Starbucks Settles Fla. AG's 'Race-Based Quota' DEI Claims

By Hailey Konnath

Starbucks Corp. has agreed not to use race- or sex-based goals in hiring and promoting its employees and to not "participate in any organizations that require increasing the racial diversity of its board of directors" as part of a settlement with Florida's attorney general, according to an announcement made Thursday.

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Trader Joe's Faces Lawsuits Over Sugar Labeling

By Celeste Bott

Two proposed class actions filed in Illinois federal court Wednesday accuse Trader Joe's of misleading consumers by labeling its Sweet & Sour Gummy Worms and dark chocolate chips as containing zero sugar and no added sugar, respectively, when both products contain an ingredient classified as a sugar under federal labeling rules.

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Sonic Wins Appeal Bid To Arbitrate Suit Over Worker's Death

By Gina Kim

The mother of a Sonic employee who was fatally shot in 2023 must arbitrate her wrongful death suit against the restaurant, Texas appellate justices said Thursday, finding that she didn't meet her burden showing Sonic substantially invoked the court process in a way that conflicted with its right to compel arbitration. 

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Amazon Sued For Use Of 'Drunk Shakespeare' In 'Off Campus'

By Gina Kim

Producers of the live comedy theatrical productions "Drunk Shakespeare" sued Amazon in Florida federal court Thursday, alleging that an episode of Amazon's streaming college romantic drama "Off Campus" infringed their trademark by copying aspects of the productions and using the "Drunk Shakespeare" name.  

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Canada Commits To Trade Initiatives With EU, Southeast Asia

By Dylan Moroses

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday committed to work with European Union officials to enhance the trading relationship between the bloc and Canada as the country's top trade official is scheduled to visit major partners in Asia in the coming days to advance negotiations on trade agreements.

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7th Circ. Questions Illinois' Out-Of-State Liquor Delivery Ban

By Lauraann Wood

The Seventh Circuit seemed unsure Thursday whether it should back a district court decision tossing two wine collectors' constitutional claim against an Illinois law barring out-of-state retailers delivering alcohol to in-state customers, questioning the state's underlying reasoning for the ban.

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Insurer Off The Hook For $5M E-Cig Wholesaler Fire Coverage

By Gianna Ferrarin

An Illinois federal judge handed a complete win to an insurer on its counterclaim that an electronic cigarette product wholesaler isn't owed nearly $5 million in coverage for a warehouse fire because it misrepresented important facts about its business when seeking coverage.

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Deals Rumor Mill

OpenAI Aims For $1.2T Valuation, More Rumors

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Artificial intelligence giant OpenAI is mulling a private funding round that could value the ChatGPT maker at $1.2 trillion; Blackstone is looking to raise $8 billion for its latest Green Infrastructure Credit Fund; and Japanese chipmaker Kioxia Holdings is looking to raise $10 billion by listing American depositary receipts.

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Senate Confirms Kirkland Partner To Texas Federal Bench

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 49-45 on Thursday to confirm Kasdin Miller Mitchell, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, to serve as a U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Texas.

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Analysis

Sue To Stop AI Armageddon? Not So Fast, Attys Say

By Y. Peter Kang

As executives at leading artificial intelligence companies increasingly assert that their own technology could one day pose an existential threat to humanity, a natural question follows: If the risk is real, can anyone sue to stop it before disaster strikes?

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Clancy Atty Denies Malpractice Claim By Man Serving Life

By Julie Manganis

A prominent Massachusetts criminal defense attorney best known for representing Lindsay Clancy has been accused in a separate case of "abandoning" a client who is serving life sentences for second-degree murder and home invasion, allegations the lawyer denies.

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AI Flubs, More Secure PACER Get Judiciary Forum Spotlight

By Jeff Overley

Misuse of artificial intelligence tools and a "state-of-the-art" revamp of electronic dockets in federal cases were among the hottest topics Thursday at a major meeting of judiciary leaders, who also heard a lawmaker warn of eroding trust in the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Analysis

For Single-Party FTC, Easier Suits May Come With A Cost

By Bryan Koenig

The Federal Trade Commission has ditched its historical multimember, multiparty ethos for a one-party regime in which fewer dissents might make it easier for Chairman Andrew Ferguson to pursue his agenda, but it also forecloses the potential "moderating influence" that comes with winning broad buy-in from commissioners of two parties.

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Immigration Attorney Wants SEC Sanctioned In EB-5 Case

By Tom Lotshaw

An immigration attorney and her firm asked a New York federal judge to sanction the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to reasonably investigate an allegedly bogus unregistered securities claim it brought against them in an EB-5 immigrant investor case.

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Weaponization Fund Plaintiffs Say Discovery Ruling Was Right

By Jared Foretek

Plaintiffs suing over the Trump administration's once-proposed "anti-weaponization fund" are telling a Virginia federal judge to reject the U.S. Department of Justice's objections to a magistrate judge's discovery order, accusing the administration of stonewalling their requests and urging prompt discovery production.

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