USDA Lacked Authority To Ban SNAP For Soda, Judge Says

By Rae Ann Varona

A D.C. federal judge has vacated U.S. Department of Agriculture approvals of waivers in five states that restrict purchases of sugary foods and drinks using food stamps, saying a section of law the USDA leaned on did not give the department authority to approve the efforts.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Says USDA's 'Socially Disadvantaged' Waivers Unlawful

By Hailey Konnath

The U.S. Department of Justice has determined that some of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's programs that waive fees for "socially disadvantaged" farmers unconstitutionally discriminate based on race and sex, according to an opinion released Monday.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Peanut Butter M&M Allergy Suit Survives Despite Label

By Jonathan Capriel

Mars Inc. can't escape a woman's lawsuit claiming the candy company sold unreasonably dangerous peanut butter M&M's Minis that caused her to suffer a life-threatening allergic reaction, a Connecticut state judge ruled in a Monday order, saying her allegations are legally sufficient to survive in this stage.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Chicken Buyers Say Costco Can't Ditch False Ad Suit

By Mike Curley

A proposed class of consumers is urging a California federal court not to throw out their claims that Costco Wholesale Corp. falsely advertised its rotisserie chickens as having no preservatives, saying consumer expectation, not federal regulations, is what matters in the case.

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

US Blocks WTO Appellate Body Selection Process Again

By Dylan Moroses

The World Trade Organization failed again to begin the process of selecting members to the appellate body designed to settle disputes over WTO decisions, marking the 98th time that the initiative has been blocked by U.S.-led efforts, according to a news release Tuesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

EU Parliament Panels Advance Mexico Trade Agreement

By Jack McLoone

Two European Parliament committees signed off Tuesday on a reworked trade deal with Mexico that would remove nearly all tariffs on European agricultural goods imported into the country, setting up a full vote by Parliament.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Green Group Wants Records Behind Trump's Weed Killer Order

By Emily Field

An environmental organization on Monday sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture in D.C. federal court, seeking records behind President Donald Trump's executive order to hike the production of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the weed killer Roundup, an allegedly carcinogenic pesticide at the center of an imminent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ga. Panel Keeps $1.8M Fall Verdict Against QuikTrip Intact

By Kelcey Caulder

The Georgia Court of Appeals upheld a $1.8 million jury award against QuikTrip Corp. in a slip-and-fall case, finding Tuesday the trial court rightly refused to cap damages at $75,000 or set aside the verdict as excessive.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fla. Judge OKs Ch. 11 Sale Of Popeyes Restaurants For $16M

By David Minsky

A Florida bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved a Popeyes franchisee's Chapter 11 sale, allowing a roughly $16 million sale of nearly 100 restaurants to five purchasers who secured winning bids at an auction earlier this month.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Opinion

FTC's Clinical Trial Requirement Threatens Food Claim Rules

The Federal Trade Commission's general requirement for randomized controlled trials for most health-benefit claims, recently embraced by the National Advertising Review Board, lacks legal basis and endangers the existing statutory framework Congress created for marketing food and dietary supplements versus drugs, say attorneys at Keller & Heckman.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Drawing A Line Between Settlement Pressure And Extortion

U.S. v. Luo, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, may force courts to address anew when settlement negotiations become criminal extortion, particularly in the age of easily fabricated digital evidence, says attorney Denis Kiely.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

The 2026 Lawyer Satisfaction Survey

Lawyers are generally happy being lawyers, but nonequity partners and associates told Law360 Pulse that several aspects of their job leave them feeling dissatisfied. Explore our analysis of these and other findings in the 2026 Law360 Lawyer Satisfaction survey.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bonus Spotlight

Axinn Giving $25K Bonuses As Glenn Agre Matches Milbank

By Tracey Read

Glenn Agre Bergman & Fuentes LLP will match the Milbank LLP base pay scale for associates, while Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider LLP — which was already paying above-market salaries — will hand out special summer bonuses of up to $25,000, the boutiques told Law360 Pulse Tuesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LA Superior Court Gains Prominence With 'Nuclear' Verdicts

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

Los Angeles County Superior Court was among the country's top sites for awarding big civil damages in recent years, according to a Lex Machina report.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NC Becomes First State To Ban Outside Funding Of Civil Suits

By Hayley Fowler

North Carolina has become the first state in the country to ban outside investors from funding civil litigation, after Democratic Gov. Josh Stein signed into law a bill that outlaws third parties from footing the bill for civil suits in exchange for a cut of the payout at the finish line.

Bill attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Calif. Judge Restores Immigration Courthouse Arrest Limits

By Hailey Konnath

A California federal judge Tuesday vacated the Trump administration's policies on civil arrests at immigration courthouses, restoring limits on those arrests and finding that the government didn't adequately explain its policy shift.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NY Rule Rewrite Drops 30-Day Pause For Atty Soliciting

By Emily Sawicki

New York's Appellate Division has adopted new rules of professional conduct on attorney advertising and solicitation, deleting a ban on soliciting clients less than 30 days after an incident.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judicial Noms Still Say Biden Won In 2020 — Technically

By Courtney Bublé

A group of judicial nominees, who earlier this month were the first of the Trump administration's nominees to say President Joe Biden won the 2020 election, reiterated in follow-up statements that Biden won the election "as a matter of law" — doubling down on what critics say is an equivocation on the election's outcome.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Who Denied Goldstein Retrial Says It Wasn't Close Case

By Rachel Rippetoe

A Maryland federal judge has elaborated on her decision to deny SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein's bid for an acquittal or new trial, saying that the evidence presented at trial either supersedes or invalidates his claims of issues with jury instructions and insufficient or excluded evidence.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Texas Judge Tosses Buzbee Firm's Jay-Z Conspiracy Suits

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas state court has handed a win to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and a Mississippi law firm, which sought dismissal of claims that they conspired with Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter to retaliate against Houston personal injury firm The Buzbee Law Firm and two of its former clients.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-AT&T Counsel Charged Over Disclosing Privileged Info

By Sue Reisinger

A former in-house attorney for AT&T, accused of leaking privileged information to opposing counsel while seeking a share of financial gains from a lawsuit filed 18 years ago against the company, has been charged with violating attorney professional conduct rules.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Allows Brazil To Join Trump Suit Against Justice

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal judge on Tuesday allowed Brazil to intervene in a suit by President Donald Trump's media company and online video-sharing platform Rumble Inc. against a Brazilian Supreme Federal Court justice's gag orders but deferred ruling on Brazil's motion to dismiss the suit.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »