Investindustrial VIII SCSp, an independently managed group of European investment, holding and advisory companies.

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Costco Sued Over 'No Preservatives' Roast Chicken Ads

By Dorothy Atkins

A pair of Golden State consumers have hit Washington-based Costco Wholesale Corp. with a proposed class action in California federal court, accusing the company of falsely advertising its popular $4.99 rotisserie chicken as preservative free despite containing two chemicals — sodium phosphate and carrageenan — which allegedly function like preservatives.

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Ex-Arby's Employee Sues Over Gender Identity Harassment

By Celeste Bott

Arby's has been sued in Illinois federal court by a nonbinary ex-employee who claims they suffered pervasive discrimination and ridicule from their supervisor over their gender identity, and that reports of the manager's sexual harassment went unaddressed.

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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2026 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2026 editorial advisory boards.

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ENFORCEMENT

ITC Backs Penalties For Flouting Chocolate Mix Import Ban

By Elliot Weld

The U.S. International Trade Commission has declined to review a decision by an administrative law judge to penalize four grocers found to be violating a ban on importing chocolate malt drink mix.

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LITIGATION

Frito-Lay Hit With Wage Claims By Wash. Machine Operator

By José Luis Martínez

A Frito-Lay Inc. employee launched a proposed class action in Washington state court, accusing the company of violating state labor law.

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Smartfood Popcorn Hit With False Ad Suit

By Emily Field

PepsiCo Inc. on Wednesday was hit with a proposed class action in New York federal court brought by a Brooklyn woman who claims that its Smartfoods popcorn snacks contain an artificial ingredient that's both a flavor and preservative despite label claims.

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No New Trial Over Pesticide Coverage Verdict, Judge Says

By Ganesh Setty

An Arizona federal court rejected a professional liability insurer's request for a new trial after a jury found it liable to cover settled claims that a pesticide services company negligently damaged wheat crops, finding no issue with the jury instructions.

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Seafood Co. Exec Avoids Prison Time In Price-Fixing Scheme

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal judge on Thursday spared the vice president of a Miami-based seafood wholesale company a prison sentence for his role in scheming with competitors to fix the prices paid to fishermen for stone crab claws and spiny lobster.

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Texas Atty May Face Sanctions For Missing Discovery Hearing

By Tom Lotshaw

A Colorado federal judge ordered a Texas attorney representing a company accused of luring temporary agricultural workers to the U.S. through false promises to explain why he shouldn't be sanctioned for missing a telephone discovery hearing.

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Citizens Policy Doesn't Cover Mass Shooting, Suit Says

By Mark Payne

A California mushroom farm that was the site of a fatal mass shooting isn't covered under an insurance policy that prevents coverage under an "abuse and molestation exclusion" for negligence caused by the farm's workers, Citizens Insurance told a federal court Wednesday.

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Brief

Casey's, Store Managers Settle Overtime Suit

By Benjamin Morse

Casey's General Stores and managers reached a settlement in a collective action alleging the convenience store chain and two subsidiaries misclassified them as exempt from overtime pay, according to an Indiana federal judge's order.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Rescheduling Cannabis Marks New Tax Era For Operators

As the attorney general takes steps to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, operators and advisers should prepare by considering the significant changes this will bring from tax, state, industry and market perspectives, says Michael Harlow at CohnReznick.

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Series

Playing Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

An instinct to turn pain into purpose meant frequent trips to the tennis court, where learning to move ahead one point at a time was a lesson that also applied to the steep learning curve of patent prosecution law, says Daniel Henry at Marshall Gerstein.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

FTC Warns 42 Law Firms Of DEI 'Anticompetitive Collusion'

By Sarah Jarvis

The Federal Trade Commission announced Friday that it has sent warning letters to 42 major law firms for their purported participation in an outside diversity, equity and inclusion program, alleging their participation could constitute anticompetitive collusion.

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Analysis

Real Estate Attys 'Not Going In Blind' Amid Data Center Boom

By Chris Villani

The explosion of artificial intelligence has created a sharp demand for new data centers with no signs of slowing down, posing challenges that have some real estate attorneys turning to well-worn playbooks from other industries.

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Susman Faces Suit After Ex-Client's Arbitration Loss

By Adam Lidgett

Susman Godfrey LLP and a litigation funding business were hit with a lawsuit in Texas state court by an Irish patent litigation business that is challenging the outcome of an arbitration proceeding putting it on the hook for more than $37.8 million.

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Attys Rip Judge-Shopping Sanctions As Bid To 'Rewrite' Rules

By Jake Maher

Two Alabama attorneys who were sanctioned for allegedly judge shopping in a civil rights case urged the Eleventh Circuit to toss the sanctions Friday, arguing the judges accusing them were seeking to "rewrite" the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

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Brief

Bill Regulating Attorney AI Use Passes California Senate

By Emily Sawicki

A proposed California law that would regulate attorneys and arbitrators' use of generative artificial intelligence statewide has headed to the Assembly after the state Senate unanimously approved the measure.

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Colo. Firm Hit With Proposed Class Action Over Data Breach

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado law firm failed to properly care for the personal information of clients and their customers and did not provide adequate notice of a February 2025 data breach, according to a proposed class action in state court.

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Litigation Funder Suit Against Janus Henderson Can Proceed

By Ryan Boysen

A lawsuit that claims a Janus Henderson Group subsidiary schemed to take over a mass torts litigation funder can go forward, after a Delaware Chancery Court judge ruled the funder's case was compelling enough to survive a motion to dismiss.

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House To Vote On Reform Of Court Nondisclosure Orders

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., fumed at the House on Friday for trying to undo a provision that allows him and other senators investigated by special counsel Jack Smith to sue for damages and held up the government funding vote as a result. But a bill the House is poised to take up next week could alleviate some of his concerns.

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9th Circ. Says DOJ Can Withhold VW Grand Jury Records

By Emily Field

The Ninth Circuit on Friday held that the U.S. Department of Justice couldn't be forced to hand over about 6 million Volkswagen documents that were part of a Jones Day investigation into the automaker's 2015 emissions-cheating scandal, as the government obtained them through a grand jury subpoena.

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Analysis

The Message From Delaware Courts: Change Is Coming

By Jeff Montgomery

Delaware's Supreme Court delivered a reminder to the state's corporation law ecosystem recently with a reversal of a Court of Chancery decision invalidating a 7-year-old stockholder agreement that granted broad corporate powers to investment bank Moelis & Co.'s founder.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Max Austin

This past week in London saw collapsed solar bonds company Rockfire Capital sue the Royal Bank of Scotland, e-ticket platform Eventbrite target the owners of Salford Red Devils rugby club over an alleged contract breach, and Scottish distiller William Grant & Sons square off against a former MP in a trademark tussle tied to its Glenfiddich whisky. 

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

When Minnesota-based companies publicly called for de-escalation after two fatal shootings by federal ICE agents, the nation saw how CEOs and their general counsel can step up amid controversy. And a new study shows that white collar offenders received more than half of all recent pardons. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick PLLC leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a D.C. Circuit panel revived a lawsuit that accuses pharmaceutical companies of aiding a Hezbollah-linked militia's terrorism in Iraq.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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Promo that reads 2025 Practice Groups of the Year

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

3M Co.

Aetna Inc.

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

Arxada

Ashland Inc.

Association of Corporate Counsel

AstraZeneca PLC

Baker Hughes Co.

Bank of Cyprus Holdings PLC

Barclays PLC

Berkshire Hathaway Energy GT&S

Burke Inc.

Calyxt Inc.

Cargill Inc.

Casey's General Stores Inc.

Choice Hotels International Inc.

Cisco Systems Inc.

CohnReznick LLP

Colorado Legal Services

Comcast Corp.

Convex Insurance UK Ltd.

Costco Wholesale Corp.

ESPN Inc.

Eventbrite Inc.

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

FTI Consulting Inc.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.

Frito-Lay Inc.

GE HealthCare Technologies Inc.

Google LLC

HDI Global SE

HSBC Holdings PLC

Hulu LLC

Insurance Europe Ltd.

Investindustrial Services Ltd.

Investments Ltd.

Janus Henderson Group PLC

Johnson & Johnson

Lambda Legal Defense & Educational Fund

Leidos Holdings Inc.

LinkedIn Corp.

Lloyds Bank PLC

Longford Capital Management LP

Match.com Inc.

McDonald's Corp.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. SA

Meta Platforms Inc.

Moelis & Co.

National Westminster Bank PLC

Novo Nordisk A S

Paramount Global

PepsiCo Inc.

Pfizer Inc.

SentencingStats.com Inc.

Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits LLC

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Stanford University

Target Corp.

Tesla Inc.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC

The UPS Store

The Walt Disney Co.

TikTok Inc.

Trader Joe's Co.

TreeHouse Foods Inc.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

United Parcel Service Inc.

University of Arkansas

University of Iowa

Victory Park Capital Advisors LLC

Vinci SA

Volkswagen AG

Walmart Inc.

William Grant & Sons Ltd.

YMCA of the USA

YouTube Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

Addleshaw Goddard

Advisors LLC

Almeida Law Group

Alston & Bird

Alston Asquith

Arnold & Itkin

Arnold & Porter

Atlas Law Center

Bailey & Glasser

Baker & Hostetler

Baker McKenzie

Ballard Spahr

Block & Leviton

Bradley Arant

CJ Jones Solicitors

CMS Cameron McKenna

Charhon Callahan

Christensen Law LLC

Clyde & Co

Cooley LLP

Covington & Burling

Crosner Legal

DAC Beachcroft

DLA Piper

DWF LLP

Davis Malm & D’Agostine

Davis Polk

Debevoise & Plimpton

Dechert LLP

Dentons

Dominick Feld

Faegre Drinker

Finnegan

Foley & Lardner

Fox Rothschild

Freeman Mathis

Fried Frank

Gibson Dunn

Goodwin Procter

Gordon Rees

Greenberg Traurig

Hayes Scott

Hogan Lovells

Holland & Knight

Husch Blackwell

JCP Solicitors

Jackson Lewis PC

Jones Day

K&L Gates

Kaplan & Grady

Kellogg Hansen

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Knights PLC

Kuit Steinart

Labaton Keller

Latham & Watkins

Law Offices of David W. Klasing

Lester Aldridge

Lewis Brisbois

Lightfoot Franklin

Littler Mendelson

Marshall Gerstein

Mayer Brown

Maynard Nexsen

McDermott Will & Schulte

McGuireWoods

Milberg Coleman

Mills & Reeve

Montgomery Little

Morgan Lewis

Morris Nichols

Nabarro LLP

Nelson Mullins

O'Hagan Meyer

Ogletree Deakins

Pashman Stein

Paul Weiss

Perkins Coie

Polsinelli PC

Reed Smith

Ropes & Gray

Russell-Cooke

Shakespeare Martineau

Sheppard Mullin

Shook Hardy

Sidley Austin

Signature Litigation LLP

Skadden Arps

Smith Gambrell

Sullivan & Cromwell

Susman Godfrey

Taylor Wessing

Troutman

Ven Johnson Law

White & Case

WilmerHale

Wilson Elser

Wilson Sonsini

Winston & Strawn

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Alabama Attorney General's Office

Arizona Supreme Court

California Air Resources Board

Companies House

Delaware Court of Chancery

Federal Trade Commission

Food and Drug Administration

Internal Revenue Service

International Trade Commission

Serious Fraud Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Alabama

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Tax Court

UK High Court

UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO)

United States District Court for the District of Colorado