Coca-Cola Secretly Let Tech Giants Track Data, Suit Says

By Bonnie Eslinger

The Coca-Cola Co. has been hit with a proposed class action in California federal court alleging it violated the privacy of visitors to its websites by allowing tech giants like Meta, Google, TikTok, and Microsoft to track and collect the users' data even if they'd opted out of nonessential cookies.

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Celestial Seasonings Can't Beat Tea Buyers' 'All Natural' Suit

By Zach Dupont

A Colorado federal judge won't dismiss a proposed class action accusing Celestial Seasonings Inc. of falsely advertising its teas as having "all natural" flavors after determining that the role of citric acid in its teas is a factual dispute to be resolved later.

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Brief

Comedians Drop Suit Over Sam Adams 'Toast Someone' Ad

By Carolyn Muyskens

Comedians featured in a Sam Adams ad campaign have resolved a lawsuit in Massachusetts state court alleging the company continued to use their images long after its right to do so had ended.

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USTR Keeps China Import Relief As Trade Talks Continue

By Dylan Moroses

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative took steps Monday to extend the product exclusions for certain Chinese imports from tariffs installed during President Donald Trump's first term, and to delay another two months port fees and tariffs on cranes associated with China's shipbuilding sector, according to published notices.

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Aramark Says Conflict Policy Doesn't Bar Wash. Moonlighting

By Ben Adlin

Food service and facilities management provider Aramark urged a Washington federal court to toss a proposed class action over alleged limits on moonlighting by workers, contending the claims "fail out of the gate because the policy alleged in the complaint does not actually prohibit moonlighting in the first place."

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Wash. Judge Faults DOL's Approval Of Farm Wage Survey

By MJ Koo

The U.S. Department of Labor acted unlawfully in approving a state wage survey that split farmworkers' piece-rate pay into separate categories, a Washington federal judge ruled, but he rejected a farmworkers union's other challenges to the agency's wage rules.

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Fla. Judge Finds H-2A Wage Rule Suit Moot After Replacement

By Tom Lotshaw

A Florida federal judge granted the Trump administration's push to dismiss a lawsuit challenging a Biden-era rule that increased wages for foreign farmworkers in light of a new interim rule that has been issued.

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Coors' Supplier Appeals Colo. Court's Block Of Contract Exit

By Rachel Konieczny

Beer brand supplier Constellation Brands Inc. has asked the Colorado Court of Appeals to decide whether a Denver judge improperly blocked it from terminating its 18-year-long distribution contract with Coors Distributing Co. LLC.

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Calif. Sex Harassment Cases Clarify Limits On EFAA Waivers

Two recent rulings in California confirm that the plaintiff's knowledge drives waiver analysis under the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, underscoring that employers should build a strong evidentiary record and pick their battles, says Ellen Connelly Cohen at Call & Jensen.

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High Court's H-2A Case Could Reshape Agency Adjudication

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that concerns whether the U.S. Department of Labor may fine an employer for violating employment conditions in the H-2A visa program, but its eventual decision could chart the course for in-house adjudication across a broad swath of the federal government, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

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High Court Disbars Judicial Watch Founder Larry Klayman

By David Minsky

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday disbarred Judicial Watch founder and Florida conservative activist attorney Larry Klayman following his 18-month suspension issued last year by the D.C. Court of Appeals. 

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Firms Must Face RICO Claims In Asbestos Fraud Suit

By Emily Field

An Illinois federal judge on Friday held that Simmons Hanly Conroy LLP and Sokolove Law must face racketeering claims brought by a Los Angeles industrial pipe manufacturer alleging that the firms brought baseless asbestos claims, finding that an antitrust doctrine shielding those who petition the courts does not apply.

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DOJ's Civil Division Head Joins Agency Exits After Midterms

By Jack Karp

The leader of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division, Brett A. Shumate, on Monday became at least the fifth top DOJ official to step down following Republicans' defeat in last week's midterm elections.

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Trump Eyes OLC Chief For Texas Judgeship After Midterms

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump is considering the head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel for a federal judgeship in Texas, a process that started right after the Democrats won big in last week's midterm elections.

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Goldstein Says Gov't Conceded Key Trial Errors

By Jared Foretek

SCOTUSblog co-founder Thomas Goldstein told the Fourth Circuit that the federal prosecutors who netted 12 tax and mortgage fraud convictions effectively conceded they hid evidence by steering a key witness to new testimony mid-trial and had reversed their stance on jury instructions, two key issues in Goldstein's appeal.

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AAA Says Consumers' Monopoly Claims Lack Factual Support

By Caroline Simson

The American Arbitration Association is lashing out against consumers who accuse the institution of monopolizing the consumer arbitration services market, telling a federal judge on Monday that they should be sanctioned for including "false, misleading, and unsupported allegations" in an amended complaint.

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Wash. Panel Nixes $10K Sanctions On Monsanto PCB Attys

By Rachel Riley

A Washington Court of Appeals panel has overturned a combined $10,000 in sanctions against four attorneys who defended Monsanto from chemical poisoning claims, concluding Monday that the trial court overstepped its authority by personally punishing the lawyers for late disclosure of expert witnesses.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week cleared the way for Cloudflare Inc. to seek immediate review of an injunction blocking a stock restructuring designed to preserve its founders' control, while setting a January hearing in a similar dispute over Meta Platforms Inc.'s plan to create nonvoting shares.

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