Walmart Pays $16M To End Expired Formula Sales Claims

By Gina Kim

Walmart has agreed to pay $16 million to resolve claims that it sold expired infant formula and over-the-counter drug products to consumers after their expiration dates, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday.

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Full 5th Circ. Tough On Aetna's Bid To Arbitrate Aramark Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Fifth Circuit seemed skeptical Thursday of Aetna's bid to force a health plan benefits dispute from food services giant Aramark into arbitration, with judges picking the insurer's arguments apart during an en banc rehearing.

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Buzzkill For Big Sipz As BuzzBallz Gets Big Domain Row Win

By Craig Clough

A California federal judge tossed Big Sipz maker Patco Brands' remaining counterclaims against rival BuzzBallz on Thursday, finding that its "Big Sipz" trademark was not distinctive when BuzzBallz acquired two related web domains and redirected visitors to its own site.

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Hain Investors Seek Final OK For $35M 'Channel-Stuffing' Deal

By Katryna Perera

Food and personal care company Hain Celestial and a class of investors have reached a $35 million deal to resolve channel-stuffing claims roughly a year after the Second Circuit revived the suit. 

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Kellogg Seeks High Court Review Of 6th Circ. Pension Ruling

By Emily Brill

The U.S. Supreme Court should resolve a circuit split on whether actuaries must use up-to-date life expectancies when converting pension benefits from one form to another, Kellogg argued, asking the justices to scrap the Sixth Circuit's answer to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act query.

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Roundup

ITC Takes On Patents, Trade Secrets In Large Decision Drop

By Dani Kass

The U.S. International Trade Commission issued a flood of decisions this week on investigations in which imports are being evaluated to see if they infringe patents or misappropriate secrets, including three cases where it will reconsider holdings from administrative law judges.

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Ind. Tax Court Rules Nestle Facility Accurately Assessed

By Michael Nunes

A Nestle facility in Indiana was correctly assessed from 2018 through 2023 at roughly $50 million, the state tax court said, rejecting the company's claim that the state tax board failed to properly consider its own appraisal.

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Wash. Winemaker's Spoilage Coverage Claim Capped At $40K

By Hope Patti

A Washington winemaker cannot recover more than $40,000 in coverage for its loss of nearly 18,000 bottles of wine due to a faulty air conditioner, a federal court ruled, saying the winemaker's commercial property coverage limits recovery for spoilage caused by mechanical breakdown and temperature fluctuations.

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Series

Playing Bid Whist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

As a child, I viewed bid whist as a family tradition and a source of friendly card game competition, but as a lawyer, I see it as a tool that has helped me cultivate skills like communication, teamwork, risk assessment and composure, says Keyonn Pope at Riley Safer.

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Litigation Spending To Keep Climbing While Biz Risks Mount

By Ryan Boysen

Big companies will increase their litigation budgets yet again next year, as navigating legal risk is now an essential element of achieving strategic business goals, according to a new report.

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Seyfarth Failed To Guard Client Data From Hack, Suit Alleges

By Lauren Berg

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on Thursday was hit with a proposed class action in Illinois federal court accusing it of failing to protect its current and former clients' personal information after the Chicago-based law firm this month disclosed a recent data breach.

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PACER Experiences Outages Of Some Court Dockets

By Matt Perez

PACER, the online public repository of federal court documents, experienced technical errors on Wednesday and Thursday preventing some users from accessing certain court dockets.

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New Eastern La. Judge's 5th Circ. Bid Goes To Full Senate

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. District Judge Anna St. John of the Eastern District of Louisiana, who was confirmed to her current post in March, is one step closer to being elevated to the federal appeals bench.

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Fla. Judge To Get Reprimand For Remark On Shooting Attys

By Madison Arnold

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a public reprimand of a state district court judge for "intemperate and caustic" comments about shooting attorneys during a hearing.

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Congressional Probes Raise Legal, 'Reputational' Risks

By Phillip Bantz

An array of companies and executives may face investigations over their dealings with the Trump administration if Democrats take control of Congress, raising the possibility that some may refuse to comply. But experts say holding out hope for a mass pardon or expecting the Justice Department not to pursue contempt charges is a risky bet.

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Analysis

5 Circuit Splits To Watch At The High Court

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court has been deciding fewer and fewer cases over the past three decades, with its caseload reaching a historic low just last term. While attorneys believe several factors have contributed to that trend, they say one of the most consequential is the court's apparent declining interest in resolving circuit splits. 

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Trump's Antitrust Pick Advances Amid Independence Worries

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump's pick to lead the antitrust division at the U.S. Department of Justice advanced to the Senate floor on Thursday, despite Democratic concerns about agency independence.

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Sen. Hyde-Smith's Opponent Seeks Blue-Slip Transparency

By Courtney Bublé

Four years ago, Scott Colom — the son of the first African American elected to the chancery bench in her region of Mississippi — was nominated for a federal judgeship. Now he's running for Senate against the senator who blocked his confirmation.

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Ed. Dept. Committee Sidesteps ABA Accreditation Issue

By Ryan Boysen

A key U.S. Department of Education committee on Thursday declined to weigh in on whether an American Bar Association council should remain a federally recognized accreditor of law schools, a day after the panel deadlocked on different proposals over the hot-button issue.

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