Mead Johnson Prevails In 1st Infant Formula MDL Trial

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal jury sided with Mead Johnson on Monday in a lawsuit claiming its infant formula caused a premature baby boy to develop a fatal intestinal disease, rejecting his mother's claims that the company should be held liable for making a defective product and failing to adequately warn doctors of the risks associated with it.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Opening 1st Round Of Tariff-Free Ground Beef Tuesday

By Jack McLoone

The first 100,000 of a total 300,000 metric tons of ground beef that can be imported into the U.S. without an added tariff can enter into the country starting Sept. 1, according to a proclamation published Monday.

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

EPA Sued Over Herbicide Challenged As Likely Carcinogen

By Ben Adlin

Environmental organizations urged the Ninth Circuit on Friday to review the Trump administration's recent approval of a herbicide, trifludimoxazin, that critics describe as a likely carcinogen that could pose risks to wildlife and human health.

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

Oregon Packaging Law Survives Constitutional Challenge

By Tom Lotshaw

An Oregon federal judge ruled against a national trade association's challenge of an Oregon law that imposed recycling system costs on producers of packaging materials, rejecting arguments that it was unconstitutional.

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

Perrigo Settles Antitrust Suits Over Baby Formula Market

By Rae Ann Varona

Perrigo settled a couple of lawsuits filed in New York federal court that accused the company of cutting an anti-competitive agreement with Gerber to maintain a monopoly in the store-brand infant formula market, according to a letter filed Monday in a Brooklyn court.

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

SEC, FDA Enter Info-Sharing Pact To Bolster Enforcement

By Rae Ann Varona

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Food and Drug Administration are looking to bolster information-sharing related to FDA-regulated products in a bid to help each other in their respective oversight and compliance efforts, according to a three-year memorandum of understanding the agencies announced Monday.

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

Kind Hit With False-Ad Suit Over 'ZEROg Added Sugar' Label

By Gina Kim

Kind LLC violates food labeling regulations by selling snack bars containing the added monosaccharide allulose while prominently representing that they contain zero grams of added sugar, according to a proposed false advertising class action filed Friday in New York federal court. 

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

Domino's Seeks To Deliver Noncompete Suit To Arbitration

By MJ Koo

Domino's Pizza asked a Washington state court to compel individual arbitration of a former yard driver's proposed class claims alleging the company's conflict-of-interest policy illegally restricted workers from taking second jobs, arguing the worker signed a binding arbitration agreement when he was hired that includes a class action waiver.

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

6th Circ. Backs $450K Punitive Award For Mich. Farmworkers

By Melanie Dorsey

A Sixth Circuit panel has upheld a $450,000 punitive damages award for five Guatemalan farmworkers who accused a West Michigan agricultural labor contractor and its owners of trafficking-related and wage law abuses, ruling that the award was constitutionally permissible despite the jury awarding only economic compensatory damages.

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

Roundup

Defamation Litigation Roundup: NYT, J&J, Azerbaijan

By Theresa Schliep

In this month's review of defamation fights, Law360 details a jury verdict against The New York Times in a suit involving its reporting on a shooting in Alabama, and highlights a judge's decision to spare researchers from a suit by a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary over their talc research.

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

9th Circ. 'Bad Spaniels' Ruling Rewrites TM Dilution Playbook

The Ninth Circuit’s recent ruling that each element of the Jack Daniel's packaging parodied by the Bad Spaniels dog toy must be independently assessed for fame narrows trademark owners' ability to use a flagship mark's halo effect to protect the entire brand from tarnishment, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

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

How Texas' Protein Powder Probe Reflects Prop 65's Influence

Texas' recently announced investigation into contaminants in protein powder illustrates how California's Proposition 65, with its hundreds of listed chemicals, safe harbor levels and consumer warnings, may have an influence on enforcement and regulation in other states, say attorneys at Buchalter.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Clifford Chance Attys Fight Bid To Toss Clawback Suit

By Ryan Boysen

The two partners facing a $6 million clawback demand by Clifford Chance LLP have again asked a federal judge to decide whether English or New York law should govern the arbitration, claiming the firm's partnership agreement is unclear.

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

How Did Litigants Fare In Judge Albright's 55 Patent Trials?

By Dani Kass

U.S. District Judge Alan Albright oversaw more than 50 patent trials between his 2018 arrival on the bench and planned Monday departure, and in a surprise for many attorneys, there was a near-even split between victories for patent owners and accused infringers.

50 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

New Report Rings Alarm On Threats To Judicial Independence

By Jack Karp

Verbal attacks on judges, disinformation about the courts and the defiance of court orders are undermining the independence of the federal judiciary and significantly affecting individual judges' ability to do their jobs, a report out Monday says.

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

House Passes Bill To Curb Secret Prosecutor Orders

By Courtney Bublé

The House passed a bipartisan bill via voice vote Monday afternoon to add transparency to prosecutors' use of nondisclosure orders for telephone service providers.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

House Passes Bill Adding Texas, California Court Sites

By Courtney Bublé

The House voted 378-10 on Monday evening to expand access to federal courts in Texas and California, the two most populous states in the nation.

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

Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week saw disputes over a $200 million federal grant, a $1.7 billion software take-private deal, the ouster of Better.com founder Vishal Garg and a proposed $4 million settlement stemming from an electric vehicle company's SPAC merger.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

Hub Hires: MassBar, Kirkland, Troutman

By Chris Villani

Massachusetts' legal landscape saw a sizzling summer finish, with several major firms making hires. Kirkland added a veteran white collar defense attorney, Troutman bolstered its real estate team and Day Pitney nabbed an experienced corporate attorney.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »